The Design Society held its inaugural Conference at the Drama Centre, National Library Building on Saturday, 23 January 2010. The guest of honour was Mr Jeffrey Ho Kiat, director of DesignSingapore Council, and in attendance were close to 600 registered members, guests and members of the creative industry and press.

The Forum featured 6 speakers and was opened by Lim Sau Hoong and Jay Phua of 10AM Communications, who spoke about design nuances in visual communication. They were followed by Lim Chong Jin of Temasek Polytechnic Design School, who explored different approaches to design practice and expression; and later by the four members of Phunk Studio who recounted their creative journey to becoming one of Singapore’s most celebrated art and design collectives. The highlight of the first Q&A session was a question on reconciling the value of design with clients’ expectations. The consensus was that client education could help in their appreciation for what good design could do for them. The Forum then adjourned for refreshments.

The Forum resumed at 3pm with a candid talk by Kelley Cheng of The [Press] Room on her 12 years in design and publishing. This was followed by Kun of Make Studio who shared the lessons learned from three projects that featured innovative user interfaces. The last speaker for the day was Theseus Chan of WORK Advertising and WERK magazine fame, who shared his views on finding ‘perfection in imperfection’. A second Q&A session saw spirited responses to questions on client relations, as well as the expectations and attitudes of young designers.

The Forum concluded at 7pm and attendees were ushered to the foyer for the launch of the 100 ICONS exhibition. Mr Jeffrey Ho Kiat once again did the honours by opening the exhibition. In attendance were a number of guests from the featured companies and organisations. Beginning with nominations from the Society’s Executive and Sub-Committee members, an eventual hundred marks and logos were selected based on their iconic values and social or historic significance. Wherever possible the original designer was credited and its evolution documented.

Since opening the exhibition, the Society has received much encouraging feedback from the public. Some have come forward with new information on icons, while others have shown interest in contributing to the on-going process of documentation and archival. We hope the success of this conference will draw more designers and members of the public to join the Society and take an active role in shaping the growth of design in Singapore.

View pictures here.