Stories | Perspective
A young designer’s thoughts on Singapore’s design innovation journey
31 Dec 2018 · 10 min read
31 Dec 2018 · 10 min read
The Business of Design programme aims to give Singapore-based design entrepreneurs added support to grow their brands globally and to augment the Singapore Design Brand.
The Business of Design Programme is looking for Established Singapore-based furniture, lifestyle product and multi-disciplinary design studios, and design-driven furniture and lifestyle brands that have the potential to internationalise.
The Business of Design (BOD) programme aims to grow the export value of Singapore designs by building mindshare in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets in Asia.
To give Singapore-based design entrepreneurs added support to grow their brands globally and to augment the Singapore Design Brand, the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) officially launched the first run of the Business of Design (BOD) programme in 2019, which is currently underway.
The second run of the BOD Programme aims to generate new business opportunities for up to 8 established Singapore-based furniture, lifestyle product and multi-disciplinary design studios and design-driven furniture and lifestyle brands with the potential to internationalise in markets such as Europe and Asia (including Japan and Southeast Asia).
The BOD programme entails:
To support interested design studios and brands that are keen to internationalise in understanding the commitment required to enter the European and Asian markets, Dsg co-organised a series of market entry webinars that were held on 26 & 29 March 2021, in addition to the three phases of the BOD programme. These webinars are part of a capability development programme that targets a broader base of design studios and brands alongside prospective BOD participants.
The webinars aim to educate viewers and attendees about essential market entry knowledge, including an overview of specific markets and the fundamentals of conducting design-related business in those respective markets, such as commercial contract projects and retailing design products.
The webinars have been uploaded onto Dsg’s YouTube channel here.
Interested applicants are required to:
a) Attend or view the market-entry webinars for the target markets you are interested in (link to the uploaded videos here).
b) Applications will close by Friday, 30 April 2021 (23:59).
a) Applicant must be a Singapore-registered design enterprise from any of the following fields:
b) Lead applicant must be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident.
The BOD programme prioritises established design studios and brands that fulfil the following criteria:
a) Have a compelling and differentiated brand philosophy, with aspirations to towards good design, that impacts positively on the environment, culture, society and/or economy.
b) Have strong business fundamentals and can readily scale up to meet international demand.
c) Have a good understanding of the commitment required in entering a new market. We strongly encourage interested design studios and brands to attend or view the video(s) of the market entry webinar for the market(s) which they are keen to expand into.
Download the full BOD programme infokit here for more details on the eligibility and selection criteria, key milestones and the selection process.