A Quieter Kind of Connection

Designed with the Deaf community in mind, CHAGEE's first Signing Store in Singapore takes inclusivity to heart. We speak to Head of Design Phang Chin Ming about the thinking behind the space.

-  Leyna Poh

Opened in early May with a soft launch, this new café is unlike any other in the Asia Pacific. It's CHAGEE's first “Signing Store”, a flagship concept designed around the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, the Signing Store is staffed predominantly by Deaf baristas and thoughtfully designed to foster a new kind of awareness, inclusion, and connection.

For Phang Chin Ming, Head of Design at CHAGEE APAC, the design brief was never just about aesthetics. “This store had to speak,” he shares. “But in a way that doesn’t rely on sound.”

A Space That Listens Differently

Inspired by similar Signing Stores already operating in China, Chin Ming and his team dove into research before embarking on the Singapore concept. “One of the first things we learnt is that not everyone with hearing loss is fully Deaf. Many still have some level of hearing, which means overly noisy environments can be uncomfortable and distracting,” he explains.

That sparked a design direction grounded in acoustic sensitivity. Every surface within the café is wrapped in cork sheets, an understated but impactful material choice that absorbs noise and softens the overall acoustic environment. “It's a small change that makes a huge difference in concentration and comfort,” he adds.

In place of harsh echoes and loud chatter, the Signing Store offers a quiet calm—one that's intentional, inclusive, and surprisingly intimate.

Layered, Not Just in Design

Spatially, the design team introduced a key feature that has since become the heart of the store: step seats, or layered seating platforms. More than just an aesthetic element, these tiered benches serve multiple purposes.