Direct Funeral Services

2013

Discipline

Brand Identity, Graphic Design, Art Direction, Spatial Design, Product Design, Packaging, Digital Design

Client

Direct Funeral Services

Industry

Deathcare, Healthcare

Direct Funeral Services had been one of Singapore’s early adopters of a more modern approach to deathcare. But as competitors began using the same language of “peace of mind” and “closure”, the brand needed to find what was truly its own.

Interviews with the family, staff and customers led us back to founder Roland Tay’s instinct to help people directly. Another insight came from families who resisted the idea of closure: they could find peace, but they did not want to close their hearts to those they had lost.

“Finding peace and keeping an open heart” became the direction. Conversation, Compassion and Continuity shaped the strategy, while an ellipsis, the punctuation mark for “to be continued”, became the central visual device.

In English, the three dots suggest continuation. Set vertically in Chinese, they form the water radical, a reference to knowing one’s origin. A distinctive orange and a small change to the Chinese name shifted the emphasis from death towards life.

The brand extended beyond identity. Photography focused on staff in real moments rather than staged poses, while useful, wiki-style content helped families understand an unfamiliar process.

We also developed a brand architecture for new business areas and a charitable foundation, giving each a clear relationship to the parent brand.

The result was a more recognisable presence across Singapore and a clearer picture of how deathcare professionals could look, sound and act.