In 2014, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) was appointed the driver of the nation's new vision, a masterplan which will see Singapore transformed into a digitally and technologically integrated city. The vision of the Smart Nation is to fully realize the nation’s potential; to support better living, stronger communities, and create more opportunities, for all.

At the start of 2016, the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) merged to form the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), whose sole purpose is to enhance and regulate Singapore's ICT, and media infrastructure sector.

A new statutory board, GovTech, was formed to develop and deliver public sector transformation through deploying a wide range of ICT solutions within the public sector, growing new capabilities and talent to support digital service delivery, and developing the Smart Nation infrastructure and applications.

GovTech will provide more tech leadership than before and work with public agencies to move the government towards better use of technology for business transformation, productivity, and citizen fulfillment.

Drawing from our innate understanding as well as insights on global trends, we identified that humanity had entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an era of connectedness where rising data flows and information will generate more economic value than traditional trade, affecting the country’s economy.

Singapore must have the foresight and embrace digital disruption in order to realize its vision of becoming a Smart Nation. The initiative would impact the future of Singapore; if realized, the citizen-centric initiatives would improve the social and economic well-being of Singaporeans.

A robust strategy to envision GovTech’s future had to be established, in order to lead the whole of government and people as part of the nation-building efforts.

A new spirit would be needed to shift paradigms from pragmatism to idealism, changing mindsets from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, to see Singapore flourish exponentially. This brand-led initiative needed to stand for something meaningful, cogent and exciting.

Working with the senior leadership team in workshop environments, we ascertained the purpose and position of GovTech: To empower our nation with possibilities through technology.

We ruminated upon what values GovTech should embody and realized that they could be found in what GovTech needed to lead it’s people and Singapore forward:

• Agile Thinking
• Bold Ideas
• Collaborative Approach

The essence of GovTech’s purpose is to create possibilities so a bold visual identity was needed to reflect these ideals. Inspired by nature, the dynamic and agile visual identity express the movement of a murmuration of starlings, shifting synchronously to adapt and respond to the evolving environment. The patterns formed are innumerable, manifesting infinite possibilities.

From a technological aspect, the dots represent points of connectivity, vital sustainable enablers of social development and economic growth, connecting everyone and everything everywhere. At the heart of it all, they symbolize people, businesses, public sector employees, working together as one to transform the nation’s future.