Event Recap
Creatives Danielle Ng (Making Meaning), Berny Tan (Tape Measures) and Judea Faith Cheong and Azelia Ng (Field Work) came together to share about their respective projects that were born during the pandemic, with the focus of bringing the community together amongst the uncertainties of 2020.
Here are some key highlights of what was discussed during the session on 12 November 2020, as well as responses to Q&A questions we did not manage to address live:
Key Learning Points
Danielle: For the wider society to truly appreciate design, it has to begin with creatives valuing our own skills, and approaching design work with that same attitude. I hope that as an industry we can make design a career that is valuable, healthy and meaningful.
Berny: @tape_measures serves as a visual record of these vernacular graphic interventions, but what it is also documenting is how people adapt and respond to safe distancing measures in diverse ways, depending on their individual resources and approaches to problem solving, and of course their personal preferences. It is exactly these subjectivities that shift how we’ve interacted with our everyday environments, as well as challenge what we mean when we talk about what ‘(good) design’ is, who can design, and what design in public spaces needs to achieve.
Unanswered Q&A Questions
Should designers/artists in Singapore more proactively try to dissect and understand the drivers of culture in our social mindscape?
Berny: Designers and artists do possess that awareness, and I would argue that they would not be designers and artists if they didn’t. I think what needs to be understood is that our sensitivities are not the only factor that drives our ability to shape or drive culture, but just like anyone else, we are limited by our resources, finances, time, existing infrastructure, and audiences. These are real issues that cannot be overridden by creativity alone if we’re talking about enacting change on a societal level. What we can do as individuals is exactly what the participants in this talk have shown through their practices – by breaking things down into these micro-endeavours through which we can workshop and experiment. They are not any lesser for being smaller-scale projects, and sometimes it is the accumulation of such projects that can lead to real and effective cultural shifts.
Keen to find out more? Watch the recorded webinar below now!
Details
What do we do as designers when things aren’t going so well? The events of 2020 have hit us all in different ways, whether as organisations or individuals, and this panel explores the role of design in society through three projects which have come to life during this period.
Learn more about these inspiring projects which examine how we can still remain connected to the community while remaining physically apart as well as how they have adapted to changing challenges and needs.
Speakers:
- Danielle Ng, Founder, Making Meaning
- Berny Tan, Archivist, @tape_measures on Instagram
- Judea Faith Cheong and Azelia Ng, Creative facilitators, Fieldwork: Redhill
This event is co-presented by the DSG Associates Network and DesignSingapore Council, and supported by the National Design Centre.
This event is part of the National Design Centre’s “Next Gen” programme line-up for October – November 2020.
