Designing Diplomacy: Logos Celebrating Bilateral Milestones (Part 2)

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As Singapore celebrates its 60th birthday this year, it also marks significant milestones in diplomatic ties with several countries, with commemorative logos that play a symbolic role in branding cultural events, exchanges, and initiatives throughout the year.

Following Part 1 of Designing Diplomacy, which highlighted six creative bilateral logos, Part 2 explores more countries that have joined in marking their diplomatic ties with Singapore through thoughtful visual identity.

Australia (60 years)

To mark 60 years of Australia–Singapore relations, the official logo incorporates Aboriginal Australian dot painting motifs, featuring the crescents and stars from the Singapore flag at the centre of the “0” and seven-point Australian stars floating outside its curves.

Australia commissioned award-winning First Nations artist Jessica Begg from Western Australia to create an artwork that embodied the spirit of enduring friendship and collaboration between the two countries. The colour palette of “Bunji”, which means “friend” or “mate” in some Aboriginal cultures, was inspired by Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

Viewers of the artwork can see:

• inspired constellations from the national flags of both countries

• concentric rings representing campsites or waterholes, symbolising sacred meeting places and the creation of a trusted partnership

• inverted ‘U’ shaped curves, representing 60 individuals whose stories will be highlighted through the Australian embassy’s #60for60 project, personalising the story of 60 years of friendship

• a snake scaled pattern on the outer edge, signifying strength, creativity, and continuity, while acknowledging the cultural similarities and differences between Australia and Singapore. The pattern is particularly significant as 2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Lunar calendar.

France (60 years)

For the Singapore–France 60th anniversary, a striking logo merges the Supertree from Gardens by the Bay with the base of the Eiffel Tower, forming a symmetrical graphic that bridges modern and classical architecture.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Embassy in Paris released a more conventional interlocking “60” logo, featuring the Lion Head and Gallic Rooster—the national symbols of both countries.

United Kingdom (60 years)

The UK–Singapore 60th anniversary logo also features architectural icons. The Merlion and the Big Ben nestled in a “60” created from a continuous line, symbolising partnership and connection. Its red and blue colour palette reflects the national colours of both countries.

The logo also highlights the UK–Singapore Strategic Partnership, indicating the maturity of diplomatic and economic relations.

Variations of the logo have been used for holiday greetings such as Vesak Day and Hari Raya Haji.

Italy (60 years)

Similar to the logo by Singapore’s Embassy in Paris, the logo celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and Singapore interlocks “6” and “0” in red and green. Inside the “0” sit five stars from Singapore’s flag for a more direct visual link.

Among the events to celebrate this milestone was a photo exhibition that highlighted the bilateral cooperation across defense, culture and business.

India (60 years)

The logo commemorating 60 years of India-Singapore diplomatic relations was unveiled by Presidents Droupadi Murmu and Tharman Shanmugaratnam during the latter’s trip to New Delhi. It incorporates the national flowers of both countries—the lotus of India and Vanda Miss Joaquim of Singapore—in the numbers “6” and “0” respectively. The flowers are illustrated in different styles, with the Vanda Miss Joaquim drawn in more detail with the addition of flower buds.

Although the press release notes the logo’s use of national colours, the final design notably omits Singapore’s red and white.

Mexico (50 years)

The Mexico–Singapore 50th anniversary logo was the result of a design competition late last year organised by the Mexican Embassy in Singapore.

The winning design features a red-green colour block with the Vanda Miss Joaquim and an agave plant, which represents Mexico. Although the agave is not officially a national symbol of Mexico (which has a national flower, the Dahlia), it is an important economic product of Jalisco state, and reflects Mexico’s strength and resilience.

The Embassy of Mexico in Singapore held a design competition late last year for the logo celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations. The winning entry is a red-green bar with Singapore’s national flower and an agave plant, which represents Mexico. Although the agave is not officially a national symbol of Mexico (which has a national flower, the Dahlia), it is an important economic product of Jalisco state, and reflects Mexico’s strength and resilience.

Unfortunately, the commemorative logo which uses a bland sans serif does not visually gel with the distinct slab serif wordmark of the embassy, when they are placed side by side.

As Singapore continues to mark key milestones in international relations, these anniversary logos reveal how diplomacy can be designed, stylised, and personalised. Each logo reflects not just visual trends, but the shared values, heritage, and aspirations of partner countries.

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