SDM50 – We Made This Monster 2025

I didn’t expect to feel so much when I walked into NAFA’s We Made This Monster, the 50th-anniversary exhibition of the School of Design & Media. I thought it would be a neat little retrospective, exhibiting posters, plaques, and an overall theme of nostalgia. But no, this Monster had a pulse.

The experience started with a glow. Walk through a lighted arch at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Gallery, and suddenly you’re inside what feels like a living organism. A programme sheet maps out the monster’s anatomy: the Heart, the Guts, the Breath, and finally the Mind. Each part beats, churns, and exhales with its own creative energy.


The Heart, works of passion and spontaneity, where a designer’s journey begins

The Heart pumps raw desire, where the journey for a designer begins. It is filled with student works that aren’t trying to impress or sell anything. They are just pure, passionate design. Posters pinned onto rough wooden panels are unapologetically imperfect, full of first sparks and restless imagination. No fancy briefs, no client constraints; just the thrill of creation. The results are straightforward, unhinged, but beautiful.


Decommissioned printers ooze out design patterns into a pool at the Guts

Then comes the Guts, and the name fits. This space literally spills over with the chaos of process. Decommissioned printers ooze out sheets of work into a pool, surrounded by journals laid open on desks. The section is unpretentious and authentic, inviting you to peek inside someone’s mind mid-thought. You will see scribbles, sketches, and raw video assignments. This is the underbelly of design, where you can almost hear the hum of persistence and the quiet bravery that no final portfolio ever reveals.


The Breath, breathing experienced and bold designs by Design & Media Faculty and Alumni

Pass through another arch, and the air changes. This is the Breath, a pulse of professionalism and polish. The works here come from alumni and faculty; some displayed like precious collections enclosed within cages. You will see satire, abstraction, bold experimentation, and even a three-minute AI-generated film about the future of creativity itself. It is witty, intriguing, and thought-provoking.


A word cloud formed by a monster’s eye at >the Mind

Finally, the Mind awaits at Lim Hak Tai Gallery. The atmosphere feels like entering the monster’s consciousness. The space invites reflection with exhibits such as a chatbot that answers and questions your ideas about design, digital panels where you can vote on ethical dilemmas or the future of design. One video installation projects visitors into a sea of tiny eyes, while another sprinkles visitors with pixel “seasoning” upon interactive touch. This part of the exhibition is equal parts mysterious and profound.

NAFA’s We Made This Monster is highly interpretative and strangely human, leaving you with an after-thought. Is design and media the monster? Check out this eco-conscious exhibition and come to your own conclusions at:

We Made this Monster
12 to 7pm Daily (Tuesdays to Sundays)
Lim Hak Tai Gallery
Ngee Ann Kongi Galleries 1 & 2

Activities at Lim Hak Tai Gallery

Weekend 1