NHB Character Mascot:
Kai the Eagle
Character Illustration
I was roped into help create a character mascot for the National Heritage Board (NHB) that will be used to publicise its Festivals and Heritage Trails through a variety of mediums (ie. social media, digital marketing, physical collaterals).
My team kicked off the project by brainstorming with the client on the animal we would like the character to be inspired by, and eventually settled on the native Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), one of the commonest raptors in Singapore and frequently known as the ‘Singapore Bald Eagle’. It has a distinct look with features that we could accentuate in our character. Kai was given a character backstory, personality traits as well as a tone of voice. Subsequently, I helped to lay out sketches envisioning the character's form – two of them can be viewed below.
Kai the Eagle was debuted at Singapore Night Festival (SNF) 2023, albeit more covertly – it was mainly featured in the Night Walk digital game app that festival goers used to learn more about SNF's exhibits, as well as to accumulate game points. More extensive use cases will likely come in the future.