Why we named the studio after a sampan

For more than a century, the Singapore River was crowded with small wooden boats carrying goods from ships anchored offshore to the godowns along the banks. Big ships couldn’t get in. Small boats could, and they did the work that kept the city running.

Sampan is a common name for small flat-bottomed boats across the region. When we were naming the studio, it felt right: small, practical, built to get things where they need to go.

What it means for how we work

• We stay small on purpose. Every project has a team of three to five people who know it inside out.
• We go where big ships can’t. Our clients are often too small for large agencies and too ambitious for templates.
• We carry real cargo. We care about products that are used every day, not awards.

We also liked that nobody could mispronounce it.