Project / Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar, Pekan, Pahang
Task / Brand and Visual Identity Design, Environmental Graphics, Wayfinding &
Signage Information Design, Publications
Client / Lembaga Muzium Negeri Pahang and
East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC)
Year / 2008–2014; Second renovation & new galleries 2016–2017

pROJECT Background

Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar is located in Pekan, the Royal Town of Pahang, on the East Coast of Malaysia.

The museum sits along the banks of the Pahang River, and there are many traditional Malay houses in the vicinity, giving the district an idyllic and semi-rural feel. Old Chinese shophouses that date back to the early 1900s line Pekan’s main street by the river.

The town was the former British Colonial Government’s Administrative Centre, and dotted around the area are some beautiful colonial-era buildings.

THE museum BUILDING

Built in the late 1920s, it was the official residence of the British Resident. During the Japanese Occupation, it became the officer’s quarters for the Japanese military. The British returned when the war ended, and in 1965, it became the formal palace of the late DYMM Sultan Abu Bakar, a venue for important state ceremonies. In 1976, the building was converted into a museum.

However, in 1997, the museum’s artefacts were transferred to Kuantan, the state capital and the building was no longer utilised and left to deteriorate.

DESIGN OBJECTIVES

William joined the museum curatorial team headed by Museum Director and Chief Curator, Dato’ Ahmad Farid bin Abdul Jalal, early in the project, and thus was able to contribute ideas in terms of the overall concept and design direction.

The objectives of the museum were:

• To establish a people-friendly resource centre to promote the heritage and culture of Pahang.

• To engage the local community, providing enrichment through learning and understanding, as well as the enjoyment of its beautiful gallery spaces, artefacts, art, and lush gardens.

• To uplift the local economy by drawing visitors and holiday-makers from nearby Kuantan, the state capital.

*Besides Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar, there are four other museums within walking distance: Muzium Masjid Sultan Abdullah (Islamic Art Museum) which opened in October 2016, Botanical Museum, Children's Museum, and the Watercraft Museum.

The new museum comprised five galleries: The Pahang Sultanate, Fashion & Textile, Archaeology & Orang Asli (Aboriginal people), Ceramics, and Arts & Culture of the East Coast.

A workshop building, an auditorium, a cafe, an office block and several sculpture gardens were added to the museum complex.

*In 2017, several galleries were moved to the State Capital.

Many important historical and cultural artefacts belong to other long-established museums. To compensate for the lack of content (while starting artefact acquisition programme), the museum commissioned many original paintings, sculptures and installations—a critical initiative to support local artists, textile designers, and artisans. (Except for the driftwood animal and Orang Asli sculptures which are of Indonesian origin).

The logos

We designed the logos to reflect the cultural, historical and geographical relevance of the place.

 The Museum Logo

The logo draws inspiration from the location of the museum, the East Coast of Malaysia which is closely associated with the South China Sea, the perahu (traditional fishermen’s boat) and Malay woodcarving.

Logo for the Museum Shop

The elephant plays a vital role in the history, mythology, and royal rituals of the State of Pahang. The state emblem incorporates a pair of elephant’s tusks to reflect this.

The logo combines an elephant from an old etching and an illustration drawn with playful shapes and colours. It appeals to both parents and children.

Logo for the Museum Café

The burung belibis, also known as the lesser whistling duck (Dendrocygna Javanica), is a migratory bird that often makes its presence known in Pekan through its distinctive 2-note wheezy calls. The bird was chosen as the mascot of the museum café because local children are prone to mimicking its loud whistles, and a flock of the gregarious ducks is quite a sight for sightseers who visit. (The café does not serve duck meat, only in name).

One version of the logo has a background of green patterns, representing the grid-like pattern of the rice fields and the Tenun Pahang Diraja (Royal Cloth of Pahang), the state’s renowned woven silk fabric.

New (old) logo

Rummaging through the old artefacts in the museum’s store, we discovered a metal plate with the old logo of the Pahang State Museum. The logo had a lot of character—beautiful and quirky, especially in the typography and the Jawi script.

The museum decided to revive the symbol as the official logo of the State’s Museum Department (Lembaga Muzium Negeri Pahang). Digital versions were created based on the original logo and its variations found on old stationery.

Integrated Identity

Woodcarving is one of the most vital Malay arts of the East Coast. Wood became the unifying element for the seamless transition from the museum’s interior spaces to its exterior grounds.

A variety of driftwood sculptures depicting local animals and birds surround the museum: the horse (Pekan hosts polo competitions every year), crane, deer and the elephant. The elephant was delivered to the museum much later as it required a substantial amount of driftwood to produce its form.

WAYFINDING AND SIGNAGE

We designed a signage system that reflected the local traditions. The checkered pattern of the Tenun Pahang woven cloth is interpreted as simple crossed lines, either engraved or silkscreened in gloss on the matte white surface of the sign panels.

Our team chose ITC Berkeley Oldstyle as the primary typeface for the museum because of its role as a knowledge centre. The font, named initially ‘Californian’, was designed by Frederic W. Goudy in 1938 for the University of California Press in Berkeley.

We complemented the classic elegance of Berkeley Oldstyle with FF DIN, a modern typeface synonymous with German design and efficiency, and clean, geometric lines, to achieve a balance of tradition and the contemporary.

Pictographs

We designed pictographs (icons) to reflect its identity as an institution that embraces tradition as well as the contemporary. Several pictographs combine elements from the old and the new to create a unique visual statement.

BUILDING SIGN

Sifting through old photographs, we discovered a photo of the museum building with a sign in Jawi script, ‘Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar’. The sign has since gone missing, and we took great care to replicate the original script and mounted the new sign on the building.

LOCATING small entrances

The building was originally a residence, and some entrances to the galleries were small and obscure. We designed large posters to draw attention to these gallery entrances and help visitors find them with ease. The posters also served to reinforce the museum’s new identity.

A SENSE OF PLACE

We retrieved images from the museum’s photo archives for banners hung along the corridors, giving the visitor a sense of time and place. It was also an opportunity to show the classic patterns and colours of the Tenun Pahang woven cloth.

COMMUNITY

Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar is a museum in a garden, appropriately named The Intelektual Garden*, signifying open-mindedness, ideas, imagination and creativity.

The museum’s sculpture garden, the lawn with a cluster of old banyan trees on either end, the shallow infinity pool and children’s water fountain, the riverfront, and lush green surroundings provide Pekan’s residents with a restful environment for relaxation and an opportunity to engage with a museum.

*Intelektual is the Malay spelling

RECOGNITION

Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar won Gold and Grand Award Finalist in the prestigious Design for Asia Awards 2015 in Hong Kong. It was Malaysia’s first Gold in the Award’s 12-year history.

The project did not make it into the final ten Grand Awards—our modest museum was up against stellar competition the likes of Issey Miyake, Apple Computer, Samsung, PMQ, Taikoo Li Chengdu, Himeji Castle Restoration Project, etc. The museum was selected as one of the eight Grand Award Finalists (below).

Dato’ Ahmad Farid, Director and Chief Curator of Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar, and William at the DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony 2015 held at PMQ, Hong Kong

LINK