Exploring Complex Concepts
The Design Landscape Framework for Product Design Education in Singapore: A Blueprint for Developing Skills, Mindsets, and Creative Excellence
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ameer Alrasyeed Ramdan
In Singapore, where design is seen as both creative and pragmatic, multicultural yet modern, collaborative and future-thinking, it has become a key driver for business performance and value creation. Design education in Singapore is deeply intertwined with industry and technological advancements, requiring learning environments that foster structured innovation alongside open-ended creativity. This paper explores the Design Landscape Framework as a foundational approach to developing learning environments for product design education, focusing on how it fosters knowledge, skills, and attributes essential for designers to thrive in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world. The framework encompasses four key areas: (i) the designer’s state of mind, (ii) design cognitive processes, (iii) the product and systems design processes, and (iv) the design environment. This comprehensive model prepares students to apply design thinking not only in traditional design roles but across diverse sectors such as healthcare, technology, and business. The paper also emphasises the integration of curriculum and non-curriculum programmes, recognising that both are vital to nurturing students with relevant attributes needed to succeed in today’s innovation-driven global landscape.
Teaching Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rachna Johri, Marta Alexandra Godinho Miguel
This paper examines the complexities of sustainability education, influenced by diverse cultural, social, and educational backgrounds. These differences challenge educators, especially when ethical considerations do not resonate equally across groups. To teach sustainability effectively, educators must reflect on their biases and assumptions. Through this process, educators can foster self-awareness and incorporate inclusive teaching methods, to facilitate meaningful, student-centred discussions. By actively reflecting on their biases and assumptions, educators can create a learning environment responsive to the varied experiences and perspectives of all participants.
Innovation and Creativity of Sustainable Interior-Product Design : Bridging The Gap of Design Theory and Industrial Practice Contextual in Indonesia
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yusita Kusumarini
Circular economy has great potential to be developed in Indonesia. Designers have a significant role, especially in the development of innovation and creativity. The gap between design theory and practice in the industry is a problem in optimizing sustainable design learning. A collaborative project between design learning classes and industry is proposed to be implemented to bridge the gap while achieving the goal of developing a circular economy. The problems targeted to be solved in the collaborative project are innovation, creativity, and evaluation in the design and production process of sustainable furniture and home décor. The industry that is a partner in design learning is a producer that has a problem of waste material in its production process. The collaborative project responds to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), especially goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Design thinking is used as a method in the learning process through collaborative projects with industry. The stages used are understand, ideate, prototype, and test. The development of sustainable-products that will be carried out is also oriented towards innovation that considers 3 main aspects: feasibility, viability, and desirability. The expected implication of the collaborative project is the generation of innovative ideas for the utilization of industrial waste from the main business production process into sustainable-products with added value in the circular economy. The benefits for students are gaining experience in solving real problems in the industry, and producing innovation and creativity that are appropriate to the context of the problem.
