Publication: Darius Ou Dahao is still on about fish, but we don't mind

Date
20 November 2013

You’d be forgiven for assuming that designer Darius Ou Dahao was much older and more established than his tender age suggests. We first featured him in May, when his unusual and brilliantly executed identity for Singapore’s Qian Hu Fish Farm won him much coveted spot as one of our students of the month. He’s back now with two publications to follow up that first corker of a project; one entitled The Atlas of Singapore Arowanas which will tell you everything you ever dreamt of knowing about those fishy fellows and their hangouts, and the other, The Qian Hu Aquarium Guide which is just what its name suggests.

It’s not the subject matter that reeled us in though (sorry) but rather Darius’s inimitable attention to every retro detail which makes up the nostalgic feel of the books, and the beguiling simplicity and modesty that results from such a watertight design philosophy. Orange-hued images? Check. Finely rendered illustrations? Check. Healthy dose of negative space? Check check check. Oh, to be a fish farmer in the 1980s…

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: The Atlas of Singapore Arowanas

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: The Atlas of Singapore Arowanas

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: The Atlas of Singapore Arowanas

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: The Atlas of Singapore Arowanas

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: Qian Hu Aquarium Guide

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: Qian Hu Aquarium Guide

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: Qian Hu Aquarium Guide

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: Qian Hu Aquarium Guide

Above

Darius Ou Dahao: Qian Hu Aquarium Guide

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.