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  • DesignSingapore Council’s Good Design Research initiative builds on inaugural success with greater range of projects surfacing some of today’s most pressing challenges
Press Release

DesignSingapore Council’s Good Design Research initiative builds on inaugural success with greater range of projects surfacing some of today’s most pressing challenges

5 min read

Final 10 selected in second open call tackle a gamut of community, social and environmental issues

1. DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) announced today it will support 10 projects as part of its Good Design Research (GDR) initiative. They were picked from 38 eligible submissions to the GDR’s second open call (Oct 2020 – Nov 2020).

2. First launched in March 2020, the GDR initiative aims to propel Singapore designers and design enterprises to develop innovative and impactful work that tackles complex global and societal challenges, while enabling designers to develop unique value propositions and globally sought-after products and services. This emphasis on designing for positive impact can be seen in the 10 projects selected for GDR’s second open call. They hail from different design fields and address varied issues such as childhood and play, mental health and adaptivewear.

3. “We’re pleased that this second call for the Good Design Research initiative yielded greater diversity and range in terms of designers and scope of projects,” said Mark Wee, Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council. “While the seven bold projects selected for the first round last year were inspired by environmental and business sustainability as well as social cohesion and the future of work, the 10 designers and projects this time around are broader and multi-disciplinary. They demonstrate that Singaporean designers are actively thinking about the increasingly complex world we live in today, designing solutions for it while tackling topical issues we’re seeing both locally and globally. With the support of the initiative, these 10 projects will be boosted by in-depth research for more meaningful creations and impactful results.

4. The 10 projects picked by an evaluation panel chaired by Mr Wee cut across fields from fashion to construction. Similarly, they addressed a wide range of challenges that impact our everyday lives. These include rethinking children’s playgrounds in a digital world; fashioning clothes for the mobility-challenged; designing for seniors and assisted living; enhancing mental health at the workplace, and empowering youths in shaping their cities.

5. “Issues that might have previously attracted little interests are now being brought into the limelight to find brilliant solutions through the Good Design Research initiative. All 10 designers for this round identified key problems, demonstrated purpose and had roadmaps to solutions in their projects. It was great to see that they also hold an open mind about the research outcomes and were not fixated on pure outputs only,” said evaluation panel member and Executive Director, BuildSG, Building Construction Authority Tai Lee Siang.

6. Support from the GDR initiative will include funding of up to S$40,000 for each project for research and development until the proof of concept stage, for a maximum period of 12 months. Each project is also paired with an experienced mentor to guide the designer along his or her research. (See Annex A for project details, Annex B for details of evaluation members and mentors.)

7. “Our project is about the possibility of putting innovative, sustainable raw materials into the hands of our artisans — preserving heritage craft by weaving old and new into beautiful fabrics. I look forward to mining new knowledge through the prototyping process enabled by the GDR programme and I’m excited about how this can forge a new frontier in the sustainable textiles space,” said Ms Felicia Toh, co-founder of loungewear brand NOST, whose project is one of the 10 selected.

8. “Even in the face of the global pandemic, music and art are pushing new boundaries. With the rise of virtual events, a lot of digital experiences within the music and art spheres still fall short in replacing the engagement of physical formats. Good Design Research will enable us to capture the shifting user needs and key drivers shaping the next normal in music and art, while exploring a new value proposition using service design and transmedia storytelling.” says Mr Rizal Yatim, founder of design and research practice, Undercurrent.

9. After this successful second Open Call, a third will be launched on April 15. It will invite submissions for projects that look at: a) Systems and Processes b) Identity and Culture c) New Technologies.

More details on the Project can be found in Annex A.

More details on the Evaluation Members & Mentors can be found in Annex B.

Media contact

Serene Lim

DesignSingapore Council
Assistant Director
Communications

D +65 6962 2063

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VISIT
Singapore’s highest honour for designers and designs across all disciplines
One of Asia’s premier design festivals that champions design thought leadership
National Design Centre