Hey everyone! I suppose you can say that this article has been in the works since 2016. Yeah, I began noticing those early signs and patterns in the industry years ago, but it seemed like at that time, no one in the design industry was ready to listen or hear what I have to say yet (even as a certified Thought Leader 🤦♂️🤷♂️). And so, I continued to remain in the shadow for the years to come, quietly making notes and observations about where the wind was going to blow 🌬.
Now, almost a decade later, I am ready to draw some conclusions. I believe the timing is also right. I believe this is perhaps the time that the design industry is READY to sit up and finally listen.
I've spent nearly 20 years of my career in Singapore. I've always considered it a privilege that I was born here and have remained here for most of my life. We have amazing government leaders and systems that are considered to be the best in the world. In fact, I am proud to call myself a Singaporean for many of those reasons. But that doesn't mean that everything about us, as a country or society, is great. And that is especially true when it comes to our design industry.
Singapore's Design Industry has Lost Its Edge
Here's the reality that we often don't want to face or admit to. Forget about the media for a moment and consider the facts on the ground. For years, we have enjoyed relative success and have earned the prestigious title of being called the "Innovation Hub" of the world. When it comes to the design industry, man, we are at the very top of the world. Okay, may not always, but consistently, Singapore's design industry has always been among the top in the world.
We might not have natural resources, but the one thing we've always had, was the pool of TOP Design Talents. The reason why so many businesses and companies want to invest here isn't just because of our stability as a nation, but because of the talent pool that we provide. If we took the world's combined top design talents (not wealth, but knowledge and skills), Singapore would be among the top 1% of the world. Well, at least that is what it used to be. That has stopped being true for a few years now. Signs that we are already slipping.
And it's true. We've enjoyed that success for some time now. But sadly, it is also true that we are quickly losing our edge. In fact, we might've already lost it for a while and we just didn't want to face that reality. It's almost like living in self-denial.
Going From a Talent Destination to a Waystation
In the past decade or so, I have witnessed and observed our tiny, little prosperous nation go from being a talent destination to a waystation. Most of the Top Design Talents I know aren't interested in staying anymore. They see Singapore as the place to grow, to learn, to discover their fullest potential. And once they have gotten what they needed, they would leave. The same is also true for a lot of our local top design talents.
After nearly a decade of observing those patterns and trends, I'm here to give the Singapore Design industry a warning message:
"If we do not change course and make the necessary adjustments soon, by 2030, Singapore will experience a 60% turnover rate of our top design talents (both local and foreign)."
Time to Welcome the Top Emerging Markets in Digital & Product Design
For the past decade or so, I have been seeing the early signs of design communities around the world picking up pace. While Singapore was leading, it was getting complacent at the top and slowing down. But for these other markets, they are much hungrier, and have the kind of drive that we, Singapore's design industry has lost along the way.
That is also why I've chosen to focus the next stage of my life's work on these emerging markets from Sao Paulo, Brazil, all the way to Lagos, Nigeria. It is NOT a matter of IF, they will exceed Singapore's design industry in innovation and new design ideas, it is only a matter of WHEN. And from what I can tell, that can happen very soon. All they needed is a BOOST. Frankly, since I'm no longer needed here as much, it seemed like the right time to finally shift my focus elsewhere.
No. 1 Sao Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷
For years, I have been closely watching and observing some of the global trends and industry shifts happening. And one thing that is becoming extremely clear now is that São Paulo's design industry is ripe for that push. With San Francisco's digital scene fading into oblivion and Singapore's design industry reaching a stagnation, the industry's top spot has become vacant, leaving the doors wide open for São Paulo to become the next design/innovation capital of the world.
More and more of the next-generation design ideas are now coming out of São Paulo, and I'm honestly very excited to see where that will lead in the next 5 years.
No. 2 Shenzhen, China 🇨🇳
For the last decade or so, Shenzhen has become this semiconductor/electronics capital of the world. Far exceeding many of the other countries from around the world. But the one industry that nobody would've thought to pay attention to, was their digital & product design industry. They have been like an underdog in this story, and for years, quietly building themselves up to a point where they can start to compete with the rest of the market. By 2024, nearly 30% of the world's top design talents are now coming out of China. That says a lot about where the country is heading when it comes to the digital & product design market.
No. 3 Riga, Latvia 🇱🇻
I've had my share of interacting, mentoring and guiding some of the designers within the Riga design community over the years. If there is one thing I can say about their community, it is that they have this passion that I haven't seen in a long time from my own design community here in Singapore. I feel like we've lost that passion somewhere along the way. We've stopped taking risks because we're afraid of what it might mean when we fail. Maybe it is time we learn something from our friends in the Riga design community.
No. 4 Lima, Peru 🇵🇪
It's often a misconception to look at the biggest cities and most technologically advanced nations and cities and think that that is where you will find the best designers and engineers. But in my experience, sometimes, the most promising talents tend to come from the least expected places on earth. And Lima (Peru) has that. They might be small in size when compared to the rest of the world, but they have been steadily expanding over the years. Here's what I like about the design community in Lima, being a small community, they aren't afraid to try new things. That's the thing about being a small community, you know where you stand on the world stage, and you don't feel that need to constantly prove yourself. Instead, it is much easier to channel all that energy into creating new and often interesting ideas. You can't be afraid to fail and to try again. That is how we can keep innovating.
No. 5 Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬
In recent years, I have been seeing a steady uptick of designers and engineers from Lagos, Nigeria, reaching out over LinkedIn. Many of them are not afraid to ask questions. There is something truly refreshing about their deep hunger to learn. There is no such thing as a stupid question because when we ask, we learn from it. Second to a city like São Paulo, the design community in Lagos is perhaps one of the hungriest communities in the world. And I see that as an amazing attribute. It is also one of the things that I think my local Singaporean design community has lost as well. We're not as hungry as we once were. And that is sad to watch.
Beginning My Lifelong Work of Lifting Other Design Communities Up
And so this is where I am today. I'm beginning to look out into the world around me, and I'm seeing many of our sisters and brothers in the design communities looking for that opportunity to learn and to keep growing. A boost that would help push them over the edge into the leading pole position.
Where Singapore's design industry has lost its hunger, passion and willingness to learn and take risks, I see all of these other design communities around the world picking up the precise qualities that we have lost along the way.
And I know that this has presented an opportunity for a real industry shake-up. I will say this one thing: Within the next 3 to 5 years, Singapore will NO LONGER be the leader when it comes to design and innovation.
The only real question we must ask ourselves now is, "How long will it take before we finally wake up?", "How far behind do we want to be when the time comes that we are no longer leading the industry, but just a follower?"
Top comments (0)