Singaporeans now appreciate how good design can enhance life

May 25, 2006

I was delighted to read Soo Kwok Heng's letter 'No excuse for bad design in Immigration and Checkpoints Authority machines' (ST Online, May 22). There is finally some acknowledgement of the importance of design to our everyday lives.

Design and similar artistic disciplines are often relegated to an afterthought in the production process in Singapore. This could have something to do with our economic development in the early 1980s when we needed competent technicians for the electronics industry more than we needed designers. Singaporeans grew to regard design as an arty subject best left to dreamers.

That's a shame. Good creative design is in fact a practical tool for everyday life. One only has to stand in some ATM lobbies and witness how large spaces have become badly congested to understand how people suffer and become less efficient when design is treated as an afterthought in the development of a product or service.

Luckily, Singapore is developing a greater understanding of how good design can enhance our lives. Singapore companies like Immortal Design and Mandate Advertising International have shown that Singaporeans can be creative and apply good design to enhance value for their clients in Singapore and the region.

However, more can be done. Perhaps local design awards can be decided by popular vote. Or the local media could invite the public to suggest ways in which various goods, services and locations could be enhanced through better design in return for prizes.

These would be ways to help the public understand the value of creativity and design. Tang Li

Copyright: (C) Singapore Press Holdings Ltd: 2006