SAF60: Defending Our Home, Securing Our Future

When Singapore's armed forces turned 60, the commemoration needed to reach the nation, not just the defence community. Texture was engaged by Singapore Discovery Centre and Defence Collective Singapore to design and build the interactive digital layer of the SAF60 roving exhibition, a 9.5-month nationwide showcase that travelled across 34 locations including PA Integrated Community Hubs and SAFRA clubhouses. Our brief was to create engagement that felt participatory and personal, giving everyday Singaporeans a meaningful way to connect with the exhibition's theme: Defending Our Home, Securing Our Future.

The centrepiece of our contribution was a digital pledge wall where visitors could submit messages of support for SAF servicemen and women. Each pledge became part of a living, evolving collective display that grew with every location the exhibition visited. To deepen participation, we designed a survey-gated gachapon system: visitors completed a short survey, received a QR code verifying their participation, and redeemed a collectible figure at a physical machine. The mechanic ensured that engagement was earned rather than passive, and that the reward carried meaning.

A defining creative contribution was the development of Hydra: an original character designed entirely in-house by Texture. A rogue AI villain threatening Singapore's digital systems, Hydra served as the exhibition's interactive antagonist and the creative identity anchoring the entire collectible range. The character was conceived, designed, and produced by Texture from scratch, with no external IP involved. Five themed figures (Hydra alongside four service-themed characters) gave visitors something tangible to bring home, while a companion WhatsApp sticker pack extended the exhibition's presence into everyday digital life. Officiated by Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamed at its launch on 2 April 2025, the exhibition closed with 42,027 pledges and 32,295 collectible redemptions recorded across its full run.

Digital Pledge Wall

A live, evolving display of visitor messages that grew across every location the exhibition visited. Each pledge was added to a collective canvas, turning individual expressions of national support into a shared, cumulative statement that built in scale and meaning over the 9.5-month run.

Survey-Gated Gachapon System

Participation was structured as a two-step mechanic: complete a survey, receive a QR code, redeem a collectible at a physical gachapon machine. The system ensured engagement was intentional and rewarding, pairing a digital verification layer with a physical payoff that gave visitors a reason to complete the experience rather than passively observe it.

Character IP: Hydra

We created Hydra from scratch: a rogue AI villain threatening Singapore's digital systems, designed entirely in-house as the exhibition's narrative centrepiece and visual identity. Hydra is an original character; the design, personality, and story belong to Texture. The character anchored a collectible range of five themed figures alongside four service-themed companions, and extended into a WhatsApp sticker pack, carrying the exhibition's identity well beyond its physical footprint and giving visitors a tangible piece of original creative work to bring home.

Scale and Reach

34 locations. 9.5 months. 42,027 pledges. 32,295 redemptions. Numbers that reflect not just footfall, but active, structured participation from a broad national audience across communities, age groups, and settings.