5 emerging designers to watch at Singapore Design Week

As Singapore Design Week returns, we can only be reminded of how design has always been central to the city's story. In the early years, the design scene in Singapore focused on functional urban planning and architecture influenced by British rule. Post-independence in 1965, design played a key role in nation-building, shaping public housing and infrastructure. By the 1990s, Singapore began to embrace more diverse creative disciplines, with design schools and government initiatives like the DesignSingapore Council fostering local talent. 

Fast forward to today, emerging designers are leading the charge to rethink how we live, work and engage with our environment. From public housing that redefined urban density to pioneering green architecture, design has always been part of the nation’s soul, but now it speaks with even more layers, textures and hues.

Organised by DesignSingapore Council, this year’s festival returns with the theme ‘People of Design’, in which over 80 events are shining the spotlight on how design can address urgent global issues and make a positive impact on society, including emerging tech, sustainability and ageing populations. The festival is running across its three districts – Bras Basah, Bugis, Marina Bay and Orchard – and the programme is split into Design Futures, Design Marketplace and Design Impact. 

As with any design week, there’s always too much to see and not enough time to plan your schedule. Below, Jody Teo, festival director of SDW 2024, highlights five emerging designers to keep an eye on this year, from Hans Tan’s experimental approach to repair culture to Claudia Poh, who’s creating a more inclusive fashion industry through garments for stroke patients and local Olympic Paralympians.

“Singapore design is defined by a universal attitude – the desire to always seek to make lives better using design,” says Jody. “As a UNESCO Creative City of Design, Singapore has always been driven to meet complex challenges and shape a better future through an indomitable spirit and innovative solutions.”

Hans Tan

Jody Teo: “Hans Tan is a four time recipient for the President*s Design Award, Singapore’s highest accolade for designers who have made a transformative impact in raising the quality of life, a ground-breaking achievement or enabling economic transformation. This year, Hans is in charge of the main festival commission at Singapore Design Week 2024 called People of Design Showcase Series. He brought more than 84 creatives, collaborators and co-curators together to highlight ordinary everyday activities such as eating, sleeping, commuting; using design to reframe, examine and interrogate our daily lives. 

Hans was also behind R for Repair, which exhibited at the London Victoria & Albert Museum in 2022. Through the process of mending objects, the exhibition encourages repair culture and illuminates how this can both preserve meaning and breathe new life into our possessions. This project evolved with the exhibition HEAL: Repair+ at 42 Waterloo Street, which forms part of Hans’ commission for SDW 2024.

In addition to being a designer, Hans is Associate Professor at the Division of Industrial Design, National University of Singapore. An educator and true champion of nurturing creativity in young minds, he most recently was the curator of the Design Education Summit in 2023 which aims to instil design thinking in schools and inspire fellow educators who work with children.” 

Nathan Yong

Jody Teo: “Nathan Yong is one of Singapore’s best-known industrial designers. He has collaborated with brands such as H&M, Design Within Reach, Herman Miller, Ligne Roset and Sancal. In particular, the Faces Table which he did for Sancal, is quintessentially Nathan – part sculpture, part everyday object. This was similarly expressed in his work, Bent Onyx, for the first edition of Future Impact at Milan Design Week 2023.

For Singapore Design Week this year, Nathan is the curator for Neufolk: Bridging Tradition and the Future of Design in the Marina Central Design District. The Design Pavilion at the heart of Neufolk designed by Nathan was inspired by the stilted kampung houses along Singapore’s coastline. It’s also sustainable and modular, which extends its use and lifespan beyond our 11-day festival.

Nathan’s influence has made a lasting impact on Singapore’s next generation of industrial designers. He is also an active educator in his position as Programme Leader at LASALLE College of the Arts.”

Forest & Whale

Jody Teo: “Forest & Whale is perhaps best described as design anthropologists. The multi-disciplinary studio, founded by husband and wife team, Gustavo Maggio and Wendy Chua, believe that design is a mediator between fields and agent of change. They develop products, solutions and experiences that deeply understand and explore cultures and behaviours.

This philosophy can be seen in their site-specific installation titled SLEEP at this year’s festival. By situating SLEEP within the boutique Naumi Hotel, set in the heart of the Singapore city centre, Forest & Whale examines sleep rituals and the narratives of individuals with different relationships to sleep.

Wendy Chua is also one of the curators for the sustainability segment in Singapore Design Week’s thought leadership event, the Design Futures Forum. She will delve into the plastic crisis and how microplastics have infiltrated every part of our living and urban environments.

Forest & Whale’s multi-disciplinary and research-driven approach has also shown how design could respond thoughtfully to social issues and climate-related risks.”

Gabriel Tan

Jody Teo: “As a designer based in Porto and Singapore, Gabriel Tan explores cultural intersections in tradition, craft and technology in fresh ways. This is clear in his piece, Good Gourd – Hybrid Basketry Lamps, which was produced for Future Impact 2, DesignSingapore Council’s showcase at Milan Design Week this year. It is great that festival-goers will get to see them as part of the Future Impact 2: Homecoming showcase when it returns for an extended showing for SDW 2024.

Crafted in collaboration with famed Spanish artisan Idoia Cuesta, Gabriel’s lamps fuses 3D printing technology with traditional hand-weaving techniques. They demonstrate how heritage and craftsmanship could be enhanced with the potential of digital fabrication. In addition, Gabriel has been commissioned by an international whisky brand to present a one-of-a-kind custom piece, part spatial installation and part furniture, that will be showcased at the Design Futures Forum. 

Gabriel’s dedication to craftsmanship and his boundary-pushing methods have also found him fans overseas. He most recently collaborated with Herman Miller, and is the youngest designer to join the B&B Italia roster, and that is really inspiring for furniture designers here.”

Claudia Poh

Jody Teo:  “Claudia Poh is the founder of Werable, an adaptive label driven by her vision to shape a kinder, more inclusive tomorrow. She represents the crop of young designers in Singapore who are making waves for their passionate stance and social innovations. 

Her foray into adaptive fashion began when she crafted a coat for a friend with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She has since worked with stroke patients as well as local Olympic Paralympians to create stylish garments that can be worn easily by those with mobility issues. Claudia has a relentless desire to design better for her audience to elevate the wearer’s sense of dignity and agency without compromising on style and comfort – so much so that the majority of Werable customers are able-bodied.

This year, Claudia will also be one of the youngest presenters to take to the stage at Design Futures Forum to share about how what we wear could empower greater self-care.”

Singapore Design Week is running from 26 September to 06 October 2024