Bryan Chang is a designer and artist working at the intersection of graphic design, scenography, and media art. His practice spans visual identity, print and digital design, lighting and multimedia design, and photography. His work in theatre and dance has received multiple arts award nominations. Bryan is also a co-founder of Sans Collective, an interdisciplinary group creating work for performance and exhibition. He is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Double Punctum
Pentas Project2024
The visual identity drew inspiration from the topography and spatial relationships captured in the photographs and mirrored through choreography. Roland Barthes’ concept of punctum—a detail that pierces or disrupts the viewer’s experience—also shaped both the performance and its visual approach.
Notes from the Fringes vol.1
Sans Collective2024
In its design, the publication expands upon the visual and typographic language established in both the EP and the performance, maintaining a sense of continuity while allowing space for introspection and resonance.
76 pages, 148x210mm
Icon Classic Natural 100 gsm
GSK Transparent 160 gsm
Printed by mossPrints
Dari Pinggiran EP
Projection Design Studio Bayangan, Sans Collective 2024
The existential and emotional textures of the songs, along with Bryan’s observations at the abandoned school, informed the art direction—a visual and typographic language designed to evoke a sense of solitude, yearning, and quiet turmoil, reflecting the introspective tone of the music.
Performance photos by Celcea Tifani.
Walk The Doc Festival 2023
Building upon the visual identity of Walkabout Asia and the inaugural festival’s key visuals, the 2023 iteration adopted a more vibrant and dynamic direction. Abstract visual elements were arranged into mosaic-like compositions—symbolising the rich diversity of stories, voices, and perspectives from around the world.
Photos courtesy of Walkabout Asia.
Dari Pinggiran vol. 1
Dari Pinggiran is an ongoing project series by Sans Collective that investigates abandoned sites, stalled developments, forgotten monuments, and collective memory in Malaysia. Using mixed-media art and performance, the series acts as both a mode of documentation and an embodied response to the often-overlooked spirit of place. It asks: Why do these abandoned spaces exist? What has become of them? What could they still become? What realities—and fantasies—do they hold?
This first chapter of the project was co-created by Syamsul Azhar, Bryan Chang, Ali Alasri, Dhavinder Singh, Fikri Fadzil, and Meshalini Muniandy, with the support of the Krishen Jit Fund 2021. It has since led to several offshoots: Bayangan’s 2024 EP Dari Pinggiran, and the companion book Notes from the Fringes vol. 1.
Photos by Bryan Chang, Samira Syamsul (site visitors), Leysha Al-yahya (group pic).
Excerpt of the Physical Site Visit (YouTube)
a listening body
Scenography (Lighting Design, Multimedia Design)
January Low 2023
The overall art direction embraced a minimalist approach, aligning with the performance’s quiet intimacy. This sensibility extended into the graphic design, which drew from Odissi’s fundamental components and variations, as well as fragments from the email exchanges that shaped the mentorship. The contemporary typeface Quiche was chosen for its grace and contrast—echoing January’s movement: fluid yet grounded.
Performance photos by Vinoth Raj Pillai (1 – 2), Low Pey Sien (3 – 8)
Best Choreographer in a Feature Length Work—January Low
Best Multimedia Design—Bryan Chang
Every Thought I’ve Ever Had—
There is suffering there, too Exhibition
Presented as part of the exhibition 『そこにも、苦がある。』 (There is suffering there, too) at the Meguro Museum of Art in Tokyo, it also reimagines an earlier work of the same title from 2022.
The work consisted of two 15-minute videos displayed on TV screens opposite each other. One video featured a close-up of a person’s eyes as they silently navigated their thoughts and emotions. The other presented a montage of clips from various media sources, including film excerpts with dialogue referencing eyes or themes of seeing. Positioned between the two screens, the viewer is compelled to choose which video to focus on and which to ignore—raising the question: how does one choose, and why? And ultimately, how much—and what—does one truly see?
Photos courtesy of Zhang Yangyu (curator).
Every Thought I’ve Ever Had: Contemplating the Origin of the Sun
Scenography (Lighting Design, Multimedia Design), Performer Tung Jit Yang, The Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur 2022
The initial idea—to explore the stream of thought—gained focus after encountering Hurlburt’s work on pristine inner experiences. Over a period of time, Bryan would call either Jit or Arief at random, prompting them to speak about whatever was on their mind just before the call. These pre-recorded video calls were later played back during the performance, with Jit and Arief taking turns to interrogate and dissect the mental moment captured.
With bare, deliberate staging, the lighting design took inspiration from articles about inner experience and inner speech. The graphic design followed suit—minimal, with the key visual element illustrating the ephemeral nature of consciousness and thought.
Performance photos by Lim Su-Ann (1 – 4), Bryan Chang (5).
Article on inner speech (BBC)
Article on inner experience (Psychology Today)
Hubs For Good Toolkit
Available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, the toolkit serves as a beginner’s guide to creative hubs within the Malaysian context. It features a unique set of 7 worksheets and 11 resource types designed to support hub management and project planning.
The layout and design built upon an existing visual identity, expanding and adapting it to clearly and concisely communicate the findings and framework developed through Ali’s research and analysis.
bahasa Malaysia (British Council Malaysia)
Matahari Jangan Tidure, Nanti Hilang Belang
Scenography (Lighting Design, Projection Design) Arief Hamizan, Theatresauce 2019
The scenic design visualised a minimal void—a fragmented world suspended in limbo—infused with moments of surrealism, longing, and beauty. MJTNHB marked one of Bryan’s earliest scenography works and his first outside of the collective.
The graphic design drew inspiration from the titular cataclysmic event and the fractured stories and characters it unleashed. The text-centric devising process informed the choice of Infini, a typeface inspired by epigraphy and created by Sandrine Nugue as part of a public commission by the Centre national des arts plastiques.
Performance photos by Bryan Chang.