Post on 11-Apr-2023
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Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 4 AUGUST 2016, 1900 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
First DesignSingapore Scholar to pursue a double masters in Design and Design Strategy
Nurturing a pipeline of multi-disciplinary and industry-ready design talent for next 10 years of Singapore design development
Singapore, 4 August 2016 – The DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) welcomed a new cohort of
three scholars that are primed to be design leaders. For the first time, DesignSingapore Council
has awarded the scholarship to a recipient who will be pursuing a double master degree
programme. Ms Joyce Lu will be taking up the Master of Fine Arts in Design and Master of
Business Administration in Design Strategy at the California College of the Arts in USA, where
she will learn about creating innovative products, services and design policies, as well as helping
organisations develop new business models.
The scholars received their scholarship awards from Mr Robert M Tomlin, Chairman of the
DesignSingapore Council today at the National Design Centre. “In line with the recommendations
of the Design 2025 masterplan, the DesignSingapore Council is looking into developing a pipeline
of multi-disciplinary and industry-ready design talent for Singapore’s next lap of growth. These
design talents who are equipped with competencies in emerging multi-disciplinary skillsets such
as information design and design management, will contribute to making Singapore an innovation-
driven economy and loveable city,” said Mr Tomlin.
The other two scholars are Ms Lim Qi Xuan and Ms Judea Cheong. Ms Lim will be reading the
Master of Arts (Information Design) at the Design Academy Eindhoven in Netherlands and Ms
Judea Cheong will be embarking on the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Design Management and
Cultures programme at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, in
UK.
With the aim of developing Singapore into Asia’s leading hub for design excellence, the
DesignSingapore Scholarship has attracted many promising young designers to pursue a holistic
education to fuel their design aspirations. A total of 51 DesignSingapore scholarships, including
this year’s recipients, have been awarded since 2005.
The scholarship is also aligned with the Council’s strategy to build capabilities in specialised
design fields such as Design Management and Digital Design to meet Singapore’s growing
demand for product, service and process innovation by the service sectors. Please refer to Annex
A for the profiles of 2016 DesignSingapore Scholars and Annex B for the factsheet on the
DesignSingapore Scholarship.
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ISSUED BY
DESIGNSINGAPORE COUNCIL,
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
4 AUGUST 2016
▶ Media Contacts
Carol Lum
Frances Kong
Corporate Communication &
International Relations
Corporate Communication &
International Relations
DesignSingapore Council DesignSingapore Council
carol_lum@mci.gov.sg frances_kong@mci.gov.sg
D +65 6837 9343 D +65 6837 9314
About the DesignSingapore Council
The vision of the DesignSingapore Council is for design to differentiate Singapore from global
competition. As the national agency for design, the Council’s mission is to develop the design
sector, and to help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, as well as to make life better.
The DesignSingapore Council is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information.
The National Design Centre supports the DesignSingapore Council’s efforts to enhance the
vibrancy of the design ecosystem as well as catalyse industry collaborations and business
opportunities for innovation and growth.
Singapore was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design in December 2015. This
designation will support the development of a creative culture and eco-system in Singapore that
fully integrates design and creativity into everyday life. It also enables Singapore to collaborate
internationally with the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The City of Design
Office will be sited within the DesignSingapore Council to coordinate and implement programmes
that contribute towards the UCCN mission.
Further information about the DesignSingapore Council, the National Design Centre and
Singapore’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Design is available at
www.designsingapore.org
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About the DesignSingapore Scholarship
Introduced in 2005, the DesignSingapore Scholarship aims to groom talented individuals who
have the creativity, drive and passion for design to be leaders in their field of training and develop
Singapore into Asia's leading hub for design excellence.
The scholarship is open to students and industry professionals who wish to pursue full-time
undergraduate and postgraduate design degree courses at reputable local or overseas institutions.
From 2014, design studies in Digital Design, Service Design/Experience Design and Design
Management are preferred. This is to align with the DesignSingapore Council’s strategy to build
capabilities in Service Innovation and Digital Design to meet the growing demand for product,
service and process innovation by the service sectors.
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Media Release | Annex A PROFILE OF 2016 DESIGNSINGAPORE COUNCIL SCHOLARS
1 Lu Ruizhi Joyce (卢瑞芷) Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Design and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Design Strategy California College of the Arts
Joyce Lu Ruizhi is passionate about translating insights into solutions. As a User Experience (UX)
Lead for Dell Projectors, she collaborates with technologists to design communication and creation
learning tools used in both classrooms and meeting rooms. She joined the team at Dell Singapore
since 2010 and was also credited as one of the designers of the Dell All-in-One Desktop PC Family
design project which received the President’s Design Award Design of the Year in 2012. She also
volunteered her UX expertise for SingaPlural 2016.
Through this dual-masters programme, Joyce hopes to gain deeper analytical skills in design and
strategy and to bridge the gap between technology and operations.
Joyce is a graduate from the Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with a
specialisation in innovative design and a minor in business.
Joyce’s selected works
Dell AIO PC Family - User insight research and design validation led the creation of the new Dell AIO,
launched in 2012. The new AIOs were designed to enhance productivity with a focus on saving space and
creating a clutter-free work station ideal for the home and office. Joyce worked with the Insights and Design
leads, supporting the customer research, design validation and usability evaluation on the project from the
conceptualisation to launch.
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The Dell Interactive Projector S520 – launched in Jan 2014, is a projector which allows users to interact
with the projected image using a stylus or touch. It caters to schools and corporations seeking to utilise
personal devices and shared display together. Joyce led the UX efforts by improving the setup experience,
aligning the user interface to Dell’s standards and optimising touch performance.
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2 Lim Qi Xuan (林琪璇) Master of Arts (Information Design) Design Academy Eindhoven
Lim Qi Xuan is an artist and graphic designer who goes by the moniker, Qimmyshimmy. She
graduated from the School of Art, Design and Media, at Nanyang Technological University,
majoring in Visual Communications in 2014.
She will be embarking on an Information Design programme which is framed by three modules in
the curriculum structure – technology, critical reflection and communication. Qi Xuan wants to be
able to design seamless customer experiences supporting an organisation’s strategy across
multiple digital platforms through the skills garnered in the Information Design programme.
The Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medallist and Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award winner has also worked
on commissioned design projects with big brands such as Uniqlo, Blackberry and Dulux and often
engages in editorial design, digital publishing and various other projects. She claims that her
aesthetic sensibilities have been shaped by her love for fantasy, time travel and imagination.
As for the unique sculptures she makes, the freelance art director says she has always been
interested in "hybrid creatures and the tactility of flesh", leading to her experimentation with
materials such as paper, resin and paint. She enjoyed playing with model clay as a child but
serious interest only began when she joined The Apprenticeship Programme organised by Noise
Singapore in 2013.
Qi Xuan has exhibited her works at several exhibitions, including the ArtScience Museum's
Sunday Showcase in 2014, the Kult Gallery last year and at the Mulan Gallery in April.
Qi Xuan’s selected works
The Anatomy of Wonder – This is a project that fuses art and science, fact and fantasy by looking at bio-
art and possible scenarios of future evolutionary humans and animals. It consists of a series of maps
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speculating the future of genetic engineering and the world we live in. This is Qi Xuan’s year-long final year
project which was showcased at the ArtScience Museum and the NOISE Singapore Showcase.
OH! Joo Chiat and OH! Potong Pasir – OH! Open House is a non-profit arts organisation that aims to
challenge redefine and elevate how people experience art, heritage and community. It creates art, discourse
and memory, promoting links between diverse communities within the cultural and physical geography of
our neighbourhoods. Besides working on the rebranding of OH! Open House, Qi Xuan also designed the
brand identity of OH! Joo Chiat and OH! Potong Pasir.
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3 Cheong Xiao Si Judea (张晓思)
Bachelor of Arts in Design Management & Cultures London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, London, UK
Judea Cheong Xiao Si has always been curious since young – fascinated by how the colours of
traffic lights brought order to the roads and how the pedestrians’ steps tend to follow the lines of
a pavement. It was then she knew she wanted to learn how shapes and colours can influence
reactions.
This endeavour reinforced her belief in the importance of transdisciplinary design and she was
drawn to the design syllabus at the London College of Communication, which offered her a cross-
cultural learning experience and an exposure in social and sustainable design.
The Temasek Polytechnic Visual Communication graduate pursued a graphic design internship
at Rohei upon graduation, designing their collaterals and branding their video productions. Judea
also expanded her portfolio with experience in photography and developed the Design District
Mobile App at the Red Dot Design Museum.
Judea’s selected works
Design District Mobile App - The Design District Mobile App is a self-touring walking guide that directs
users to fascinating places of interest in the city including the “must go” creative attractions that are within
3km of the iconic Red Dot Design Museum. Judea contributed in the design management, branding,
iconography and design research in the project.
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The Blue Effect – This event observes the international Peace Day, an annual occasion which aims to
promote global unity. Judea designed an integrated campaign and the user experience for youth in
Singapore to relate to and celebrate this commemorative event.
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Media Release | Annex B ABOUT DESIGNSINGAPORE SCHOLARSHIP
Introduced in 2005, the DesignSingapore Scholarship aims to groom talented individuals who
have the creativity, drive and passion for design to be leaders in their field of training and develop
Singapore into Asia's leading hub for design excellence.
The scholarship is open to students and industry professionals who wish to pursue full-time
undergraduate and postgraduate design degree courses at reputable local or overseas institutions.
Since 2014, the DesignSingapore Council has included Digital Design, Service Design/Experience
Design and Design Management as the preferred fields of study. This is to align with the
DesignSingapore Council’s strategy to build capabilities in Service Innovation and Digital Design
to meet the growing demand for product, service and process innovation by the service sectors.
DesignSingapore Overseas Scholarship
The Overseas Scholarship covers full tuition fees for the entire course of study. Recipients will be
designated as DesignSingapore Associates upon the acceptance of the scholarship. The
scholarship comes with a two-year service commitment to Singapore. Upon completing their
studies, the recipients are required to work in Singapore in their field of design training for two
years, within three years of graduation. In addition, as DesignSingapore Associates, the recipients
will be required to contribute to projects undertaken by the DesignSingapore Council. The
Associateship will expire upon the fulfilment of the two-year service commitment.
Including this year’s three recipients, a total of 48 Overseas Scholarships have been awarded
since 2005.
DesignSingapore Local Scholarship
The Local Scholarship covers full tuition fees for the entire course of study. Recipients will be
designated as DesignSingapore Associates upon the acceptance of the scholarship. Recipients
will be required to contribute to projects undertaken by the DesignSingapore Council. The
Associateship will expire one year after the recipient graduates. There is no service commitment
attached to the Local Scholarship.
So far, three Local Scholarships have been awarded since 2005.