Initiated in 2005 by the DesignSingapore Council, the Singapore Design Festival is a biennial platform to promote design and the design industry in Singapore, create opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas, and enhance Singapore as a vibrant and creative international design city. At the same time, the festival provides a gateway to Asia's design community, and Asia to the world.
The second Singapore Design Festival, held from 28 November to 8 December 2007, saw a tremendous show of support from the local and international design community, as well as the public with 151 activities, 95 partners, 9 support partners and 780,088 participants. Of the 95 partners, 12 were international and 83 were local.
Championing a broad range of design disciplines, the Singapore Design Festival remains a key umbrella event for the industry. Contributions to the Festival programme were made by a diverse range of Singaporean and International partner organisations - from design businesses, trade associations, galleries, retailers, museums, government bodies, media organisations, to individual designers.
The Festival also brought partners and audiences with the widest possible range of interests together to explore design issues, do business, exchange ideas, and have fun. Events staged as part of the Festival ranged from major international presentations to Singaporean showcases to trade events, alongside award ceremonies, talks, workshops, product launches, open houses and designer parties.
Highlights of the 2007 Festival included:
? The 2nd President?s Design Award Ceremony and Exhibition as the opening event held on 27 Nov 2007 at the Esplanade
? ?Utterubbish?, a witty review of recycling, redemption and recourse, premiering as the Festival Feature Event ? saw close to 10,000 visitors
? The Festival hosted national presentations from Australia, Brazil, European Union, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom
? The broadcast of the 1st Design TV Forum ? a collaboration between DesignSingapore Council and Mediacorp Channel 5 ? featuring International Advisory Panel members, CEO of Urban Redevelopment and Director/DesignSingapore Council as panelists. President?s Design Award recipients and key members of the Singapore design fraternity were part of the audience.
The Festival aims to transform the design culture in Singapore and from around the world into an interactive and "live" presentation of the design process. All of this is made possible by the fact that Singapore is an increasingly emerging creative design hub with a dynamic pool of local and international design talents and design-led companies. As the city where diverse cultures converge and multi-national businesses gather to trade thoughts and commerce, the Singapore Design Festival is fast becoming recognised as a key event on the international design calendar.
Always a Better Way
The theme for the 2007 Festival: ''Always a Better Way''', was inspired by the essence of design-thinking: through design, design challenges itself to find a better solution or alternative. It is a mindset that encourages people to think, experiment and innovate in convergent and divergent ways, bringing about possibilities and opportunities with the constant strive for the best.
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