Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) • Leading Design Transitions
DBCS Enhances the Business of Design
Through Global Dialogue, Recognition, and Impact
• Leading Design Transitions features three interconnected events on 9 and 10 September 2026: the World Design Business Forum, the Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) Awards & Exhibition, and the DBCS-WDBO Gala Celebration
• The World Design Business Forum kicks off the program, with global and local leaders exploring how design-led strategies can foster business growth, create markets, drive technological innovation, and generate social impact, following WDBO’s Design Power Index Framework
• The SG Mark Awards honor 105 winners, including two Platinum winners for the first time in the program’s history, before the gala concludes the two-day event and announces the Singapore Design Power Index Distinction results
Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), the nation's foremost multidisciplinary design chamber, has wrapped up Leading Design Transitions, a two-day event highlighting design as a driver for economic and social advancement. Conducted on 9 and 10 September, the programme included three interconnected experiences: the World Design Business Forum, the Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) Awards & Exhibition, and the DBCS-WDBO Gala Celebration.
These experiences collectively showcased design's evolution from influencing market value and dialogue to demonstrating practical applications and redefining design career paths in a disruptive era, culminating in a celebration of individuals and organizations enhancing Singapore's status as a global design hub in business.
The 2026 Design Power Index (DPI) Singapore Best of Class honourees were unveiled at the DBCS-WDBO Gala Celebration at JW Marriott South Beach. The honourees were evaluated based on evidence showing how design contributes to organizational, business, and social outcomes. The 2026 Singapore cohort is the first to undergo measured verification of its Design Power, reinforcing the Index as a long-term tool for tracking design's impact.
Minister of State for Manpower and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Foo Cexiang, attended the DBCS-WDBO Gala Celebration at JW Marriott South Beach. Prof. Pradyumna Vyas, Honorary President of the World Design Business Organization (WDBO), was a special guest.
"Singapore’s SG Mark embodies what a national design programme should aim for: rigorous, business-focused, and willing to prove design’s economic value," said Vyas. "The quality of this year’s winners and the ambition behind the Design Power Index are why Singapore continues to lead in design leadership in the business sector regionally and beyond.”
"Leading Design Transitions demonstrates how design progresses from dialogue to application and impact," said Hong Khai Seng, President of DBCS and Vice-Chair for WDBO. "Through the Forum, the SG Mark Awards, and our Gala, we unite business leaders, practitioners, and the broader community around a core belief: good design is good business, playing a crucial role in driving economic and social progress.”
Exploring the Economic Power of Design
Central to WDBO’s mission is the DPI, a longitudinal framework assessing the economic value organizations generate through strategic design use and design intellectual property, supporting WDBO’s goal to position Singapore as a trusted global hub for design leadership. This mission was realized through the 2nd World Design Business Forum, which launched Leading Design Transitions at the National Design Centre on 9 September, gathering global and local leaders to explore how design-led strategies fuel business growth, market creation, technological innovation, and social impact.
The afternoon’s World Design Business Workshops allowed participants to deepen their understanding of the DPI methodology and explore career transitions in design. The Design Launchpad workshop, conducted in partnership with the DesignSG Community, ECI Coaching, IPOS, and E2I, extended the Forum’s dialogue into focused learning, reinforcing the programme’s premise that design is not only a creative discipline but a strategic capability for navigating change and creating value.
Honouring Design Excellence in South-East Asia
On 10 September, Leading Design Transitions shifted from dialogue to recognition at the SG Mark Awards Ceremony and the DBCS-WDBO Gala Celebration. This year’s awards marked several milestones: for the first time since the programme’s inception in 2013, two projects received the Platinum Award, the highest honour, while submissions reached a record high, with entries growing from Australia, Hong Kong, and beyond, solidifying SG Mark as the region’s showcase award for design excellence. In total, 105 winners were recognized across Architecture, Sustainable Design, Experience Design, Spatial Design, Digital Design, Product Design, and Food Unbound, with nine projects named as Top Award winners.
The two Platinum Award winners are Jurong Lake Gardens - Central & East, recognized in the Architecture category, and SENSE 600®, A World-Leading Sustainable Reinforcing Steel, recognized in the Sustainable Design category.
Four Gold Awards were conferred: Singapore Pavilion EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (The Dream Repository) in Experience Design; MELD @ Twin Vew in Spatial Design; ABEL Microsampler in Product Design; and Neural Palate Kueh in Special Category 2026: Food Unbound.
Five Special Mentions were awarded: Sentosa Sensory in Architecture; One Placement and PEEK in Digital Design; Project House @1QRW in Experience Design; and Hullbot Autonomous Ship Hull Cleaning System in Product Design.
The 2026 Top Award winners were announced at the Gala Dinner and their works are being showcased at the SG Mark 2026 Winners Exhibition at Funan, Level 1 Atrium, 107 North Bridge Road, from 7 to 13 September, 10am to 10pm. The public exhibition extends the awards experience beyond the ceremony, offering a showcase of design excellence that enhances everyday life.
Measuring long-term economic power of design
2026 marks a significant milestone for the Design Power Index, with participating organizations undergoing measured verification for the first time. Eligible organizations, including major companies and listed entities that met the Index’s minimum market-value requirement, were required to substantiate how design contributes to organizational, business, and social outcomes through evidence assessed against DPI standards. An international panel spanning finance, investment, technology, design, and social impact reviewed the strongest submissions to determine the Best of Pillar honourees.
Five organizations attained the Index’s highest tier of recognition, with Mandai Wildlife Group receiving Best of Pillar in Business of Design, and CPG Consultants receiving Best of Pillar in Market of Design at the Gala. This marks the conclusion of DPI Singapore, while the India and China phases will continue through the end of 2026, ahead of the publication of the full Index results at year-end.
The full results for the Best of Class for DPI Singapore are:
Best across Pillars: Government Technology Agency Singapore (GovTech)
Best of Pillar in Business of Design: Mandai Wildlife Group
Best of Pillar in Market of Design: CPG Consultants
Best in Pillar in Technology of Design: OCBC Bank
Best in Pillar in Social Impact of Design: Carousell
Special Mention for Companies: Commune
Special Mention for Education: Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD)
The evening’s programme also featured the launch of the Singapore Design Awards 2026/2027 in partnership with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO). This was followed by the presentation of Top Seed Awards and a Future Leaders Fellowship showcase.
Throughout the Forum, Awards, and Gala, Leading Design Transitions provided a cohesive platform for examining, recognizing, and celebrating design’s role in business and society. The two-day programme brought together the design and business communities around a shared goal: to advance design as a catalyst for positive change in Singapore and globally.
For more information, visit https://dbcsingapore.org/
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