Singapore Launches World’s First Index to Measure Design’s Economic Impact

• The Design Power Index (DPI), inaugurated at the World Design Business Forum 2025, charts how design fuels growth, innovation, and social progress worldwide.
• With four decades of championing ‘better business by design,’ DBCS now extends its model globally with the World Design Business Organisation (WDBO) set to be launched on 25th November 2025. 
• DPI anchored by prominent names like UOB, Razer, Banyan Tree, and Carousell who are on the inaugural index, the DPI sets a new global benchmark proving how design shapes economies across business, markets, technology, and society.
• Till date, the estimated market value of all the companies both private and public who accepted the nomination to be on this inaugural index has reached SGD$20 billion

SINGAPORE – 18 September, 2025 – The multi-disciplinary Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) and global creative change firm Consulus have today unveiled the world’s first longitudinal framework to quantify the economic and social impact of design. The Design Power Index (DPI), launched at the inaugural World Design Business Forum (WDBF), addresses a long-overlooked question: how do we measure design’s contribution to economic growth and social impact in business and society?  

In its first phase, the study benchmarks several prominent organisations in Singapore to reframe design from an aesthetic pursuit to a measurable driver of economic value. Developed under DBCS’s leadership, the DPI builds on the chamber’s decades-long mission to champion “better business by design,” extending its work from recognising excellence through the Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) to proving design’s role in shaping economies. The index is a longitudinal one and will be repeated yearly. 

“We live in an age where economies are being redrawn by AI, shifting trade flows, and climate change, and yet design still sits in the blind spot of most economic models,” said Chee Su Eing, Global Chairperson of the World Design Business Organisation (WDBO), the first global design body championing design as an economic strategy. “The DPI has been created to prove that design is not just decoration, but a driver of growth and long-term advantage, and we’re glad to see it all come alive at the forum here.” 

Themed “Flourishing by Design”, the forum convened participants including economists, business leaders, academics, and policymakers, to debate how design can be mobilised as a strategic tool for competitiveness in a volatile global economy. Sessions explored the intersection of design with trade, artificial intelligence, and sustainability, reflecting urgent issues shaping markets worldwide.

At the heart of the forum was the DPI’s analysis of design’s impact across four dimensions. Kingsmen Creatives, V3 Group and ONG&ONG exemplify the Business of Design, turning expertise into intellectual property that shapes skylines and experiences across the region. Homegrown brands like Hegen, Prism+, and Birds of Paradise demonstrate how distinctive design can create entirely new markets and global brand legacies to capture and change the Market of Design. The finesse in Technology of Design comes alive in companies like Razer and Carousell, where design transforms complexity into seamless platforms, whether for gaming communities or digital marketplaces. And with the Social Impact of Design, healthcare pioneers such as Dementia Singapore and Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI) prove how design can strengthen systems for the nation’s future.

“Every product, every service, no matter how small, has the potential to create ripples of social, ecological, and economic impact,” said Hong Khai Seng, President of DBCS. “We want to spotlight the early visionaries already practising this ethos, and invite others to consider what ‘flourishing by design’ could mean for them. This is not just about making better designs, but about designing for better lives, not for a few, but for everyone.”

The unveiling of the DPI comes at a moment when design’s impact is being studied, albeit in a fragmented way, with cross-border collaborations gaining significant momentum. Last year, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), which is also a DBCS Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) member, partnered with 12 global universities, from Parsons in the US to Tsinghua in China, to launch the world’s first Design Alliance, advancing design and AI in education. Initiatives such as the Shakti Design Residency in India, which pairs international designers with local ateliers, and the London Design Biennale 2025, showcasing installations from more than 20 countries, highlight how design has become a borderless language for innovation and exchange.

Against this backdrop, the DPI sits at the intersection of design and economics, not only capturing the value but also informing future investments, policies, and strategies for resilience and growth. Over the next three years, the study will add on other national indexes to include companies across Asia, Europe, and the United States, establishing a shared basis for evaluating design’s economic impact worldwide.

About Design Business Chamber Singapore

Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) is 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 Design Business Chamber Singapore in 2012.

As a dynamic community of business leaders, practitioners, and academia from diverse backgrounds, DBCS believes that a pluralistic design approach is key to gaining a competitive edge in today’s global market. As a champion of applying design in business, DBCS seeks to raise the standard of professional practices and create business opportunities through cross-collaborations in local and international contexts.

For more information, visit https://dbcsingapore.org/ 

About Consulus

Founded in Singapore in 2004, Consulus is a global creative change firm working with persons, organisations, and cities in their transfiguration toward an Economy of Communion. With a presence in 23 countries, Consulus believes that purpose and unity are essential to innovation and inclusive growth.

Consulus’ six practice areas: :

Consulus Capital – Consulus Capital facilitates strategic opportunities, guided by the principles of the Economy of Communion, to address global challenges in Food, Environment, Data, and Space.

Consulus Changemakers – Consulus changemakers facilitates a global network of changemaking organisations and individuals from companies, academia and non-profit who share in Consulus theory of change

Consulus Consulting – Practice areas in Business, Digitalisation, Place & Cities, Sustainability, and Impact Transformation

Consulus Press in partnership with LID Business Books of London – Books for changemaking

Creative Change Tools – Personal books and creative aids for changemaking

Creative Changemakers School – Leadership workshops and learning circles with global universities in Asia, Europe and the United States

For more information, visit: www.consulus.com

About the World Design Business Organisation (WDBO)

In a world increasingly shaped by trade wars and the rapid advancement of AI, a new understanding of the economics of design isn’t just relevant – it’s crucial for survival and evolution of the creative industry. DBCS has for 40 years experimented with being interdisciplinary at its core through fostering collaboration between designers, engineers, policymakers, and business leaders, creating a melting pot of diverse perspectives for common action. On 25th of November, during DBCS 40th anniversary gala dinner and in partnership with global impact investment and creative change firm, Consulus, DBCS will replicate this model and launch this global version of DBCS known as World Design Business Organisation which shall focus on the following 4 areas:

• World Economy of Design – Shape the economic value of design in world trade through measurable indexes, intellectual property benchmarks, financial models on the impact of design and the intersection of design with capital markets
• Design for Value – Shape the economic practice and social impact of design through aiming for global ranking in design education and preparing future designers for an Age of AI
• Business of Design Resiliency – Shape the economic valuation of design practices or companies that use design through business advisor, and setting up World Design and AI Institute.

Organising for Unity – Shape a global multi-disciplinary, and multi-stakeholder movement that can mutually bridge Asian and Western creative companies at a time of rising division. The inaugural World Design Business Forum is an example of this.

Media Contacts:

For Design Business Chamber Singapore: 

Yang Shirley
Email: shirley@dbcsingapore.org

For Consulus:

Quynh Anh Ly
Email: quynhanhly@consulus.com