Archive for the ‘singapore’ Category
[SDF GreenHouse Effect] – Exhibition in SDF
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Concurrent with the (somewhat) regular blog posts and tidbits scoured from web, I’d be doing a series of blog posts on some of the exhibitions and going through designs featured in the Singapore Design Festival(SDF) over the next few days. The first (only?) one that I will cover is the GreenHouse Effect, which is conceptualized by Orcadesign especially for the design festival.
[Disclosure: I am part of the team that conceptualized and designed for this exhibition. Which, helpfully, also affords me some 'behind-the-scenes' thoughts to the exhibits.]
It was clear from the start (about 3-4 months ago) that we wanted to do an exploration into green/sustainable design. This is a major (almost too overwhelming) topic in design recently, and very likely will continue to be so. The exploration for a more focused theme soon kicked off – and we reached an agreement of what we are not going for rather quickly. There are some prevalent ‘standards’ or approaches in ecodesign:
- Guilt: “If you do X, you’re destroying the Earth!”. Guilt is often a primary psychological emotion to exhort the consumers into alternative actions; this is often coupled with pictures of dilapidated landscape and/or cuddly animals, with the hope that the consumer would link ‘ungreen’ practices to the more invisible destruction caused. In many ways, these scare tactics would lose their effectiveness, especially as consumers become more jaded with overexposure.
- Statistics: “Every year, we spill X tonnes of Y into Earth; we cut down Z acres of forests just to …”. Statistics is yet another tool to back up – to argue (against the user) logically. Statistics may be quite illuminating when analyzing macrotrends – but they seldom connect intimately with the user.
- Sacrifices: “If we just reduce P per person, as a nation we would have saved Q…” – the argument in this is that if everyone does some green thing, the world can be saved. The person is thus persuaded to make some personal, noble sacrifices for the greater good of humanity. But sacrifices are what they are: sacrifices.
- Materials/Technology: “The new plastic in this product uses 30% less energy to produce, and does not emit toxic fumes to the air…these appliances uses 50% less electricity”. Important as it is, technological and material eco-innovations are seldom visible or directly appealing to the user. Often also, products stressed their ‘all-natural’ origins (e.g. no synthetic materials), leading consumers to assume that ‘natural=harmless’. This may or may not be the case – it really depends on how that natural resource is being managed and replenished.
- Recycle-bility: “It’s made to be recycled: you can take it apart so easily, and you can recycle all the parts!”. Many-a-times, recycle-bility is equated directly to being green. It’s simply not the case – recycling is just a small component of the whole picture of sustainability. It’s often exacerbated by the fact that ‘green-as-recyclebility’ often turns up in many frivolous products, as much to assuage guilt while encouraging consumption.
It’s not that the principles behind those trends are wrong – in fact, those are still important considerations and tools to sustainable living. However, they are admittedly tired – we’ve seen it over and over, while we are still nowhere in sight to being meaningfully greener. This was the question we set to ourselves: “what could green design be – beyond statistics, technology and sacrifices?”. Where and how could designers contribute? How can we more meaningfully connect with people through better (green) designs?
How do we create products that are appealing to the users not simply because they are green, but because they are inherently superior (and green too!)? If a greener product is better – whether in function, aesthetics or meaning – than the ‘non-green’ counterparts, there is simply no reason for the consumer to choose otherwise.
That was our idea in the GreenHouse Effect, which lead to the exhibition (photo below). In the next few days, I’d be posting the actual product concepts and approach, and how we’ve answered our probe (or not). If you want to see these concepts physically, they are still on show at the Utterubbish Exhibition (in Singapore) till Dec 16th.
Dandelion – Call for Entries at IDAsia
The Singapore Design Festival 2007 is coming right up at the end of this year from Nov-Dec 2007, and IDAsia.org is gearing up for an online exhibition showcasing design talents from Asia. Titled as ‘Dandelion’, it is a virtual exhibition that has the blessing of DesignSingapore as one of the official events in this festival.
It is pretty much targeted to designers who are interested to sell themselves or their products that this exhibition will be their means to an end. Therefore the big requirement is that product images must consist as either non-functioning and functioning prototypes or models. They can be anything, portfolio work, furniture, packaging or anything product related.
The internet is filled with beautifully rendered images that really are at the end of the day impossible to make or realise, often this becomes a circular discussion that goes back to the fact that the design is just not well resolved. Therefore we aim for this exhibition to only showcase fantastic designers that can not only dream but also make as well.
If you have it, go flaunt it! Much more details at IDAsia.
Anything | Whatever Drink
For those in Singapore, a mystery was revealed recently – the yellow stop advertisement panels with simple lines like “Anything can happen on May 18″ and “Get ready for Whatever at May 18″ were probably a little more literal than you’ve expected – they were a drum-up campaign for the introduction of these new can drinks – labeled of course as “Anything” and “Whatever”.
Taking the indecisive nature of some people to the fullest, these drinks might be the surprise return if you indeed answer “anything” when your friend ask what’d you like. The second surprise would be in the flavors of the drink – there are six flavors for each label – “Anything” consist the fizzy versions: cola, cola with lemon, root beer, etc. while “Whatever” are non-carbonated – e.g. ice lemon tea, chrysanthemum tea, apple tea etc. They have even purposely reduced the ingredients to non-descriptors like carbonated water, permitted flavor, fruit juice etc, so you’d have no chance of “cheating” the system than to have real random drink. (I wonder, maybe someone would go and analyze the serial numbers or something and decrypt it? Surely they must be different SKUs – but that is still rather extreme for just a can drink).
Most would see this as simply a marketing packaging, or perhaps even a passing fad that would not stand the test of market and time. That is too early to say – but as characteristics of such a gimmicky approach to beverage marketing, a hyped-up launch campaign is definitely crucial.
They took out some ads, some of which verging on the risque, e.g. the picture of a sexy woman accompanied by the line “I’m easy. I’ll take Whatever you give me”. There was a mild reaction (controversy?) to the campaign – some people think they are demeaning (which I’m fairly certain is the intention: you’d need all the publicity you can get, controversial or not – debates and letters to the newspaper forums would certainly fuel the curiosity and hype).
What they perhaps did not anticipate was a response of another kind to their ads. You see, they have lined cans around their posters (empty sealed cans). These cans were quickly vandalized – whether it be the bored teenager fiddling with it and opening the tabs, or from poor old women removing the aluminum cans for money. As a result, there were again concerns over the opened cans being a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes – eventually the company pulled the ads down prematurely.
[Anything.com.sg; Youtube promo video: Anything and Whatever]
Design your own Onitsuka Tiger
This is for those of you who’re into graphics and sneakers – and are in Singapore! Runner’s World is hosting a design competition for the Tiger -
DETAILS
- Shoes available at: StarThreeSixty – Wheelock Place #02-08; LeftFoot – Far East Plaza #03-98; Limited Edition Vault – The Heeren #03-12. Submission of customized shoes only at StarThreeSixty.
- Last day of submission 10th Feb 07.
- Shoes to be purchased at S$149. Full refund after submission of entries.
- Selected entries will be awarded an Onitsuka Tiger product hamper and in the running for the Top 3 prizes.
- Top 3 winners will be announced at event at zouk on Friday, 23rd Feb 07.
- Runner’s World Pte Ltd reserves all rights to the submitted entries.
- 1st Prize: $1000 + S$500 Onitsuka Vouchers; 2nd Prize – S$500 cash + S$300 Onitsuka Tiger Voucher; 3rd Prize – S$300 cash + S$200 Onitsuka Tiger Voucher.
This reminded me of a time when I was in Milan – there was a similar competition by Havaianas – to turn their trademark slippers into works of art. A group of us each took the blank white slippers, while concocting the things we can do to them. In the end, only one of us submitted though – procrastination got the better of us. Which is probably why Rule 3 exists.
Complaints Choir
You can’t get rich by working
And love doesn’t last forever
In the public sauna they never ask
If it’s ok to throw water on the stoveOld forests are cut down and turned into toilet paper
And still all the toilets are always out of paper
Why products on sale drive the people crazy?
In the middle of Helsinki they built another shopping hell
…
Finnish artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen collected the pet peeves and angst-ridden pleas of people in Helsinki, and then composed this choral work around the list of complaints. Birmingham has also chipped in with their very own Complaints Choir, and I could see no reason why Singapore should not chip in too.
Complaining is for the longest time the national past time: forum pages are often inundated with them; kopi-tiams see groups of uncles-and-aunties rattling on about jobs, the gahmen (Government) and bus fare prices; school kids complaint about homework; adults complain about working hours and their bosses etc.
There are so many good reasons to channel complaining into a song like this. Turning negativity and pessimism into a creative work of art dissipates the grunt – as you sing along about the pet peeves, they may become a little more tolerable, a little more bearable, and perhaps even, a little cuter.
The issues sang in the Complaints Choir are also very localized – only those who’re here can really know and identify with it. In Singapore’s version, maybe there could be: NKF, forgetting to tap-out on buses, about choosing HDB flats close to your kid’s primary school, GRCs, .. these are stuff that makes it Uniquely Singapore. As much as it is a daily gripe, it still gives a facet of life here – something that once you see it, you know you’re here.
I can imagine Finns all over the world nodding in agreement with the song, identifying with the complaints – “Oh yeah! I’m really irritated by that!”, and yet among all these emotions evoke a warm sense of nostalgia and identity, a love for Helsinki for all its quirks and particularities. And the same could happen for Singapore, especially given the trend of diaspora and global trodding.
So someone, make one already!
NTU Professor’s Feedback Survey
Nestled in a peaceful corner of Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University sets the stage for what I think might be the funniest feedback surveys for a professor. You just must watch it and enjoy the creative and funny responses that his past students wrote to him, obviously admiring his baldness and his moustache.
Just one example out of the many:
“Is your moustache the source of your wisdom? If so, please dont’ set such difficult questions, because most of us don’t have moustache.”
Man, wish I was there! And the professor is really cool too, winning numerous “Best Teaching” awards.
How to counter a protest?
Some posts back, I blogged about Singapore’s “guideline to protest”. In this post, we shall look at how the Singapore Police Force counter a protest led by Chee Soon Juan, a civil rights activist/opposition party leader. When I read on YawningBread that he was prevented from marching towards the IMF convention, I started wondering what exactly does he mean by “prevented”.
This is one of the most surreal pictures I’ve seen – whether in terms of its background context, or just the picture itself. So Dr. Chee & his supporters (total 4 of them – 5 would have been “illegal gathering) wanted to march to the international press, IMF delegates etc. And Singapore Government wouldn’t have that. How did they do it? By physivally forming a human ring around the protestors! How creative!
- Priceless Expression on Miss Chee: Check.
- Bored policewomen having to do surround-stand duty: Check.
- Officer looking stern and uncompromising supervising: Check.
- Symphathetic man holding up umbrella through the circle: Check.
- Police filming all these down for evidence: Check.
- Photographer to capture all these: Check.
Man, this sure is surreal.
More pictures here, and some personal accounts here and here.
A Guide: How should you protest in Singapore?
There has been much hoo-ha surrounding the IMF-World Bank Conference in Singapore lately. I’d think that nobody would actually really notice the conference going on if the Government hadn’t been particularly glaring and obnoxious in its publicity. Life seem to go on as per normal for everybody else – the “hype” surrounding the conference seems to be manufactured through the local media as opposed to being a reflection of ground sentiments. It began drumming up some months ago, progressing in tempo and intensity. While the event itself lasts only two weeks, the Government (with capital G) seems to think that this very conference will determine whether Singapore will perish or prosper, judging by the effort extended to create what they imagine to be a pleasing environment to the delegates.
So, flowers are hastily lined up along roads that are around the convention centre; Dali sculptures are imported and placed around town – hurry! They only last for the two weeks that the delegates are here; Giant collages of smiling faces were assembled along strategic routes to give a “warm” welcome to the delegates; Cab drivers were sent for courtesy and smiling courses – they’re compensated for the lost profit while learning how to smile; Fences are erected around the War Memorial Obelisk in City Hall, complete with barbed wire on top…etc. All these effort point towards a hypocrisy and phoney appearances.
And so, in the classic Singaporean style, outdoor protests are barred. In fact, even in the 8mx8m indoor protest arena, they handed out guidelines on what to protest. The absurdies of the do’s and dont’s are actually rather amusing if you put notions of a civil society on the backburner.
Some Do’s and Don’ts when using the designated area
Please observe these do’s and don’ts when using the designated area so as to ensure as little disruption as possible to other activities taking place in Suntec Singapore.
Do: Keep both your IMF/WB and designated area passes visible at all times.
Do: Keep the noise to an acceptable level. For this reason, sound amplification systems should not be used.
Do: Be appropriately attired at all times and respect the cultural sensitivities of all participants to the Annual Meetings.
Do: Keep all activities within the designated area
Do: Keep the designated area free of food or drinks.
Do: Avoid moving any of the barricades marking out the
designated area.
Don’t: Burn anything as part of the gathering.
Don’t: Display anything or behave in a manner that would:
a. Provoke a breach of the peace;
b. Cause alarm or distress;
c. Offend religious or racial/ethnic sensitivities; or
d. Be prejudicial to the security of Singapore.
Due to safety concerns for persons in Suntec Singapore, we will not allow certain items to be brought into Suntec Singapore. Such items include wooden and metal poles or wooden cut-outs. Upon request and subject to availability, substitute materials will be made available to hold up banners and placards.
TalkingCock in Parliament
TalkingCock in Parliament is the closing event for IndigNation2006. It was an amazingly talented bunch of funny people with their own takes on what it means to be a Singaporean. Ruby Pan and Hossan Leong’s performances, in particular, caught me.
Ruby’s masterful command (impersonation?) of various English accents in Singapore only gets better and better: watch it till the end!
Hossan Leong sang Singapore’s condensed history to the tune of “We didn’t start the fire”. I want to learn this song. Really.
An Inspiring Interview
Dhamendra Yadav in an inspiring interview with David Marshall, the Prime Minister of Singapore before he was ousted by Lee Kuan Yew. You can see a totally different person, a different spirit from today’s Singapore’s mindset.
The role of youths! Ha!
In my time, I tried to educate our people in an understanding of the dignity of human life and their right as fellow human beings, and youth was not only interested but excited about what I consider things that matter. Things of the spirit; the development of a human being to his true potential in accordance with his own personal genius in the context of equal rights of others.
Today, youth is interested in getting paper qualification and, as soon as possible, shoveling gold into their bank accounts. It’s a different world, even the law.
