little red comma

Tusitala was commissioned by the National Arts Council to produce a digital interactive adaptation of six literary works, presented on the Esplanade Offstage platform.

Objectives

• Provide work and remuneration for freelance arts professionals affected by COVID-19
• Support creatives and ignite interest in Singapore literary fiction using the dynamic and interactive properties of digital 
• Encourage discovery of homegrown fiction and Singapore’s literary heritage

Our target audience was loosely defined as people between ages 18–45. However, as demographic and psychographic profiles range widely within this (e.g., familiarity with digital experiences, readers’ prior familiarity with SingLit, etc.), it was difficult to select works and design adaptations with specific users in mind to ensure strong appeal. 

Ideation

Tusitala selected six literary works (poetry and short fiction) that we felt represented the diversity of stories from and about Singapore. 

We decided to present each work differently depending on how it lent itself to interpretation, based on its themes and form. Another reason why we decided to use a variety of presentation formats (linear scroll, 3D space for navigation, comic, etc.) was to gather data on what appeals more to most readers, since the target audience was broadly defined.

Since each work had different and unique requirements, we decided to develop the project site from scratch. The main components were 1) a simple landing page to introduce the project and individual works; 2) the individual work pages where readers can view the works in full.

Process

Creating the illustrations

The main challenge for this project was adapting to working completely remotely for the first time while having to work with short timelines. We adapted to this by making some compromises when working with freelancers and exploring ways for them to reduce their turnaround time, one of which was by licensing or adapting their existing work. 

Some freelancers (writers, illustrators, etc.) were unfamiliar with digital presentation formats and their requirements. From this, we learnt to prepare more detailed creative briefs in future, and to plan for longer project timelines where possible to allow us to explore more options to appoint freelancers, develop their capabilities in the digital space, and give them time to deliver their best work.

The project provided many learning opportunities for Tusitala’s team to strengthen our capabilities in creative producing, visual, sound and UX design, and also web development.

Building the websites

The variety of works allowed the team to experiment with new software, libraries and API (e.g., Greensock, Unity, Google Weather, etc.) as well as various web and animation effects. More technical challenges involved ensuring that visual assets are clear but also load quickly, optimising for both mobile and desktop.

Read our blogs

Singapore literature, reimagined – here

Behind the scenes of “Nightjar” – here

The works

little red comma fuses Singapore fiction with new media, comprising digital adaptations of six diverse literary works that span the genres of poetry and short fiction. From the end of August to November 2020, a new work was released every fortnight on Esplanade Offstage, featuring original illustrations and audio produced by our partner Artwave Studio.