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The DBCS Annual General Meeting 2019 was held at National Design Centre, Auditorium. We are pleased to introduce to you the newly elected board of DBCS Executive Committee 2019-2021! At the same time, we would like to thank the DBCS EXCO 2017-2019 for their contribution and efforts in driving the Chamber forward.

The SG Mark 2019 Winners Exhibition was held at National Design Centre on 25 March till 12 April 2019 where SG Mark winning projects were presented in their respective categories – Life, Industry, Social and Smart Design.

The SG Mark 2019 2nd screening panel of jurors comprises Mr Tai Lee Siang (BCA), Mr Jacks Yeo (Dsg), Ms Jacqueline Poh (PMO), Mr Lim Eyung (GovTec), Mr Suzuki Gen (JDP), Ms Lillian Shieh (J&J) and Prof Kuan Cheng-Neng.

The Singapore Design Awards (SDA) celebrated its 30th Anniversary at the newly opened Design Orchard on 14 March 2019. The celebration was specially planned to coincide with the yearly Singapore Design Week (SDW) for greater synergy and to bring the design community together. The Guest of Honour for the Award Ceremony was Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Information & the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth – Ms Sim Ann. She is also the Patron of DBCS (since 2018). Finalists and awards winners of SDA 2018/2019 were presented with certificates and plaques, respectively at the celebration. There were three categories: Students (individual & Group), Professionals (Individual) and Corporates. Submissions were segregated into four disciplines namely Image-making, Object-making, Place-making and Multidisciplinary. The panel of jurors was made up of esteemed local and international industry experts from the respective disciplines and they assessed all submissions through a preset of evaluation guidelines and information provided by the participants. The SDA was first conceived in 1988 and unveiled by then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, at the inaugural Singapore International Design Forum. Since then, the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) has been organising the SDA annually to acknowledge commendable designers, design students and design practices from across the world. The objective is to promote the strategic role of designers with Singapore at the heart of a dynamic Southeast Asia for the region and beyond. The SDA assembles a group of principal figures across the multifaceted fields of design to provide a platform for the design community to showcase the creativity and ingenuity in their work and to inspire the next generation of design leaders. The SDA is supported by the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg). Starting from 2018, the SDA will run once every two years, alternating with Dsg’s President’s Design Award (P*DA).

As part of our MOU with the Singapore Business Federation in May, our collaboration includes helping companies/entreprises to use Design Thinking and Innovation as a strategic leveller in business transformation. On 22 Jan 2019, we conducted our signature programme – ‘Design Kitchen’ – to the first group of SBF members in the service and lifestyle industries. We received a very good turn-out for the first workshop titled “Customer Journey Mapping”. We would have loved to accommodate those on the waitlist if space was not a constraint. On that note, DBCS will organise another workshop for those who were unable to attend the Design Kitchen yesterday. Look out for more info in the coming months!

Find out more about our Design Kitchen workshop on Facebook!

Valuable insights were gleaned from quantitative+qualitative research and co-creation sessions with our key stakeholders. The Roadmap is the foundation to our strategic direction on which our programmes and events are planned. 

Out of 83 Singapore Good Design (SG) Mark winners, there were 1 Platinum winner, 5 Gold Winners & 3 Special Mention winners. A new category of Smart Nation was incorporated, in line with the government’s initiative. SG Mark Winners’ Exhibitions were held at Raffles City and Changi Airport Terminal 4 to showcase the winning projects & products. 

Our AGM this year witnessed the successful change in our Constitution where we included a new category of membership – professionals and companies with an interest in design – to be more inclusive and to promote design thinking and innovation among the business community. 

The Awards Night & Gala Dinner in 2018 will go down in history for us in DBCS as we signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with 4 other Trade Associations & Chambers – Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS), Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) & Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF).

Design Perspectives + Golden Pin Salon. Design experts from Taiwan and Singapore shared their insights about their observations at the crossroads of culture design and brand, applying design thinking to culture thinking and the power of design.