More than 60% of entries are from Singapore organisations including 27 entries from home-grown small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Total of 23 foreign entries received including 8 entries from Japanese G Mark winners
- Heritage home-grown brands such as Killiney, as well as National Parks Board (NParks) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) are among those vying for the SG 50 Special Award
SINGAPORE, 2 March 2015 – Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) has attracted a record number of 102 product entries this year for its Singapore Good Design Mark 2015 (SG Mark) – 22 more entries or an almost 30% surge from what it received when the SG Mark was first launched a year ago.
The submissions for the SG Mark 2015 awards had closed on February 9, 2015.
Awarded by DBCS and modelled after Japan’s prestigious Good Design Mark (G Mark), the SG Mark is a comprehensive design system created to promote global quality standards for business competitiveness and growth.
To celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary this year, DBCS has also introduced a one-off SG50 Special Award to companies which have crafted outstanding designs that withstood the test of time and have stamped their imprint on the Singapore design heritage over the past 50 years.
The bumper crop of entries included entries from Singapore companies, public sector organisations, schools and even a voluntary welfare organisation. The entries cover a broad range of products which include architecture, facilities, transportation equipment, interactive design for home equipment & devices, furniture, household goods, consumer electrical & appliances, healthcare, food & beverages, communication devices, as well as equipment for research, education or medical purposes.
The bulk or more than 60% of the entries are from Singapore companies including 27 entries from home-grown SMEs. Major Singapore brand names such as Far East Organisation, Keppel Land, Ho Bee, Mapletree Investments as well as RSP Architects are among those who have submitted their entries.
Local SMEs such as Systmz, Light 10, and OTTO Solutions have also submitted entries.
The one-off SG50 Special Awards this year also attracted entries from popular local heritagebrands such as Killiney, Lam Soon and Kingsmen.
Entries were received from four organisations in the government/public sector. These include HDB, JTC Corporation, National Parks Board and Changi Airport Group. National Parks Board and HDB have also submitted for the SG 50 Special Award.
DBCS also received its first SG Mark entry from a voluntary welfare organisation – the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) – which submitted the AWWA Dementia Care Centre for the SG Mark Award under the social category. The centre focuses on assistance for the elderly who display symptoms of social disconnectedness and mild dementia.
In addition to submissions from local organisations, DBCS also got a total of 23 foreign entries including 8 entries from Japanese G Mark winners – the first time that Japanese companies have submitted for the SG Mark award. First time entries also came from companies from Thailand, China and Germany.
DBCS also received 15 entries from budding designers from Singapore’s schools - Nanyang Polytechnic and Raffles Design Institute. Both Nanyang Polytechnic and Raffles Design Institute also submitted entries last year and three students from Nanyang Polytechnic won the inaugural SG Mark Award last year.
Mr Tai Lee Siang, President of DBCS said: “This year, the SG Mark managed to attract more than 100 entries, beating our own initial forecast. The fact that we managed to attract more foreign companies including first-timers - such as the Japanese G-Mark winners and those from Thailand, China as well as from Germany, attests to the rising recognition and status of SG Mark in Singapore and overseas.
“The Japanese G Mark is well-established and internationally recognised as a top quality award. The fact that G Mark winners are now going for the SG Mark here demonstrates that our SG Mark is credible and of good global standing in terms of design and quality benchmarks.
“This also showcases Singapore as a top design hub respected globally for its high standards and integrity, its strong Intellectual Property (IP) protection policies as well as its commitment to environmental sustainability.
“We are very pleased to get good response to the SG50 special award as these participating companies have proven that design has played a key role in business success over time.”
All entries submitted for the SG Mark will go through a comprehensive evaluation process by a judging panel comprising reputed designers, representatives from relevant government agencies and organisations with successful design track records.
The panel of judges for the second screening of SG Mark entries are Mr Tai Lee Siang, President of DBCS; Mr Jeffrey Ho Kiat, the Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council (Dsg); and Mr Hideichi Misono, Director of Japan Industrial Design Promotion & Good Design Fellow.
Winners of the SG Mark Awards will be selected after two rounds of screenings and will be announced by March 13, 2015.
The SG Mark Awards Ceremony will be held in conjunction with the annual Design Business Chamber’s cum Singapore Design Awards Gala Dinner on March 13, 2015. Winners of SG Mark will also have their product entries displayed at the new National Design Centre at Middle Road.
For more information about DBCS, please visit DBCS’ website at: http://www.dbcsingapore.org/
For more information about SG Mark and SG50 Special Awards, please visit SG Mark’s website at: http://www.sgmark.org/
For more information, please contact:
Tham Moon Yee / Soh Tiang Keng / Khor Sook Fong
Tel: 6227 0502
Email: tmy@stratagemconsultants.com
sohtk@stratagemconsultants.com
ksf@stratagemconsultants.com
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