O Design Office / Research / Case Study: Design & Made in Singapore

Case Study:
Design & Made in Singapore

Around mid-2020, we deliberated on two projects. The first project: Create a directory of manufacturing resources for Singaporean designers. The second project: Create a design label where Studio Juju will produce (anywhere in the world) and retail our own works. Both ideas were conceived at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, when footwork and meetings were restricted. Considering time and funds, we eventually converged the two projects into: Create a design label that is designed and made in Singapore. We started visiting makers and manufacturers, vendors and suppliers, to understand their capabilities in order to design with production in mind.

In bringing our vision to reality, we engaged a unique group of designers in Singapore, who each has a precise voice in their various practices. We are grateful to Hans Tan, Kim Choy, Nathan Yong, Wendy Chua, Gustavo Maggio, and Tiffany Loy for accepting our invitation to work on this project together. Their energy and talent have been key to the design process. For a designer is often thought of as a giver of form, but that is hardly just the case. Perhaps too much importance is attached to the final shape, that we tend to forget there are many qualities in an object. The formal appearance of an object may have been a visual representation of a process, an emotion, or a refreshing idea. It might have arrived as a new narrative, or another way to look at the obvious everyday, or a result of a thought-provoking research, or simply pure instincts. It may be this or that, and finally an object’s physicality time-stamps a moment and each moment has something for us to learn.

The makers onboard embody some of the industrial processes in Singapore. They are family-run factories, small workshops, and the independent artisans. These makers have pursued their craft with dedication, at the same time, developed their workshops progressively to explore new visions for their future. Authenticity is an important factor as we work with these collaborators, where they conduct themselves with integrity, creativity and consciousness for the society and environment. They have also displayed a will to pursue a ‘Design & Made in Singapore’ approach with us to uncover new possibilities.

Footwork

Our journey took us around our little island to connect with some of the people behind the country’s manufacturing capabilities. We were welcomed into their workshops, to hear their concerns, to learn their ways and debate new methods, and to share knowledge. We experienced the bustling activities happening in a ceramics production shophouse run by two industrious ladies, and we enjoyed the dynamic conversations we had with the lone tinsmith in his shophouse—a historical building type in Singapore with its distinctive five-footway architecture where craftsmen used to ply their crafts in the 1800s. A self-taught woodworker, who hand-made his wooden chairs, spoke eagerly with us about his tools and the beauty of the timber in his hand. An industrial design-trained workshop owner, who took over his father’s metal fabrication business, explained the precision of his metal works, while the machines roar in the background.

Landed terraced factories afford more space for some to experiment with a bigger variety of machines and techniques. One of them is a young metalsmith, encouraged by his father’s passion in the metal craft, created a mezzanine workshop within his father’s factory to pursue sculptural panel beating. We also worked closely with a glass factory to explore methods in slumping and fusing glass. The mother-daughter setup, supplies glassworks for architectural installation, shared their passion for artistic glass sculptures and how they re-equipped the factory to do finer glassworks.

We also visited the last functioning dragon kiln in Singapore. We did not collaborate this time but we learnt about its history as a production ‘workhorse’, and witnessed the back-breaking work to set up the 27-metre long brick kiln to fire hundreds of ceramics over 3 days, albeit it becoming an annual festive affair now compared to its hay days working round the clock. It was the reality here, though we discovered an interesting workshop that does glass-blowing of scientific lab wares and a 50-year old workshop that does plywood moulding of furniture parts, we did not work together yet, due to unrealistic high costs and unavailability of time.

Challenges

What might be straightforward as “design and make in Singapore”, is not straightforward at all. The typical manufacturers here do not need to acquire a full range of capabilities, because there are no demands for unique capabilities from the industries they are already serving. Streamlining workflow is paramount, because running costs are high, and manpower is always an issue in Singapore. Pragmatically, it is only sensible to focus on the substantial portion of their business. This outlook makes it less appealing for designers to approach makers or manufacturers in Singapore, and many produce their design elsewhere. This situation is a stumbling block for both parties to see value in forging new opportunities here.

We were lucky to have a selected group of makers and manufacturers who agreed to collaborate on this project. We learnt about a passionate young generation who seek new capabilities, and also an older generation who look upon their craft as part of a sunset industry. The working process is one that is (honestly), filled with uncertainties, failures and success, frustration and reconciliation. All of which, only possible to continue, if not with some sense of optimism. We applaud their efforts to experiment beyond what they usually do. Some of these outcomes found success, and as with most experimentation, there will be failures. Some of the projects are still work in progress. Through these collaborations, we recognise strengths to work with, and challenges to work around.

New Optimistic Works

We created New Optimistic Works as a label—a way to practise design as an optimistic endeavour to uncover possibilities and to foster new narratives in designing and making in our new world. Starting with “Case Study: Design & Made in Singapore”, we see the potential to explore unexplored possibilities in our production techniques to create contemporary designs. We imagine imbuing endearing qualities of craftsmanship into contemporary designs. And in earnest, we are optimistic about creating cultural possibilities and energy by bringing both makers and designers together. In doing so, we may begin to appreciate local authenticity, and to seek it as our ways of acquiring knowledge and experiencing our national cultures, and inevitably, finding our place in the world.

Objects bear meanings, beyond practical functionality or industrial processes of mass production, but also of cultures, emotions and origins. What does design and made in Singapore mean, at this moment?

To start, we like to quote the art and design critic Alice Rawsthorn, “And design needs to be both bolder and humbler. Designers should never be censured for ambition or courage, both of which will be required in abundance if they were to aim higher in terms of the scale and intensity of their work.” Perhaps in the quest of searching for our cultural or design identity, there is nothing wrong with being a state of becoming and a state of being at the same time lah.

Exhibition

The research project and the outcomes of the collaboration between designers and fabricators were presented in an exhibition at the National Design Centre, Singapore, from 15–29 August 2022. While the research has concluded, we will continue to collaborate with makers, fabricators, artists, and designers to develop ready-for-sale products made in Singapore. Stay tuned.

Read the full essay, interviews, and round table discussions.

Acknowledgements

Collaborators
A Thing of Sense
Baremetal
Chop Wah Hin Sheet Metal Works
Mud Rock Ceramics
Shibui Furniture Collective
Synergraphic Design
Wah Chye Engineering Work

Artists and Designers
Forest & Whale
Hans Tan
Kim Choy
Nathan Yong
Tiffany Loy
YT Tommy Lee
Studio Juju

NOW Identity
Abdul Basit Khan

Graphic Design
Gideon-Jamie

Exhibition Design
Gideon-Jamie
O Design Office

Interviews, Research and Writings
Justin Zhuang
O Design Office

Photography and Videography
Khoo Guo Jie

Support & Funding by
DesignSingapore Council
Good Design Research (GDR)

Research presented here was conducted under Studio Juju prior to the establishment of O Design Office. Future research will be conducted under O Design Office.

We welcome enquiries from individuals, companies, or organisations interested in future collaboration. Reach us at email@odesignoffice.com