Brainstorm Design conference returns to Singapore Design Week for 2019

The Brainstorm Design conference, hosted by Wallpaper* and Fortune magazines, returns to Singapore this March. Building on the success of last year’s incarnation, the 2019 conference offers an ambitious programme of talks and debates organised under the theme: ‘Vision. Empathy. Scale.’

Bringing together the world’s top multidisciplinary design talent and forward-thinking brands, Brainstorm Design explores how design-minded thinking can be implemented to improve 21st-century business strategy. Last year a host of leading figures including Alice Rawsthorn, Thomas Heatherwick, Ole Scheeren and Paola Antonelli and representatives of brands such as Samsung and Airbnb gathered to ask ‘Can design build a better world?’; the question that underpinned the three day conference of panels and talks.

Brainstorm Design returns to Singapore 5-7 March during Singapore Design Week. Friends and supporters of Wallpaper* will make their return to the conference, accompanied by business leaders from Fortune 500 companies. This year’s theme shines a light on the three main ‘tribes’ that operate where the realms of design and business meet. Independent studio designers, lauded for their world-class innovation fall under the ‘Vision’ tag. Human-centric designers lie at the centre of the ‘Empathy’ bracket, and those employing the power of digital technologies to bring business to millions come together under ‘Scale’.

Design consultant and former Wallpaper* editor-in-chief Tony Chambers is Brainstorm Design co-chair and across the three days will be hosting panels featuring an array of guests including Shohei Shigematsu, director of OMA New York; Marcus Engman, former chief design officer of Ikea, designer Patricia Urquiola, and Crazy Rich Asians production designer and Art Directors Guild president Nelson Coates.

Elsewhere, Wallpaper* Design Awards 2018 judge Daan Roosegaarde will bring his environmentally-minded Space Waste Lab into the conference’s thematic context. Dyson CEO Jim Rowan will address what makes a quintessential design company, providing a glimpse at how the global brand uncovers valuable consumer insights, builds cross-functional teams and integrates state-of-the-art technologies.

Amongst the schedule of discussions, further panels include ‘Designing Our Future’, examining the causes of today’s talent shortage and the increasing role of artificial intelligence in 21st-century products and services. Chen Zhai, director of Natural Human Computer Interaction Lab will examine ‘Smart Solutions for the Visually Impaired’, and Design for Good author John Cary and Adobe vice president Jaime Myrold will bring focus to ethical design standards in ‘Townhall: The Ethics of Design’.

INFORMATION

For more information on the schedule and how to buy tickets, visit the Brainstorm Design website