Frasers Property Malls Rebrand: Does One Look Fit All?

Darryl
Written by Darryl on
Frasers Property Malls Rebrand: Does One Look Fit All?

We hope you like red ❤️

Frasers Property Singapore really wants you to know that you are shopping at one of its malls.

The real estate owner has rebranded most of its managed malls under a single, unified visual identity. As part of this initiative called “A Frasers Experience”, the malls will also progressively receive facelifts, including updated façades, redesigned Service Ambassador uniforms, and refreshed concierge counters.

northpoint new logo building
(Source)

Online, shoppers can expect enhancements to individual mall websites and the Frasers Experience mobile app, including in-mall wayfinding — a first for Singapore malls.


The new logos

The new logos are type-heavy and systemised, featuring the name of each mall in a clean sans-serif typeface paired with a “service ribbon” graphic at the top right, meant to represent Frasers Property’s retail service promise. Inspired by elements of the diamond-shaped Frasers Property logo, the graphic, however, looks abstract and randomly positioned.

northpoint new logo
(Source)

In a smaller font size but in capital letters reads the endorsement line “A Frasers Experience”, which is intended to signal trust and quality. Visually, it adds unnecessary clutter to the logo, and would be difficult to scale down for smaller applications, particularly in digital contexts. The service ribbon graphic and identical typeface of the logos should already give shoppers the idea that the malls are under the same management.

Each mall may share the same logo treatment, but they are differentiated by heritage-inspired motifs that reference the neighbourhoods they serve. Hougang Mall’s fish motif pays tribute to the Kangkar wholesale fish market, while Tiong Bahru Plaza’s motif traces the silhouette of SIT blocks, which are the only remaining pre-war public housing in Singapore and located just a stone’s throw away from the mall.

frasers property malls logo before
frasers property malls logo motifs

These motifs will be applied across mall touchpoints such as the wayfinding totems and social media content.

wayfinding totems frasers property malls
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Across the mall portfolio, this conformist visual system comes at a cost of individuality, particularly when it comes to colour. The shades of red lack the distinctiveness and recall of some of the former logos and could easily be mistaken for generic “house brand” mall identities.

Some motifs, like Northpoint City’s, require mental gymnastics to understand — the pan chang knot reflects Yishun’s pineapple plantation origins as pineapple translates to ong lai in Hokkien which also means incoming fortune. It is also strange to feature a decoration most commonly associated with Lunar New Year as the main motif for a mall.

silhouettes frasers property malls
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Previously, several of these malls had logos that already felt like they belonged to the same family. Under AsiaMalls’ ownership, the nature-inspired identities followed shared design principles while maintaining distinct colour palettes. Sadly, before this latest rebrand, Hougang Mall was the only mall to retain its original logo throughout its nearly 30-year history. One of the earliest posts on this blog documented Tiong Bahru Plaza’s earlier shift to a monochrome identity.

asia malls logos
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Compared to the former AsiaMalls logos, the current identity feels underdeveloped and visually weak, struggling to stand on its own. Without the supporting motifs, the system appears bland and indistinct.

Beyond visual identity, there are other ways to signal portfolio-level cohesion without flattening individual mall personalities. One approach would be to follow Capitaland’s playbook, by having simultaneous mall activations with popular IPs. Capitaland’s Mofusand campaigns united its malls without forcing a consistent brand identity. By placing Mofusand installations at multiple mall entrances, it created a clear association that these malls belonged to the same group. Frasers Property could consider a Quby or Nailong collaboration to one-up its rival.

mofusand capitaland
(Source)


Inclusive Design is Good Design

Nonetheless, the Frasers Experience’s focus on accessibility and inclusivity should be praised. From Service Ambassadors trained to support individuals with autism, dementia, and sensory sensitivities, to initiatives such as ‘Dementia Go-To Points’ and weekly ‘Calm Hours’ in participating stores, Frasers Property is taking tangible steps toward creating safer and more welcoming mall environments.

“Malls have long been regarded as a ‘third place’, where people go to besides their home, school or workplace. In Singapore, however, they’ve evolved into natural extensions of our daily life. As we start thinking of our malls as a ‘second place’, we set out to create places where people feel they belong, and where everyday moments and community connections happen.”
-Adrian Tan, Managing Director, Retail, Frasers Property Singapore

While the Frasers Experience marks a meaningful contribution toward a more inclusive society, its impact on footfall and commercial performance remains uncertain. Inclusivity is seldom the main selling point in rebrands, and even less so when tied to a strict visual rebrand.

Hopefully, the Frasers Experience will achieve people-centred outcomes, and prove to be far more exciting than its visual identity suggests.

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