At the Design Futures Forum, thought leaders across a spectrum of industries ruminate on what it means to create meaningfully in a world of complexities
What does design look like in a world where problems are becoming too complex to solve? At this year’s Design Futures Forum–one of the headline events of Singapore Design Week 2025–this question is more foundational than rhetorical. Titled Braving Complexities, the one-day event explores design as a process shaped by contradiction, collaboration, and critical reflection.
Curated by Ong Ker-Shing, associate professor at the NUS Department of Architecture, and Aric Chen, director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, the forum spotlights three deeply intertwined themes: Technology, Sustainability, and Care. Joining Ong and Chen, a compelling line-up of global and local voices–including speculative designer Thomas Thwaites, filmmaker Liam Young, and mycelium researcher Feifei Zhou—share compelling insights that inspire even deeper discussions.
“We wanted to challenge the conventional notion of design as a problem-solving exercise,” says Chen. “There’s no straightforward path from problem to solution anymore. What we face is a spaghetti bowl of intertwined and often contradictory needs.”
That rejection of “solutionism” (in simpler terms, the belief that technology can solve all of society’s problems) shapes the forum’s structure as much as its content. Alongside keynote lectures and cross-disciplinary panels, a series of sessions titled The Honest Truth offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making (and unmaking) of design projects; failures and all. “The idea wasn’t to create neat answers,” says Ong. “It was to spark dialogue and expose the real messiness of the design process.”
Working through complexities
Both curators are quick to point out that design today is less about singular vision and more about orchestrating multiple voices. “Design is rarely ever just ‘solutioning’,” Ong adds. “It’s a process that’s often deeply entangled with user systems, research, and even technical programming. In healthcare, for instance, it doesn’t just respond; it initiates.”
That expanded view also reframes the role of the designer. Chen notes that design’s value lies not in offering silver bullets, but in its ability to navigate ambiguity. “If we’re serious about tackling complex challenges, we have to stop expecting clean solutions. Instead, we need to learn how to work through complexity: ethically, collaboratively, and with care.”
Care, in particular, is given more weight this year. Rather than being treated as a soft or secondary value, it’s positioned as a design imperative. Ong describes it as designing with empathy, but also with impact: “True care is about creating emotional connection, community, and well-being. It’s not just aesthetics. It’s how people feel and live.”
The forum also broadens the conversation on sustainability. While environmental sustainability remains a focus, this year’s edition brings social sustainability to the fore–how inclusive, community-based design leads to outcomes that are not only greener but also more enduring.
For attendees, Design Futures Forum offers more than inspiration; it presents a reframing of the city’s identity as a design-forward nation. Chen, who has long admired Singapore’s leadership in areas like public housing and biodiversity, sees this year’s edition as a timely evolution. “Design can synthesise across technical, political, ecological, and cultural domains. It’s uniquely equipped to reframe how we live, work, and coexist in the future.”
That future may not be simple or certain but, as Ong says, the act of design is itself a kind of optimism. “Design helps us make sense of the mess. It teaches us to think critically, creatively, and generously.” In complex times like these, this is exactly what we need.
