Benson Chong
Master of Arts (Research)

 

Educational Background

  • Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) in Design Communication (Graphic Design), LASALLE College of the Arts

Research Brief

Benson co-founded Studio SWELL, a Singapore-based graphic design practice specialising in publication design. His work interrogates the role of the designer as an active author rather than a mere facilitator.

Complementing this investigation, his research aims to frame practice as a form of research, alongside ethnographic studies. It examines the book as a symbol of resistance and positions the designer as a tactical mediator in bringing the book, understood as an object of collaborative authorship, into material form. This research is situated within and critically responds to dominant contemporary digital systems.

Research Areas

  • Artistic Curatorship
  • Authorship
  • Book Design
  • Design Curatorship
  • Graphic Design
  • Resistance

Awards

  • Shortlisted, President's Design Award.
  • 50 Covers, AIGA and Design Observer's 50 Books.
  • Type Director's Club, New York.
  • D&AD Awards.

Exhibitions

  • Singapore Biennale 2025.
  • Singapore Pavilion - Venice Biennale 2022.

Publication

  • Rao, S. (2022). Pulp: A short biography of the banished book. Rock Paper Fire. (Book Cover Design).