With the theme “Design for a betterment”, Design Dialogue has been held successfully in Seoul on 24 Apr 2018.

Grateful for the sharing by the past winners of DFA Design for Asia Awards: Mr. Soo-Yeon Lee (SEOULLO 7017 SKYGARDEN /South Korea / Silver Award 2017), Mr. Jongsuk Shin (Project FIN (ORCA) / Silver Award 2017) and Ms. Kyung-Ae Han (RE;CODE / Sustainability Award 2015).

The interpretation of “Design for a betterment” maybe different at different places, but all the guest speakers agreed it’s no doubt that design should aim to make people’s lives better and be people centralised. Like RE;CODE, it strives for waste-free design. It doesn’t just aim to improve the quality of the product itself, but also create impact to the consumers’ propensity for purchasing.

Design is also a language to deliver message. Mr. Jongsuk Shin designed the Project Fin (ORCA) to raise out the problem of sea pollution in the society nowadays and call for attention to protect the marine life.

Striving for sustainability is not an easy task. SEOULLO 7017 SKYGARDEN encountered the opposition from the residents and vehicle passengers who feared the changes from a highway to a walkway. To cope with this, Mr. Soo-Yeon Lee had to meet the people and paid lots of effort to convince them the project would protect the history of the highway and connect the nature to the people.

This is the sharing from some of the winners in South Korea. What’s next? The coming Dialogue will take place in Shanghai on 10 May. Stay tuned!