A sketch featuring two men from different generations, pouring cups of coffee with similar looks of concentration and passion, came out tops in the Singapore Coffee Festival's Design-The-Cup competition.
Ms Tracy Tan, who created the artwork, received a $1,000 cash prize at a presentation ceremony at the DBS office in Marina Bay Financial Centre yesterday.
The 21-year-old's design will be printed on 100,000 paper cups to be used across Singapore's hottest cafes in the lead-up to the festival, to be held from June 9 to 12.
"It's quite exciting to see my art displayed this way and quite surreal too as this was the first design competition I've taken part in," said the fourth-year Singapore University of Technology and Design student, who took three hours to complete the hand-drawn sketch.
The competition was organised by Sphere Exhibits and sponsored by packaging company Detpak.
It was aimed at engaging Singapore artists and designers, as well as showcasing Singapore's coffee scene and its vibrant culture.
A total of 128 submissions were received during the five-week competition period.
Ms Tan's artwork, in the brown tone of coffee, featured an elderly man dressed in simple clothing and armed with a strainer used to make traditional local coffee, next to a well-dressed barista equipped with an espresso machine.
"Despite both coffee makers coming from vastly different stories and backgrounds, nevertheless, each cup of coffee is crafted with passion," said Ms Tan, who started urban sketching a few years ago.
"These scenes bring a sense of familiarity to Singaporeans and thus, I felt they would be most suitable for the celebration of coffee-drinking during this event."
Mr Ian Lim, senior manager (Festivals) of Sphere Exhibits, said her design was a "fantastic display of hand-drawn artistry and a charming representation of Singapore's speciality and local kopi scene".
The festival is organised by Sphere Exhibits, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, presented by DBS and hosted by The Straits Times.
Visitors can taste speciality coffee from cafes, tuck into tasty snacks and attend talks.
Besides panels featuring The Straits Times writers, DBS will be conducting talks on financial planning, while coffee academy Bettr Barista will be holding sessions, including latte art and how to run a coffee business creatively.
Tickets to the festival, which will be held at the F1 Pit Building, are on sale at Sistic. Early-bird prices are still available.
• For more details, go to sgcoffeefestival.com.sg or facebook.com/sgcoffeefest
