Products for a better tomorrow

WHETHER we like it or not, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live. Wearing a mask is now second nature, we no longer need reminders to wash our hands frequently, and talking about mental health is no longer taboo but necessary.

At the ongoing exhibition, Visions of the Future, eight local designers imagine future trends in the wake of the pandemic. Their ideas are showcased in a collection of seven objects that touch upon topics that matter now - such as health and hygiene, sustainability and wellbeing.

"The projects help us to imagine life in the new normal through the lens of design, whether it's protecting our wellbeing from our unconscious behaviours to coping with isolation; or from repairing cultures that subvert the use-and-throw consumers' mindset to rethinking production systems through processes and materials," says Wendy Chua, co-founder of multi-disciplinary design practice Forest & Whale. Ms Chua, together with partner Gustavo Maggio, mentored the eight designers.