Singapore Polytechnic deepens its commitment to Humanity-Centred Design and launches its HCD+ Innovation Framework to drive the next generation of conscious design leadership
Singapore, 19 November 2025 – Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is hosting the Don Norman Design Award 2025 (DNDA25) Summit from 19 – 21 November 2025, bringing together more than 1,000 students, educators, business owners, designers, and industry leaders from 10 countries to explore how design can solve real-world challenges.
Marking the first time this prestigious Summit was held outside the United States, supported by DesignSingapore Council and Workforce Singapore, the three-day influential event is a milestone event for design leadership. Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Education and Sustainability and the Environment, delivered the welcome address as Guest-of-Honour, underscoring Singapore’s commitment to design excellence.
Putting Humanity-Centred Design at the Heart of Innovation
The Summit, themed "Humanity-Centred Design (HCD+): The Future of Education, Business and Community", focused on four key areas: strengthening education through design, supporting industry and innovation with people-centred infrastructure, building sustainable and inclusive communities, and advancing climate action through long-term, values-driven approaches. Reflecting SP’s commitment to sustainability, the Summit’s lanyards were produced in collaboration with DNDA laureate and SP alumna’s Commenhers. These unique pieces were crafted from upcycled fabric, each carrying its own story of renewal and creativity.
Notable speakers at the Summit included Distinguished Professor Emeritus Don Norman, Founder of the Design Lab, University of California San Diego, Co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group and Don Norman Design Award, USA; Mr Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN Resident Coordinator in China; Dr Daniel Iacofano, founding principal and CEO of MIG, and Ms Sophianne Araib, executive director of Jurong Lake Gardens and Horticulture and Community Cluster at the National Parks Board.
For more details about the Summit programme, please visit https://dnda25.sp.edu.sg/programme/programme-details/day-1/
SP Launches Groundbreaking Innovation Framework
Building on the Summit’s momentum, SP unveiled its own significant contribution to advancing humanity-centred design with the launch of its HCD+ Innovation Framework and Playbook, developed by SP’s User Experience Centre (UXC).
Inspired by Don Norman's call to move beyond traditional user-centred thinking, this practical guide integrates key principles for sustainable innovation, including Systems Thinking, Holistic Wellbeing, Bioinspiration, Circularity, and Social Equity & Inclusion. The framework provides a comprehensive design process from envisioning a concept to final delivery.
The Playbook equips individuals and organisations with the mindset and tools to design responsibly for people, planet, product and profit. It encourages a vital shift: expanding empathy to encompass all living things and focusing on long-term and sustainable systemic impact.
Strengthening Regional Design Collaboration
The Summit marked a significant expansion of the DT|UX Regional Consortium. It welcomed three new Asian partners: Bakrie University (Indonesia), The Design Village (India), and Communication University of China (China).
The consortium, launched in 2022, now spans six countries across Asia, creating a powerful regional network to advance design education. Member institutions will enhance their capabilities in Humanity-centred design and explore how HCD+ methodologies can drive innovation across various disciplines.
Mr Vatsal Agrawal, Dean International Affairs, The Design Village, said, "The Design Village fondly joins the pivotal consortium realised by Singapore Polytechnic to advance research and student mobility in Design Thinking and Humanity-Centred Design (HCD+). This pathbreaking collaboration brings to the fore plural design ideologies and beyond-human perspectives, nurturing transformative innovation, compassion, and meaningful impact across communities in Asia."
Prof Sofia W. Alisjahbana, M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN Eng [Rector], Bakrie University, said, “This collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic marks an important milestone for Universitas Bakrie. Through this partnership, we are reaffirming our belief that innovation must always be anchored in humanity. The MoU provides a strong foundation for our shared commitment to Design Thinking and Humanity-Centred Design. These approaches resonate deeply with Universitas Bakrie’s values of innovation and responsible management, principles that shape how we educate our students and engage with the world around us. We look forward to building meaningful programmes together from student exchanges to capability-building workshops and joint projects, that allow our communities to learn, collaborate, and design solutions that create real impact.”
Expanding Industry Partnerships
The Summit underlined SP’s broader commitment to strategic partnerships, with additional Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed across financial services, social impact, and hospitality sectors. Alliances were forged with partners, such as Civil Service College (CSC) to advance Humanity-Centred Design and strengthen public sector capabilities; Kin Living to foster innovative thinking in the hospitality sector; Project Dignity to strengthen Singapore’s social enterprise ecosystem, and Thammasat University in Thailand to build cross-border learning communities.
Associate Professor Daranee Jareemit, Ph.D., Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University, said, “The MoU between Thammasat Design School (TDS), Thammasat University, and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) highlights a shared vision to advance design education through hands-on learning and industry collaboration. With SP’s strong foundation as a leading polytechnic, the partnership will allow TDS students to experience real-world projects, applied innovation, and interdisciplinary teamwork that bridge design, business, and technology. This collaboration also aims to strengthen ties within the creative industry, fostering talent exchange, joint workshops, and co-developed programmes that prepare students to become future-ready designers and creative leaders in the ASEAN region.”
More information about the strategic partnerships can be found in Annexe A.
SP also renewed its partnership with UOB to strengthen student learning and deepen industry engagement through collaborative projects, workshops, internships, mentorship, and knowledge-sharing programmes. The partnership also supports SME capability development and continues to drive innovation-focused initiatives on campus by integrating design, digitalisation, and sustainability principles. This includes the painting of the Our Way Forward mural at SP, created through UOB’s Green Mosaic programme to highlight green innovation and community action.
“Over the past five years, our collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has been very fruitful, with close to a hundred students gaining real-life experience working as interns across all parts of a financial institution to gain direct exposure on how a bank works, and on the most current issues. We also mentored over 60 final year projects by SP students who tackled real-life banking issues in a win-win partnership which provided us with refreshing insights and perspectives,” said Ms Janet Young, Group Head, Channels and Digitalisation, Strategic Communications and Brand, UOB. “Taking our partnership to the next level, we will be offering overseas internships as part of our two-year MoU renewal with SP. We are proud to be the first financial institution to offer such internships for SP students, providing them with valuable real-world banking experiences in an international setting. Through this overseas internship programme, and the renewal of our MoU with SP as a whole, we hope to nurture the next generation of banking professionals as we give back to our communities.”
More information about the SP-UOB renewal programme and the Green Mosiac programme can be found in Annexe B.
Celebrating Design Innovation Excellence with Real-World Impact
Beyond inspiring dialogue, the Summit celebrated tangible design impact through this year's DNDA, recognising 17 international projects across 17 countries that advance the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The DNDA honours early-career practitioners, educational programmes, and organisations whose humanity-centred design work creates substantial community impact.
Yishun Community Hospital received the Excellence Award for its Caring Communities initiative, which mobilises community solutions to create connected neighbourhoods, significantly improving quality of life while reducing healthcare utilisation and costs.
Dr Wong Sweet Fun, Chief Transformation Officer & Senior Consultant, Medical Services, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said, “The Caring Communities care ecosystem, rooted in design-thinking and human-centred care, is a powerful example of what happens when residents are seen not just as passive recipients of care, but as active co-creators of their wellbeing. At KTPH, we started with human-centred design and naturally expanded to Humanity-Centred Design (HCD+) when we went beyond the walls of the hospital to address population and community health in residents’ own homes and communities.
“With HCD+, we began to appreciate the complex, multi-faceted nature of community health – recognising that community is ‘messy’ and very different from the controlled hospital environment. This led us to observe empathetically, think openly and co-design humbly, creating bidirectional learning between community and hospital. This approach has raised the community’s own capability to uphold their health and wellbeing between clinic visits, giving them more choice and control over their health outcomes. The community’s voice and wisdom have become a strong pillar in creating practical and sustainable health solutions, proving that better care starts in the heart of the community.
“We’re grateful to Singapore Polytechnic, the organisation that introduced KTPH to HCD+ and made this recognition possible. NHG Health is committed to building healthier communities and adding years of healthy life to all. This recognition celebrates our promise to create inclusive and dignified health ecosystems that bring care close to home. We look forward to reading SP's HCD+ playbook when it launches at the DNDA 2025 Summit.”
Three Singapore enterprises also earned recognition in the Organisation category:
Nuryanee Anishah, Co-Founder and CEO, Commenhers: “At Commenhers, we apply design thinking and circular design principles to transform textile waste into purposeful new products and experiences. By reimagining discarded materials through empathy, ideation, and co-creation, we show that sustainability and creativity can coexist. This design-led approach encourages conscious consumption — helping people see waste as a resource and fashion as a space for care and responsibility. Beyond products, our work creates a ripple effect in communities by engaging seniors, home-based sewers, and youth in upcycling workshops and collaborative projects. Through this, we foster local skills, intergenerational connection, and environmental awareness. Support from SP and DNDA has been instrumental — offering mentorship, exposure, and platforms that amplify our mission to build a more circular and inclusive fashion and textile industrial waste ecosystem.”
“At Frasers Property, retail is about creating spaces where people feel connected and valued, with our malls serving as vibrant community hubs. Guided by a human-centred approach, initiatives like our Inclusion Champions programme and co-designing Muslim prayer rooms with the community reflect our commitment to making everyday experiences inclusive and enriching. Receiving the Don Norman Design Award inspires us to keep reimagining and elevating the way people engage with our spaces”, said Mr Adrian Tan, Managing Director, Retail, Frasers Property Singapore.
For more information about these projects and other projects that were recognised under the Excellence and Promising categories, please refer to https://dnda.design/award/2025-laureates/
Looking Towards Asia’s Design Future
Beyond the formal announcements and awards, the Summit provided a crucial moment for reflection on Asia's growing role in global design. The event brought together some of the most influential voices in the field, who shared their unique insights on how Humanity-Centred Design can shape a more sustainably innovative and inclusive world. It also provided valuable perspectives on workforce transformation and capability building within the design industry, highlighting the emerging skills needed to thrive in this dynamic field. Their remarks underscored the powerful significance of hosting the DNDA in Singapore.
Ms Georgina Phua, Deputy Principal (Development), Singapore Polytechnic & Co-Chair, Don Norman Design Award Summit 2025, said, “Hosting DNDA25 at Singapore Polytechnic marks a proud milestone for SP and Singapore’s design ecosystem. It underscores our commitment to advancing design education that creates real-world impact. Through the HCD+ Innovation Playbook and our collaborations with government, industry, and community partners, we are strengthening the capability and confidence to apply humanity-centred design at scale. DNDA25 brings this vision to life, showcasing how learning, innovation, and partnership can come together to shape a more sustainable and connected world.”
“While we celebrate the 2025 Laureates, I thank everyone who applied and our 29 international advisors who gave their precious time to judge and provide extensive feedback. That process is essential to our underlying philosophy. DNDA does not simply award prizes and recognition; we give applicants meaningful advice and recommendations that can improve their work, encouraging them to reapply in future years. We saw how a project can be transformed in a short period when one of the 2024 finalist teams moved up to the Shortlist this year, showing tremendous growth and noteworthy impact,” said Distinguished Professor Emeritus Don Norman. “It’s particularly meaningful to celebrate the Laureates in Singapore, a city that is also an excellent example of how one city can change its buildings and transportation to minimise waste and pollution. The tall buildings with spouting gardens on multiple floors and their rooftops are a testament to that vision and what’s possible.”
“Singapore has long been a nexus for people, ideas, and innovation. As a Nation by Design, hosting the first DNDA25 Summit outside the United States highlights our role as a vibrant international hub where enterprises and creatives come together, and our belief that design shapes a better future for cities, communities, businesses and organisations. Innovation flourishes when guided by Humanity-Centred Design – through empathy and a shared responsibility to people and the planet – and we are proud to support Singapore Polytechnic in convening this global platform to advance that purpose,” said Ms Dawn Lim, Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council.
“Workforce Singapore is proud to support the DNDA2025, which exemplifies our commitment to building skills and capabilities that equip Singapore's workforce for the challenges ahead. As we navigate an increasingly complex global landscape, Humanity-Centred Design becomes essential to engage and co-create sustainable solutions that benefit both businesses and communities. This Summit provides a strategic platform for professionals to develop capabilities that will drive meaningful impact across sectors," said Ms Yap Zhi Jia, Director, Creative and Professional Services, Workforce Singapore.
The Summit showed that when design thinking extends beyond individual users to consider entire ecosystems - social, environmental, and economic - the potential for positive impact becomes transformative. As Asia continues to lead in sustainable innovation, events like DNDA25 offer vital platforms for sharing knowledge, establishing partnerships, and inspiring the next generation of conscious design leaders.
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