Creative Minds: Adeline Siow can decipher Ikea hieroglyphics really well

Name: Adeline Siow

Origin: Singapore

Places lived/worked: Singapore and Hong Kong

Pronouns: She/her

CV:

• Associate creative director, BBH Singapore, 2017-2022
• Senior copywriter, JWT Singapore, 2015-2017
• Senior copywriter, Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong, 2013-2014
• Copywriter, Ogilvy Singapore, 2011-2013

1. How did you end up being a creative?

I started out at work with one of those cool internships where you get to rotate around different departments, and the creative department was genuinely one of the most welcoming places that was filled with oddballs of all sorts. I thought it might be fun to stay and see how it would be like to make an ad. Then one ad led to another, and here I am.

2. What's your favourite piece of work in your portfolio? 

Currently it’s Heinekicks. We worked with The Shoe Surgeon to create sneakers with soles filled with Heineken Silver, so you can walk on beer. Super fun, super Gen Z, super polarising.

3. What's your favourite piece of work created by someone else? 

It’s pretty classic, but the work that KesselsKramer did for the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel was one of the most unique in the hospitality category. When everyone was (and still is) talking about luxury, they totally went in the other direction. Plus it’s funny as heck.

4. What kind of student were you?

I would like to say nerdy. But I realise looking back that I was always getting kicked out for laughing too much, or for making my class laugh. So probably the most accurate depiction would be kid that tried her best to be nerdy (but ended up being an accidental comic).

5. What's on your bucket list?

Besides making the greatest ad campaign in the world ever (and also creating all the ideas on my creative bucket list), it would have to be doing a silent meditation, travelling to Uzbekistan, and also trying every single food item in a Japanese convenience store.

6. Who do you most admire?

Jenny Holzer. Her work is all about the power of words, stark big proclamations that intrude into spaces, that stop you in your tracks. It demands attention and its simplicity is its strength.

7. Do you work best under pressure, or when things are calm?

I’d have to say both. A little bit of calm is great for allowing your mind to wander and go into weird, fresh territories for ideas. A little bit of pressure is great for making sure you don’t get too distracted and end up with encyclopaedic knowledge of the life cycle of phytoplankton.

8. What advice would you give to 10-year-old you, if you could?

Being normal is overrated. Also, don’t get too obsessed over the neatness of your wardrobe.

9. What really motivates you?

Fun. Generally I live by the ‘if it’s not fun, don’t do it’ rule.

10. Do you have any secret or odd talents?

I read super fast. And I can decipher Ikea hieroglyphics pretty well, which means I always end up with the instruction manual when we’re fixing things.

11. What’s your favourite music / film / TV show / book / other of the past year, and why?

Everything Everywhere All At Once. Insane craziness in such a good way. All those different genres. Exceptionally imaginative. That emotional rollercoaster of a story. Sausage fingers. Do I still need to go on?