(Clockwise from top left) DesignSingapore Council Scholar Lim Qi Xuan; Graphic Designer, Esplanade: Passages; Graphic Designer, The Apprenticeship Programme 2016; Graphic Designer, OH! Open House, Joo Chiat.

DesignSingapore scholar 2016 Lim Qi Xuan is pursuing a Master of Arts in Information Design at Design Academy Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In this interview, she speaks about a passionate project; her view on the importance of design narratives; and her hopes to contribute to Singaporean design.

What was the project you were most proud to share with the DesignSingapore Scholarship selection panel?

I shared with them the collaterals I designed for OH! Open House. OH! is an arts organisation that uses art to highlight public and private spaces in Singapore, which contribute to our shared memory of history, culture and identity. Working on the branding and publication for the event OH! Open House gave me the opportunity to offer knowledge about spaces to the man in the street. Through my visual communications, I attempted to make the spaces compelling and relevant to the public.

What do you hope to gain from your education at Design Academy Eindhoven?

I am enrolled in Information Design. The course is not about learning to make information attractive, but forming effective narratives in an age of information overload. I hope to learn how people interact with information in spaces such as museums, retail spaces, places of transit (airports, train stations); and how the experience of information gathering in these spaces can be improved with new design methods and technology.

When your foreign contemporaries ask you, what would you say is representative of Singaporean design?

Definitely the plastic bag for dabao (打包) or takeaway drinks. Singaporeans are known to be efficient and pragmatic which influence us to adopt design practices that are practical and functional. The plastic bag packaging, when compared to the plastic or paper cup, is not only cost-effective but also space-saving for the vendor. In my opinion, the takeaway plastic bag for drinks is emblematic of the Singaporean ethos: save money, save space, save time.

How do you intend to contribute to Singaporean design?

Singaporeans are IT-savvy which is an advantage for us in the discipline of digital design. I am interested to explore new ways to publish and present information in public spaces, to make information gathering efficient, engaging and meaningful to users.

Next in this series, on 25 August, Interview with Lu Ruizhi Joyce