Design impact the new focus of President's Design Award

DESIGNERS who submit their works for the President's Design Award (PDA) will now have to take an additional step of showing how their design has made an impact on society, businesses or the public sector, on top of the usual display of excellence in design craftsmanship.

The DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the organisers of the PDA, announced a new judging criteria for the award, which is Singapore's highest honour for designers and designs across all disciplines.

Agnes Kwek, executive director of Dsg, says that design is not about aesthetics, but a mindset and a problem-solving approach that has resulted in creative solutions to complex problems. "The most prestigious design award in Singapore must tell this narrative of the impact of design," she says.