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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.