Hi, this is my story, and I hope people from Singapore will answer, as I need an insiders opinion not just a vision from outside. I’m product / web designer from Europe, working for four years in web design with a team of four people as an art director and designer, I’m particularly interested in product design and have made few concepts and won few international design competitions yet I want to study, as I’m self educated and want to have more design ideas and vision in my head, definitely want to meat more creative individuals and make something big together.
I’ve been planning to study in Japan, I speak/write/read Japanese (proficiency level 2) and absolutely no problems with English (I have linguistics education), the problem with Japan is the visa regulations and the thing my institute screwed it for me, so it seems I’m going to miss this year, and altogether it made me rethink a bit, I’ve been to Japan few times and have no questions about the design world there, yet I‘ve been to Singapore only ones (receiving the red dot concept award) and my stay was something near two weeks, so I though may be Singapore suits me more.
We know many great designers from Japan like Tokujin Yoshioka, Naoto Fukasawa and others, and I personally know none from Singapore, but this doesn’t mean a thing to me, I’m looking to the future and in future there can be anything possible.
My questions are:
Design world in Singapore, possibilities, work opportunities, perspectives in general:
How would you (people who work or used to work in Singapore) name the current design situation in SG? What do you think? Do you see any perspectives for product design?
Business related:
Are Chinese companies and manufacturers presented in Singapore, those who work ODM / OEM, like Chinese cell phone manufacturers, and others? Can Singapore be considered to be a kind of a window to Asia (china). Here I’m speaking as a company (design bureau) interested in manufacturing abilities, to manufacture custom design furniture, fashion accessories, high tech gadgets.
Education:
With the price on the same level I’ve been offered in Japan = 50 000 US Dollars for the course of three years, is it, by any means, worth it?
Any opinions about design in Singapore are welcome.