Singapore’s big designs on design dominance
Internationally anticipated Design Week recently held its 5th instalment
Last month, Singapore held its fifth annual Design Week. An amalgamation of discussion panels, city and neighbourhood tours and numerous furniture and design exhibitions with over 90 programmes available across the city-state, the event is an affirmation of the country’s new dedication towards creativity as it aims to become a “thriving innovation-driven economy and a lovable city through design by 2025”, becoming the design hub of Asia and even the world.
“Innovation is the next frontier, whether technological or digital,” said Ernie Koh, executive director of marketing at Singaporean furniture brand Koda. Koh also served as chairman of the International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS), held as part of the design week.
“But innovation without design is like selling a computer without the case, or selling an iPhone with just the components. Part of innovation is design. So without that element, I think the technological and digital innovation will be limited.”
As a developing economy in the 1970s and 80s, Singapore was known best as a manufacturing hub. In the 90s, it become renowned for its banks and financial institutions. Now that they have a thriving, developed economy, Singapore is ready to take the next step.
“Ever since the 2000s onwards, you now realise we have two casino. The Sentosa experience is now very different. We’re a bit more playful now, and our environment has changed to reflect that, and I think design is a big part of this transition,” says Koh.
While most people would associate “design” with fashion or furniture, Koh says that the tenets of design thinking — the crafting and application of creative and/or innovative solutions to problems — can actually be applied to a wide array of disciplines and industries, from medicine and engineering to business. This line of thinking led to the establishment of the Design Singapore Council in 2003, a government agency with the aim of using design as a means of innovation.
“Before, most people would come to Singapore for two days and feel like they’d seen everything. Now they can easily spend five days exploring all we have to offer. You can go to the zoo, which is currently being transformed using the ‘design thinking’ method. We have Echo Park, we have Sentosa, Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands or even any of the off-the-beaten-path areas. Each is its own contained environment that can be explored for days. That’s the vision of the Singaporean government — to design an experience that others can’t replicate.”
Agnes Kweh, executive director of the Design Singapore Council (DSC), defines “design” more as a method of thinking, one that can be applied to problems in any industry.
“Instead of promoting the design sector per se — the vertical sectors like graphic or furniture design — now we’re looking at design as this horizontal process for innovation that’s really relevant to any industry,” says Kweh.
“It’s not just about what you wear, or the furniture in your house. It comes down to how your public services are designed, how you access government services through a well-designed website, how your experiences at the hospital are designed to allow you to care for your well-being. That kind of stuff is design and that’s actually very powerful.”
According to Kweh, many large companies around the world are placing significant emphasis on design. In fact, IBM is the company employing the most designers worldwide, with over 1,600. The company even shared their successes with adopting the design process at the Brainstorm Design Sessions, a series of panel discussions focused on the role of design in business.
“I think globally there has been a shift,” said the executive director, who will soon be serving as Singapore’s design ambassador in Milan.
“You will start seeing this when professional consulting companies like McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture start buying up design firms. That is a pretty powerful statement, as it starts to show that there is a lot of tangible value, even business value, in design. I think parents will start to watch out for that. If you’re a parent now, and want your child to work at McKinsey, you might want to start taking up design courses.
“We truly believe that the design mindset and creativity will become the most important skill-set our workforce will need in order to thrive. It’s not an issue of aesthetics; it’s an issue of survival.”