The first speaker of the conference was Andy Bellass, Strategist of Mother. Telling the audience what inspired Mother the most, Andy shared that Mother was governed by the “Holy Trinity”

1. Do good work
2. Be Happy
3. To make enough money to do 1 and 2 as long as possible

More importantly, Andy said that the role of the creative was to solve problems, and I could not agree more. Often the importance was not necessarily in the design brief, but in firstly identifying the problem. He cited how writing in outer space was resolved differently by the USA and the USSR. In the 60s, space travel hit a snag as pens could not write in space. The Americans spent millions developing the space pen, whereas the Russians, by looking at the problem from another angle, simply opted for the solution that cost next to nothing. They decided to write in space using the pencil.

Impressive work was also shown by the ladies from Bless. Ines and Desiree, who met in Paris, work from Berlin and Paris respectively. Despite being based in different cities, their design work, straddling the fine line with art, really provides fresh insights of viewing how things could be in the world.

Through their theatrical rendition, the creators of Tofu Oyako, Devil Robots, presented some of their recent work. My personal favourite was their Condome and Tofu Oyako mobile. The “sexy staff” of Devil Robots finished their performance stating their main objective in the design of icon graphics and characters – they go further than words, with no borders, they are able communicate to people around the world.

At the end of the first day, DesignSingapore hosted an opening party for the conference and the exhibition at Rouge. With the mingling of designers, crossing of borders, etc, 4 designers showcased in the 20/20 exhibition were interviewed “live” by Singapore celebrity, Adrian Pang.