Fleming Siow Yi and the Total Defence logo he designed. (Photos: Aqil Haziq Mahmud, Nexus)

SINGAPORE: You would have seen it at least once a year in primary and secondary school and it would have likely been etched into your memory.

The Total Defence logo, designed to resemble a hand with five red arrows representing the five pillars of Total Defence, has remained unchanged since 1985. With the addition of digital defence as a sixth pillar this year, the time is right for a revamp.

And a 16-year-old student has emerged as the youngest among 10 designers vying to get the most votes in a competition to redesign the logo.

Fleming Siow Yi, who recently sat for his O-Levels, told CNA that he decided to join the competition after being inspired by the sacrifices made by Singapore's forefathers to build the country into what it is today.

"It’s a way to show that the newer generation is capable of continuing what our forefathers did," he said of how he wanted to play a small part by joining the competition.

READ: Digital Defence pillar added to Singapore's Total Defence framework to strengthen cybersecurity

But Fleming did not always appreciate Singapore's struggles growing up.