Designing our digital future: Talent, skills and mindsets

Just as connectivity does not automatically bring about connectedness, digital solutions do not inherently ensure well-being and happiness, and ultimately ‘loveability,’ which according to the Loveable Singapore Study (2020-21) is what results from a city’s ability to build community, evoke a sense of belonging, and create feelings of pride and passion. As technology develops further, we see design playing a pivotal role in humanizing the digital ecosystem for a smarter and more loveable city.

With this in mind, the Design Singapore Council (Dsg) believes that a digitally competent design industry is key to bringing about more inclusive, accessible and personalized systems in the city. Realizing this aspiration hinges on building a future-ready talent pipeline.

Designing for tech frontiers: opportunities and gaps

Amidst a landscape of emerging technologies, there are two projected developments over the next decade where design will play a crucial role: Web 3.0 and the Metaverse.

Web 3.0 is forecasted to reach US$27 trillion in revenue, five times that of Web 2.0, and industry experts are predicting an impending tipping point where blockchain will go mainstream. Opportunities in the Metaverse look similarly optimistic: McKinsey reports that 95 percent of business leaders expect the Metaverse to have a positive impact on their industry.

However, companies transiting to Web 3.0 and the Metaverse are concerned about whether they can form meaningful connections with users and customers, given that such emotional connections are crucial to build trust. These concerns belie deeper issues such as being ill-equipped in specific skills or tools crucial to navigate these new spaces. More critically, there is a need to recognize that the technological frontiers we are facing today will require fundamental changes in skillsets, mindsets and even worldviews.

Building viable talent is therefore no longer just about cultivating technical capability, but also understanding the role that technology plays during a shift from an industrial economy to an innovation economy. What will these new roles, and new types of mindsets look like, and what is the intersection of technology and design in the future?

Developing future-ready talent

Dsg has identified three differentiating areas for success: the ability to adapt existing technological opportunities, the importance of working inter-disciplinarily, and cultivating empathy and emotional connections.

With digital skills having a five-year shelf-life, reshaping attitudes towards new technology adoption will be more viable than developing deep specialization. Given the scarcity of ready talent in designing for a blended world, industry leaders in emerging technologies are instead looking out for applicants who are open to learn with an experimental mindset.

The second factor is the importance of working inter-disciplinarily. As projects today are multi-dimensional, we see a greater emphasis for designers to tread intersections between the technical and social aspects. Designers should adopt integrative thinking and connect various domains of design to deliver solutions for complex problems.

This may lead to a breakaway from current business models, since Singapore design firms tend to be too small to build multidisciplinary teams. More design firms would start looking to a consortium model that combines designers with complementary strengths. We might also see the impending emergence of cross-domain designers that have multiple skillsets, such as an “AR artist,” who would combine illustration and computing skills or an “architect gamer” who would combine spatial design in the digital realm.

The third factor is cultivating human empathy and emotional connections. As we move into the spatial internet and the boundless potential of Web 3.0 applications, we need to think about the importance of creating technological experiences that evoke emotions and trigger the feeling of care. Good design is critical to these human-centered tech experiences.

How then do we create spaces for spontaneity in the Internet world? How would we read each other’s emotions in a digital realm? How do we build trust without the physical sensors that we know today?

Our findings have shown that in the new tier of digital design capabilities, the highest value lies in designers’ ability to conceptualize these desired user experiences and translate them into reality. Those designers who have highly advanced technical skills but lack the finesse required to create holistic user experiences tend to become “digital farmers” in the fast-paced, narrative- driven world.

Strategies for digital talent development

Dsg is focused on creating conditions to develop the right talent through design education and professional training, as well as building a thriving ecosystem in which talent can flourish.

• Design education: We recently unveiled a refreshed vision for design education in our inaugural Design Education Advisory Committee (DEAC) report, which envisions “Design as an Ally of Technology” as one of six key pillars that will uplift design education in Singapore over the next 30 years. The tripartite committee comprising leaders from Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), the design and non-design sector, and policymakers, aims to shape a globally recognized design education unique to Singapore and bring design education and the industry closer together.

• Empowering designers and enterprises: Dsg is also committed to helping design talent develop competency in the three differentiators highlighted above: embracing new digital skills, embarking on transdisciplinary ways of working, and building emotional connections with end-users. Our Good Design Research (GDR) program empowers designers and enterprises in designing for impact through research and experimentation.

• Transiting to Web 3.0 and Metaverse: Dsg will be publishing a Digital Acceleration Plan to guide the digital transformation of local design businesses over the next few years, which will include the transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 and designing for the Metaverse.

• Building an ecosystem for talent: Creating a thriving ecosystem for talent to grow is done through active partnerships with other public agencies. In addition, convening the best minds in the creative and business sectors at events such as the Singapore Design Week 2022’s Design Futures Symposium also makes for a vibrant ecosystem where knowledge, ideas and innovation are sparked.

The spaces we inhabit are a temple of the values we stand for; just as our physical world and our buildings reflect what our society holds dear, so too should our digital world reflect the values of the future we want to inhabit.