SINGAPORE – The 2019 Singapore edition of Portfolio Night, jointly organised by TGH Collective, Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP), was successfully held at TP on 22 May 2019. The event offered a unique and valuable opportunity for more than 80 young creative and design talents to meet with and show their best works to some of the city-state’s top creatives.
“These executive creative directors are really busy people and we would not usually be able to talk to them directly like this, but I got to meet many of them here,” says Poonam Dasilva, who is pursuing a Diploma in Advertising at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. “I spoke to three of them about my work in detail and they gave me very helpful feedback, telling how clients would view my work and how I can better present and sell my ideas.”
Singapore was one of 25 cities around the world this year to host Portfolio Night, the world’s largest one-day advertising portfolio review programme. Initiated by The One Club for Creativity, it provides a platform for aspiring creatives to get feedback about their work from renowned creative directors.
For some of these young creatives, they may even get a head start into joining the industry, as Portfolio Night has also become a crucial tool for agencies in recruiting top young talent. Many industry professionals at this year’s Singapore event say they are impressed by the skills and creativity of the creative talent pool here.
“Right off the bat, I know two guys I would hire. They probably require a lot more mentoring in terms of how to shape ideas, but I think that comes from a little bit of experience, so I would spend maybe six months or two years with them and see them fly,” says Johnny Tan, Executive Creative Director Asia Pacific of advertising agency 72andSunny.
“[These students] have mad skills. Some of them are illustrators, designers, motion graphic designers and filmmakers all rolled together in one. I don’t remember seeing my classmates graduating with that plethora of skills. They have the stuff, they have the ingredients, you just have to shape that.”
Tay Guan Hin, Christian Victorio of Moove Media (Gold Sponsor) presenting the prize to Singapore Portfolio Night All-Star, Ken Vicera Kaneko.
A highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Singapore Portfolio Night All-Star, Ken Vicera Kaneko, whose portfolio of illustrations and graphic designs stood out the most among all the participants. “I didn’t expect to win and I’m very grateful. This has given me a lot of confidence and I’m more driven than ever to produce better work, to take all the feedback I received and apply myself more,” he says.
Ken will soon be travelling to New York for a week to work with other cities’ All-Stars on an exciting assignment for a major global brand.
“It’s good to see Portfolio Night returning to Singapore after a hiatus of a few years. The energy here was invigorating. The success of this event is proof that young creatives and students here are hungry to break into an exciting industry that’s ever-changing. The participants may have only connected with the reviewers for a short time, but I believe the feedback and critique will be appreciated, and useful, long after this event,” says Tay Guan Hin, founder of TGH Collective.
Portfolio Night 2019 Singapore is proudly sponsored by Gold Sponsor Moove Media, Strategic Partner GetCraft, and Supporting Sponsors Convertium, Adobe, and ShutterStock.
