https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2023/08/singapore-in-colour/ Skip to main content Log in * Manage account * Subscribe * Log out [PD-20] [PD-67] [DT-01] [PD-85] [PD-01] [MP-01] [PD-89] [PD-46] [PD-43] [PD-21] [CH-01] Singapore in Colour By ALEX LIM, CHARLENE CHUA AND ROMAN SVERDAN | Published: AUGUST 7, 2023 Even in Singapore's grey cityscape, vibrant colours can be found everywhere. Not just in its aesthetic alleyways, or its gorgeous gardens, but also in its heartland and MRT stations. The Straits Times' digital graphics team and photo desk teamed up to programmatically extract Singapore's hues from thousands of photos. When put together, these colours paint a vivid picture of the island -- a mosaic of neighbourhoods each with their own character and charm. The city as a whole has its own palette featuring surprising pops of colour, and we've highlighted some of our favourites. Lion Dance Red [PD-47] [PD-40] [PD-21] [PD-20] Outram Orange [PD-80] [PD-78] [PD-74] [PD-39] Golden Mile Yellow [PD-34] [PD-67] [PD-33] [PD-88] Garden City Green [CH-42] [PD-42] [PD-43] [PD-57] Marina Bay Blue [MP-01] [DT-01] [PD-46] [PD-41] Monsoon Grey Merlion White [PD-90] [PD-45] [DT-58] [PD-22] Singapore's colours clearly extend beyond the high-rise, monochrome expanse of steel, glass and cement. So, how did we find the colour for this analysis? [DT-48] [DT-48-C1] [DT-48-C2] [DT-48-C3] [DT-48-C4] [DT-48-C5] We took 2,000 photos from around the city, like this one from Downtown Core. From each photo, we extracted the most prominent five colours... ... and visualised each neighbourhood as pixels of colour. This is Downtown Core. In 10,000 colours, here is all of Singapore. You can find every colour of the rainbow, if you look. There's a fair bit of grey from buildings, streets and shadows. But also lush greens, sky blues, and bright pops of colour in everyday spaces from hawker centres to HDBs. Ultimately, every neighbourhood has a unique palette. Some neighbourhoods were more colourful than the others. Joo Chiat's pastel Peranakan houses brought personality to Geylang. In the heartlands, we found lots of red in Bishan. Some were expected. For example, the Central Water Catchment area -- home to the MacRitchie Reservoir -- was very green. Places near the coast like Bedok were more blue. [MP-14] [CC-07] [BD-49] From left to right: A colourful house in Marine Parade, MacRitchie Reservoir trail and a barge off the shore in Bedok. Our team took photos mostly on clear days. That's why you may notice more blues or greys in neighbourhoods based on the weather when shots were taken. And subject matter is subjective. Each area was assigned to a photographer with a simple brief: look for colour. Some may have leaned towards streets and HDBs while others may have fancied the flowers and neighbourhood cats to be found. So, go out with a camera, and you'll likely capture a different picture of Singapore's colours. But you'll find colour nonetheless. Explore each of the neighbourhoods below, based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's planning areas, to view their colours through our lenses. Click on a colour to view its source photo and filter images by their colour palette. Neighbourhood Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio Bukit Batok Bedok Bukit Merah Bukit Panjang Bishan Bukit Timah Central Water Catchment Changi Choa Chu Kang Clementi Downtown Core Geylang Hougang Jurong East Jurong West Kallang Lim Chu Kang Mandai Marine Parade Marina South Museum Newton Novena Orchard Outram Punggol Pasir Ris Queenstown Rochor River Valley Sembawang Sengkang Serangoon Southern Islands Sungei Kadut Seletar Singapore River Tampines Tanglin Toa Payoh Tuas Western Water Catchment Woodlands Yishun Image 1 Select a colour from the photo Ang Mo Kio's colours (Scroll down for more) Share this story * * * * * * Produced by: * Alex Lim * Charlene Chua * Stephanie Adeline * Joseph Ricafort * Roman Sverdan Photos by: Alex Lim, Ang Wei Lin, Ang Yi Zhe, Azmi Athni, Bhavya Rawat, Charlene Chua, Charlotte Tan, Chong Jun Liang, Claire Xu, Desmond Foo, Desmond Wee, Eka Purnamasari P, Gavin Foo, Gin Tay, Hannah Ong, Jason Quah, Jesslyn Wong, Joseph Ricafort, Joyce Fang, Kelvin Chng, Kevin Lim, Kua Chee Siong, Lau Hong Sheng, Lim Yaohui, Lim Zu Ning, Malcolm McLead, Mark Cheong, Neo Xiaobin, Nikita Pereira, Ng Sor Luan, Ong Wee Jin, Ryan Tan, Shintaro Tay, Stephanie Yeow, Vicent Koh, Wang Hui Fen, Young Zhan Heng and Zsigmond Poh Special credits: This project was built based on earlier work from Alexandra Khoo, Joseph Ricafort and Stephanie Adeline. It was part of the second workshop in the master's programme in visual tools to empower citizens, organised by Fundacio UdG and the ViT Foundation. Like to see more graphics? Here are some other original graphics you might enjoy. Or visit our graphics homepage. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright (c) 2023 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.