We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative National Library Board Singapore / Idean ("NLBS/I").
Idean is a global collective of thinkers storytellers, and makers aligned to one purpose: to challenge what's possible. We imagine. And we make it happen. We launch experiences that enable people to build meaningful relationships and create change.
National Library Board Singapore / Idean Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by National Library Board Singapore / Idean.
National Library Board Singapore / Idean Design - Future Of The Digitally Literate Society Mobile Application
Designer Interview of National Library Board Singapore / Idean:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
NLBS/I : We come from various background and not all of us are trained from a design education. It ranges from specializing in web to having a psychology and communications background.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
NLBS/I : Idean is a strategic design agency. We challenge what’s possible to re-imagine new products, services & businesses.
DI: What is "design" for you?
NLBS/I : The visual outlook or the process itself to produce a visually appealing output.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
NLBS/I : We love all kinds of challenges, ranging from various industries as it allows us to learn with every project. A general favourite though, we attempt designs that have a large user base and burning issues to solve with passionate stakeholders.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
NLBS/I : As a design team, the first thing we designed for a company is a health and fitness application.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
NLBS/I : Being in the digital and technology industry, we love anything digital, web base, cross-interfacing technologies such as AR, IOT and motion/voice tracking.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
NLBS/I : We are team of morning creatures, we work best in the morning after a nice cup of coffee and tea.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
NLBS/I : 1. Aesthetic appeal 2. layout flows and functionality (legibility, clarity, etc). 2. Is my design solving a pain points the best way? 3. How can I simplify processes with my design? 4. How can technology enable a better experience? 5. How usable is the design? 6. Is there a new and better way to design this?
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
NLBS/I : The enjoyment, fun, attentiveness and some procrastination - a process all of us go through
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
NLBS/I : The sense of satisfaction that not only is it being realized but the response that turned out better than expected, the level of happiness rises to estatic.
DI: What makes a design successful?
NLBS/I : The adoption rate of the design and stickiness, clarity of use and raving reviews.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
NLBS/I : "Pretty first, then balance and visual weightage on a page/space, followed by visual flow and hierarchy." Adib "I consider the following: 1) Is the design solving the biggest customer’s pain point?, 2) What value does this design add?, 3) How usable is the design?, and 4) How does the customer feel after using the product with the new design?, 5) How different is this design?" Gigi
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
NLBS/I : We moved from graphics to encompassing the entire customer’s experience goes beyond different interfaces (mobile, voice etc.). With rapid advances in technology and varied learning curves, the future of design is to facilitate users’ interaction without a steep learning curve – i.e. user feels comfortable with the new way of interacting and working with the product. Not forgetting, design these days have to be an “inclusive design”, fro example, where an appealing design for any normal person can also be just as appealing for the visually impaired person.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
NLBS/I : "My iPhone, Apple thunderbolt display, ATH M50 headphones, Razer mousepad, collapsible standing wall-desk." Adib
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
NLBS/I : "Start by practicing to mimic styles from your favourite designers. After each design, important to have design critique and it sometimes take fresh restarts with different approaches to get it right." Adib
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
NLBS/I : 1. Follow a few good references and see how they stand out from other similar takes/designs. 2. Always ask “How does this value add to the user’s experience?”
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
NLBS/I : Our mantra in our team: Take breaks when necessary and always critique your own design efforts.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
NLBS/I : We definitely work as a team, but not forgetting that individual efforts are required to make a team effort successful.