How businesses are making a holistic impact through design excellence

Nine outstanding local businesses were recognised with the Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) Awards for championing design excellence and innovation in health and wellness projects. Their efforts were lauded in a conferment ceremony held on 22 August 2024 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel organised by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS). 

DBCS has been the nation's leading multidisciplinary design chamber since 1985. Founded by a diverse group of 13 forward-thinking designers, the organisation was formerly known as Designers Association Singapore. It was renamed DBCS in 2012.

The DBCS's SG Mark Awards aims to set the benchmark for exceptional design quality impacting Singapore's businesses and communities and beyond. Good design has become a source of economic growth and productivity as organisations recognise the value of investing in excellent design principles, processes, and offerings.

This is part of their larger goal to impact businesses, improve the quality of life of different communities (individuals, corporations and countries) and influence culture. SG Mark will also educate consumers and end-users on the value of good design and encourage a higher standard of quality in production.

Unconventional Organisations Awarded For Excellence

Through conferring the SG Mark Award to various well-performing organisations, DBCS encourages organisations for designs to go beyond aesthetics and materialism, and their efforts have garnered praise from the international design community.

Senior Minister of State & National Development, Ms Sim Ann, unveiled the top nine winners and presented the award to the organisations that exemplified innovation beyond conventional design boundaries.

One award recipient was the Silver Lion Pride Troupe, which was awarded the highest accolade of Platinum for its imaginative design in modifying lion dance activities to improve comfort and control for ambulants and participants who use wheelchairs. This would also benefit Singapore's increasing ageing population.

In addition, two companies were awarded Gold awards, alongside six who received a Special Mention award, recognising their sustained commitment towards exceptional design quality that impacts businesses and communities in Singapore and beyond.

One of the companies that was awarded the Gold award is the Singapore Tourism Board's Re-Route Festival, which seeks to refocus visitors' attention from areas frequented by tourists to areas that are functional cores of the on-site Indian community, as well as strategies focusing on getting people to move that exposes them to the rich socio-cultural value on site.

Another company that received a Special Mention award was Neurowyzr, which pioneered early brain decline detection through its Digital Brain Function Screen (DBFS).

It generates instant medical reports for timely interventions and personalised care upon screening. It also democratises access to cognitive health assessment, improving accessibility to healthcare and reducing costs associated with severe brain decline in the long run.

Design Excellence on the Rise

This ceremony is part of a growing trend this year, where the arts and design industries are rising in Singapore through government funds and support.

A few years ago, the Dormitories Association Singapore Ltd. (DASL) commissioned the Agency, an award-winning human-centred design firm, to reimagine dormitories for migrant workers here, which uses radical and empathetic methodology to solve real-world problems with design.

Growth of the local design scene is also encouraged by the buzz surrounding New Bahru, Singapore's latest creative enclave nestled in River Valley that also houses Alma House, an 83-room serviced apartment complex designed by homegrown studio FARM and operated/managed by Project X, which has been transformed into a stylish yet nostalgic haven for travellers.

"This year, the SG Mark is celebrating the ingenuity of using design to solve creative tension — where dissonance leads to better outcomes," said Mr Hong Khai Seng, Vice-President of Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) and Chairman of Singapore Good Design (SG Mark).

Hong shared that balancing finer details with the big picture through long-term goals with short-term wins and stakeholder needs with design sensibilities can sometimes conflict. However, he also believes this could translate into creative pursuits of finding a solution, often leading to the finest design iteration.