About

DSO National Laboratories, Singapore's largest defence R&D organization, approached Bonsey Jaden to create a commemorative digital exhibition for their Golden Jubilee dinner. Titled "A Relentless Pursuit," the website serves as a digital journey through six interactive chapters, celebrating DSO’s legacy and showcasing how its divisions collaborate to drive innovation and defence advancements.

From its humble beginnings in 1972 as a three-man team to cutting-edge research in defence technology, the site highlights key milestones, international partnerships, and the core values that drive DSO's success.

Scopes

• Website design

• Creative direction

• Storytelling

• UI/UX enhancements

Challenge

DSO sought a website that seamlessly combined storytelling with engaging multimedia. Each chapter needed to resonate with different audiences, from the general public to technology enthusiasts, while ensuring a cohesive and visually appealing experience. With 140 unique pages to develop, balancing scale, interactivity, and design consistency posed a significant challenge.

Design Process

Phase 1: Storytelling-Driven Design Approach

To meet the client’s goals, we adopted a storytelling-centric design. The Infinite Emotive Flow concept was developed, where a flowing color palette transitioned seamlessly between chapters, creating a visually cohesive journey. Each chapter was tailored to its unique audience and purpose while maintaining alignment with DSO’s brand identity.

Phase 2: Adding “Wow” Factors

To maintain user engagement, each chapter incorporated "wow" elements, such as:

• Micro-interactions and animations.

• Animated transitions between chapters.

• Interactive media displays tailored to content themes.

Phase 3: Crafting the Chapters

Each of the six chapters featured its own design style and interactive elements:

Chapter 1: The DSO Story

• Presented milestones in a timeline format with clear visuals and leadership messages.

• Ensured an intuitive navigation flow to guide users through the organization’s history.

Chapter 2: Pushing the Boundaries

• Highlighted DSO’s 50-year journey in R&D using immersive animations.

• Narratives emphasized cutting-edge solutions and game-changing innovations.

Chapter 3: Beyond Defence

• Focused on DSO’s contributions to national security beyond military applications.

• Incorporated Singapore’s iconic red into the theme, resonating with key moments in the nation’s history.

Chapter 4: Towards the Next Frontier

• Showcased advanced technologies through a dark, cyber-inspired aesthetic.

• Designed interactive stories to highlight innovations in defence science.

Chapter 5: Strengthening Our Network & Partnerships

• Used a hive design concept to represent collaborative partnerships.

• Included testimonials and a photo gallery of strategic milestones.

Chapter 6: The DSO Spirit

• Highlighted core values: People, Passion, and Innovation.

• Created scrapbook-like visuals with playful colors and illustrations, celebrating individual team stories.

Phase 4: Building for Scale

With 140 unique pages, scalability and performance were critical. The site’s architecture ensured that each page was optimized for engagement, loading speed, and accessibility.

Final Phase: Development and Rigorous Testing

During the development phase, we worked closely with our in-house developers to bring the designs to life, ensuring all interactive features and multimedia elements functioned smoothly. Rigorous testing was conducted to verify:

• Cross-browser compatibility and responsive design.

• Page load speed and accessibility standards.

• Seamless navigation and consistent transitions across chapters.
  User acceptance testing (UAT) further refined the experience before the final launch.

Impact

The DSO 50th Anniversary website was launched at the Golden Jubilee dinner on October 14, 2022, earning praise from stakeholders and the public.

• High-Level Recognition: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attended the event and promoted the website on social media, garnering over 1,500 interactions.

• Media Coverage: Featured in The Straits Times, which has a combined readership of 1.9 million.

• Visitor Engagement:

  • Over 20,000 views and 3,044 unique visitors within the first week.

  • Average engagement time of 4 minutes and 39 seconds per visitor.

  • 11% of visitors came from overseas, highlighting the website's international reach.

This remains the largest website ever developed by Bonsey Jaden, showcasing a successful blend of storytelling, design, and technical excellence.