Designing S’pore’s Next Big Thing

A brief, such as the one above, is a set of instructions provided by a client, outlining the scope of a project. It helps designers such as me understand the client’s intentions, objectives and perceived challenges.

Briefs are problem-statements that a designer is engaged to solve. Most designers begin by dissecting a brief, clarifying intentions and returning to the client with more questions. In some cases, designers will even politely challenge the brief.

This is critical for discovering assumptions, preconceived ideas and blind spots that may impede the full potential of the project.

Done properly, this dialogue between client and designer serves as due diligence to align definitions and prevent misinterpretation. Done well, the practice uncovers new insights and opportunities. It clears the space for truly fresh approaches and innovative thinking.

Before we attempt to provide answers, briefs help us ascertain if we are asking the right questions.

“What is Singapore’s Next Big Thing?” is a design brief of epic proportions. It is a deceptively simple thing to ask of something as intricate and complex as a country.

I wonder if Singapore even needs a “Next Big Thing”. The key word “Next” makes me cautious. It implies that we will inexhaustibly ask for more “Next Big Things” in future. The question assumes the best of what is new and the latest. It is easy to equate new with innovative. But newness can be superficial — or worse, wasteful.

After all, trends exist to render their predecessors obsolete. This matters when people base their life decisions on promising industries and projected careers that turn out to be fads. Huge investments may be made on tentpole initiatives that unexpectedly become irrelevant.

It matters if Singapore pivots lives and businesses around “Next Big Things”, only to be left behind by a miscalculation.

As we enter the fourth Industrial Revolution, the rate of change in our circumstances will increase exponentially. We already see how technology today facilitates new business models, disrupting entire industries. Jobs invented today could be automated by tomorrow. We could spend our early education preparing for industries that no longer exist by the time we enter the workforce.

A more interesting question to ask is how Singapore can prepare for an extreme future where every tomorrow is unrecognisable and the only constant is change.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation (particularly in combination) have huge implications on our roles in productive society. Better processing power means that ideas advance faster, which is beneficial only if society can keep pace. Should technology outperform humans across the skills spectrum, would this liberate us or rob us of meaningful work?

It is hard to say. Our definition of work and aspiration could change entirely. All the more, it seems precarious to hedge a country on just one “Big Thing” when the future could easily go both or more ways.

Instead of reorganising our efforts and resources towards what is essentially a good guess, can we instead equip ourselves with enduring principles, skill sets and value systems that would enable us to tackle whatever “Next Big Thing”—or things— come next?

Designers are always tackling new things. With each new brief comes different industries, objectives, audiences and scopes.

How do designers cope with such a variety of problem-statements? We acquire the processes and tools to help us wrap our heads around problems quickly. We learn constantly. We benefit from collaboration. We ask questions. We empathise so that we can work better with others and respect their points of view. Uncertainty becomes manageable because we have tools to tackle it.

Just as it is impossible for design school to equip us with the knowledge to tackle all the briefs that come our way, it is impossible for a country to create a one-stop solution that comprehensively shoulders the future for its people.

We can, however, develop good coping mechanisms—including transferable skills that can withstand an evolving context. We make adaptation and resourcefulness a core driver. We learn to invent our way out of the unknown.

Looking ahead, I believe the emphasis of work will shift from organising data and people to facilitating technology, relationships and experiences.

With information and technology at our disposal, it is no longer a question of how much we know but what we do with what we know, for whom and why. We should thus focus on the qualities and skills that distinguish us from computers and help us connect better with one another.

Qualities such as imagination, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, courage and ingenuity are ever-more important when we need to come together to solve increasingly complex and fast-moving problems.

Let us also not underestimate qualities such as optimism, humour, tolerance and kindness.

There are some things we cannot and should not automate. Who will care for the old? Who will raise the young? Who will envision the future? We will need people with these qualities regardless of technological advancement. As awesome and fearsome as technology is, it is neither a panacea nor the apocalypse. It is a test of character.

What Singapore needs is not a new grand plan, but a centredness grounded in human qualities, confidence in the face of the unknown, and an indomitable spirit of invention and self-improvement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Olivia Lee is a graduate of Central Saint Martins and London-trained designer. She is also a DesignSingapore Scholar, design educator and former EDB officer. This piece first appeared in The Birthday Book 2016, a book of essays by 51 different authors on Singapore’s Next Big Thing. TODAY will be publishing other essays from the book in the coming weeks.