Dipping our toes into Art X Tech for our 4th year at Singapore FinTech Festival.
Singapore FinTech Festival 2019 (SFF2019), organised by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is back for its 4th and largest edition ever. Merging with the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH), delegates were treated to a peek into the future with the first ever SFF x SWITCH.
Spanning 3 days and 6 to 7 stages with more than 400 speakers, over 60,000 people from 130+ countries gathered to hear presentations and discussions by luminaries and experts.
Idea Ink experienced many firsts this year, including combining our illustrated infographics with technological elements, and expanding our presence at the festival by designing the booths of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
This year, instead of arming ourselves with physical boards and markers, we decided to blow up our digital graphic recording offering, and experimented with both quantity and display formats. Besides creating visual summaries for the Plenary Stage presentations, we also took on the formidable challenge of graphic recording 6 - 7 concurrent stages (each with 3 - 8 talks/panel discussions) every single day of the festival. With an army of graphic recorders, over 140 visual summaries were created over 3 days.
Our booth was adorned with a ring of bright LED screens that prominently displayed our digital visual summaries. The attention-grabbing screens invited delegates to slow down and view the graphic recordings, with many taking photos of boards they were interested in.
To increase the convenience and ease of viewing our digital graphic recordings, an Idea Ink web platform was created.
Delegates were invited to scan a QR code or type in a short URL to access our web platform.
On our web platform, users can see boards that were recently added, and navigate easily to the graphic recordings of talks they are interested in. By allowing users to search for the exact visual summary they would like to view, recapping or catching up on a talk is made breezier.
The back of our booth was lined with a mural that represents a hopeful future where technology, human beings, and the natural world co-exist harmoniously. Painstakingly hand-painted by our team, the mural served as a photogenic backdrop for Instagram photos and interview videos.
Our sketch robot (also lovingly known as the ‘sketch turtle’) also added its mark on the mural, illustrating tech-related vectors over the course of the festival.
For Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Talent Pavilion, we created 2 highly intricate infographic walls integrated with augmented reality (AR) that embedded more information.
The 7m infographic map showcases Singapore FinTech Talent Ecosystem, providing a bird’s eye view of the resources our national talent strategy can provide. Delegates can scan the QR codes corresponding to their personal profiles (students, working professionals, employers) to learn about organisations relevant to their needs. The adjacent 6m-long wall presents the full list of courses available for the 6 pillars of the FinTech talent focus. By scanning the QR codes, delegates are quickly directed to courses they desire to upskill in.
While the infographic walls provide a comprehensive overview for delegates, the AR integrations allow for a personalised experience that optimises the process of message conveyance. Over 1000 AR impressions were made over the course of the festival, bringing to delegates a refreshing way of consuming information.
Post-event, the ecosystem was turned into an interactive microsite, as well as an office wall mural for The Institute of Banking and Finance.
For Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) booth, we constructed life-size interactive infographics that wowed delegates.
Idea Ink attempted another breakthrough this year with our first-ever interactive illustrated infographic wall aligned with SMBC’s theme “Innovation with a Human Touch”. Delegates are invited to ‘touch’ the touch points that describe their profile (prospective retiree/ everyday consumer/ finance professional) and priority (inclusive access/ sustainable life/ efficient banking). Based on this interaction, a path will be lit up to show the trends and products relevant to their needs and interests. A gamification element was added with a Ping Pong launcher where delegates can demonstrate how much they trust their bank, based on how high the ball was shot up!
The 3 illustrated infographic pillars (‘Efficient Banking”, “Inclusive Access”, “Sustainable Life”) at the SMBC booth were integrated with augmented reality (AR). By scanning the QR codes, the infographics come to life on delegates’ phone screens and provide more information about SMBC’s banking solutions.
Last but not least, our physical graphic recording was not missing at SFF. We wielded our trusty markers to illustrate on physical boards for the presentations at MAS Talent Pavilion, adding an analog touch to the tech-filled conference.
