With the 2003 launch of the DesignSingapore Council, Singapore has positioned itself as a regional design hub. The aim was to put Singapore on the world map for design creativity by developing a cluster of design-oriented industries.

Today, Singapore’s ambition is exceeding its expectations. It was chosen as home to the prestigious DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of the BMW Group, and also as the key design studio for Philips Design Singapore.

Why Singapore? At Philips Design Singapore, whose considerable reach spans seven offices worldwide with over 400 professionals and 50 nationalities, the goal was to attract, develop and retain world-class, creative professionals to enrich the design business.

Low Cheaw Hwei, Philips Design Singapore’s Design Officer for Consumer Lifestyle explains: “It is the crossroads of the east and the west. We have the diversity of skills, the disciplines – and because we approach design and problem solving in a multidisciplinary way.”

Philips Design Singapore can reach out to its large pool of talent that produces world-class designs extending beyond geographical boundaries while drawing on the vast market potential of Asia.

Take the case of Delmedica, a specialist funding company offering investors access to innovations in the healthcare industry, which approached Philips Design Singapore to work together to find a solution that addresses a real problem.

Philips Design Singapore’s inter-disciplinary team combined Product, Interaction Design, Communication and Visual Trends Analysis, and worked with a local engineering and manufacturing company. The result was the Xhalo Breath Thermometer, a multiple award-winning breakthrough that helps prevent asthma attacks.

The cross-cultural understanding of diverse talent also explains why BMW Group DesignworksUSA located to Singapore in 2006. Under its banner there are 135 employees across three separate studios – in California, Munich and Singapore – dedicated to product design and consultancy for the BMW Group’s car brand portfolio of MINI, BMW and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It also has a client list that reads like a who’s who of brand names including Siemens, Coca-Cola and Airbus.

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DesignworksUSA’s winning approach is to tap on crossover skills to solve client problems, which is particularly relevant in Singapore with its multicultural, diverse talent pool.

“Our Singapore team understands how to balance the duality of providing design solutions to suit local markets and local consumer needs in Asia, as well as our clients’ interest to provide designs for a global reach,” says Laurenz Schaffer, President, BMW Group DesignworksUSA.

This talent must span the east-west divide in order to create products that have international appeal. One such example is DesignworksUSA’s strategic partnership with Hewlett Packard (HP), winning numerous accolades for the HP Z800 Workstation, a desktop that combines superior performance with a revolutionary industrial design.

“This is an example where the products are mainly geared for a global market, and HP needed a partner that shared a proximity to their product management, marketing and product development in their key locations”, adds Schaffer.

The synergy between organic development of talent, multidisciplinary expertise and local identity, coupled with Singapore’s cosmopolitanism has enabled the design industry to flourish over the years. This creative fusion looks set to grow in the years ahead, especially with big name design firms setting up base in Singapore.

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