2013 National Day Logo

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah presenting the prizes to Keeran Dato Janin

A group photo with the judges and sponsors and senior officials of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports

Haji Mohd Rozan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports having a closer look at the logo competition's entries.

NATIONAL DAY LOGO 'EXUDES TRADITION'

Bandar Seri Begawan, Sundah 17th February 2013 - A LOGO designed by the CEO of a local mobile software developer, MeSixty, was chosen as the winner of the 29th Brunei Darussalam National Day Logo Design Competition

The logo by Keeran Dato Paduka Janin exudes the elements of tradition and simplicity, said the competition's panel of judges.

His design, a 29-pointed star shaded in red, yellow and grey, was chosen by a panel of judges from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as the logo for this year's National Day celebrations.

On hand to present the prizes to the winner was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah.

Keeran brought home a cash prize of $2,000 sponsored by Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, an Acer 14 inch Aspire Notebook from Concept Computer and a Canon EOS600D from Interhouse Company.

Keeran's design beat out 92 other entries to be chosen as the eventual winner. A total of 15 designs were shortlisted and Keeran's design was selected out of the final three.

Speaking to The Brunei Times one of the judges, Pg Dato Hj Asmalee Pg Hj Ahmad said, the competition saw an increase in the number of participants.

"This is progress. We did not only see an increase in number of submissions, but also an increase in the level of quality of the works submitted."

In explaining what made the logo a winner, Pg Dato Hj Asmalee said it featured some changes compared to the logos in previous years.

It highlighted the country's tradition and culture. The design symbolises the country's tudung dulang or food cover which has also become a symbol of the Malay past, he said.

"Tradition is important in design. We sometimes forget this as most designs are oriented towards western influence."

According to Dato Paduka Hj Idris Hj Abas, another judge, the logo should convey its purpose simply by looking at it.

The winning logo encompassed a complete picture of the celebration.

"During judging, we look at all the submissions. There are many aspects of designs that we looked at. This was one of the challenges in judging the competition," he added.

He said there were entries which were out of topic and were not suitable. That was why we have the elimination process.

"However, that does not mean that the designs that were not selected were not good. There were many good qualities (in the designs) but our job was to choose only one," he added.

For Dato Paduka Hj Jalil Hj Abd Rahman, the design of the logo was unique. He said one aspect of design that was very hard to achieve was the concept of simplicity.

"Most would do intricate designs but they do not know that the best is simplicity, but simplicity is very difficult to achieve regardless if it is in designs or paintings, " said Dato Paduka Hj Jalil, who was one of the judges.

Dato Hj Idris shared Dato Hj Jalil's sentiment.

"Simplicity is not easy. In principle of designs, we have to explore everything. But at the end of the day, the process that you go through helps you to achieve this," he said.

Themed "My Country Brunei Darussalam", the logo will be used on a range of official promotional materials for Brunei's 29th National Day.

The competition was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) in collaboration with The Brunei Times.

Rasidah HAB

-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times --