Cases
Safety
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Public Design Governance
Last month, a “Consultative Group of Residents for Publilc Design” was established by Seongdong-gu District Office. It was the nation’s first consultative body in design that engaged residents and consisted of eight residents, four expert members, two design experts and one public officer. Through the consultative group, the district was able to quickly collect residents’ opinions about relevant projects including the one related to public design and combined experts’ advice thereby setting a direction for design. It was designed to become a channel to communicate with the residents. In today’s multifaceted and complex modern society, existing design process that produces an outcome by utilizing intuitive ideas of only few designers has often turned out to be insufficient to meet the needs of the citizens. In response, this has shed a light on the need to come up with an innovative method to engage citizens, cooperate with stakeholders and experts for higher level of self-reliance and sustainability. The word “public” in public design means an unspecified number of the general public and together, which incorporates a value of engaging various players and cooperating in the process to create a design intended for everyone. The strategy that is being used to realize the afore-mentioned value of public design is a governance taking a perspective of “various methods for problem-solving.” -
Service Design for the Desirable Cities – Smart Living through Design
Until the end of the last century, design had a strong focus on the material environment. In cities, design was concerned with urban planning, architecture, street furniture, signage - to name but a few. This has changed fundamentally in this century. Designers are shaping and innovating public services. They are leading digital transformation. They co-create with citizens and public servants for the benefit of living in desirable cities. Birgit Mager's presentation will show how governments around the world are putting design on their strategic agendas and how service design is shaping these processes, using concrete examples to provide impetus and inspiration. -
Asking about the past, present, and future of cities. [2023 Seoul Design International Forum, Humanising Cities:Human•Design•City] Inside the lively scene!
Hello! I am Miyeon Kim, a supporter of the 2023 Seoul Design International Forum. Do you know about Seoul Design (www.sdif.org) and the Seoul Design International Forum? Seoul Design is a vision for Seoul that responds to the challenges facing the community due to various global issues, enhances the competitiveness of the city, and allows everyone to live a happy life. Seoul Design also aims to: - Develop creative and sustainable design solutions to solve the various problems that people face in their daily lives, creating a safe, convenient, and sustainable urban environment. - Lead the world's cities through design that reflects innovative technologies and the city's unique characteristics. - Increase the number of distinctive design contents in everyday life, satisfying the emotions of citizens and providing impressive experiences to drive the city's attractiveness. - Be a design community in which many people, including experts, industry, and citizens, participate and discuss together. Last year, the 2022 Seoul Design International Forum was held under the theme of "How Design Enrichs the Future." This year, it was held under the theme of "Humanising Cities:Human•Design•City" Under the vision of a human-centered city, we looked back on how Seoul was illuminated and shared our opinions to increase the competitiveness of the city. The Seoul Design International Forum, which is held every year based on the Seoul design I introduced earlier! It was held face-to-face for the first time in four years since COVID-19, with expert speakers from all over the world, and we vividly captured the scene!
Civil Rights & Education
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Seoul City's "Yes! Kids Zone!" has won a prestigious global design award
- 'Adolescents Obesity Problem Solution Design' wins prestigious award from US-based DMI (Design Management Institute) in 2023 - First Domestic award for a 'Public Institution'... Design encourages voluntary activities with exploration concepts from five countries - The city vows to continue expanding lifestyle design to support healthy and stable life across all stages of life. -
SDIF, : Illuminating the Future of Global Cities through the Philosophy of the “Soft City”
- Seoul Design International Forum to be held on Friday, September 19, under the theme “Designing a Better Global Life” - Mayor Oh Se-hoon to hold a special discussion on “Soft City” with Helle Søholt, CEO&Founding Partner of GEHL, and Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH - Experts present strategies for urban identity and sustainability, reaffirming Seoul’s global potential as a design city - Citizens participate in the “Design Manifesto,” shaping the forum as a public arena for Seoul’s design future -
Diffusion of Universal Design Culture: Seoul Universal Design Award
The SMG was the first public institution to promote industries related to universal design by establishing the Seoul Universal Design Award (SUDA) and holding its first public contest in 2021.
Health & Wellbeing
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SDIF 2025 Theme Video Full Version
Seoul Design International Forum 2025 – Full version of the theme video. Seoul Design International Forum is a global platform to share the power of design that transforms cities and lives. Your interest and participation are the driving force that leads Seoul to become an even more attractive global design city. In the upcoming SDIF 2026, we will continue the in-depth discussions on sustainability, creative collaboration, and the quality of life. -
Public design for people, cooperative public design
Design has always evolved as a meaningful means to achieve an objective or a part that is required in the society. Currently, active efforts are being made to resolve the issues of economy, environment and safety through design. In the recent times where we are transcending the era of industrialization to usher in the era of sustainability, design that improves the competitive industrial products is beginning to contribute to our society as design that improves public values as a part of the strategy to resolve problems from the perspective that design is changing in line with the demand of the society. ‘Public design’ is playing a leading role at the center, and from now on, 'design' will resolve a considerable number of issues that our society will face, and it will be making various contributions as a cultural pillar of life. -
Going Public
`The title of my presentation today is Going Public. This is an expression that is used in the financial industry. It is mentioned when a private company goes public after having attracted funding from the outside. The responsibility of the company grows when it gets listed. Against this backdrop, I would like to apply this to the city and humanizing city. Change in the mindset about the city I think of the change in the mindset about the city as ‘defining’. Going public is also related to creating a city for public interest. We learned a lot about social distancing during the pandemic period. We have returned to our normal lives and we are in the process of adapting to the social interactions once again. We are also actively interacting with the city again. Such interactions are always monitored, modeled and are being relayed. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace. In addition to the socio-economic challenges that are deeply rooted, climate change that could not be seen in the past is having a massive impact on the city. In particular, climate disaster is observed more frequently. Examples being record level heat waves and the rise in sea level and so forth.
Transportation
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Seoul’s Integrated Transportation Brand “GO SEOUL” Sweeps Design Awards, Emerging as a New Urban Icon
- “Go Seoul,” Seoul’s integrated transportation brand, has won three major design awards: Germany’s Red Dot Design Award, the U.S. Good Design Award, and the German Design Award. - The brand was highly recognized for its broad connectivity and scalability, linking Seoul’s city buses, subway, Hangang Bus, and Ttareungi public bikes under one unified identity. - Seoul will expand the application of the integrated brand, strengthen domestic and international promotion, and continue enhancing the brand by reflecting citizen feedback. - The city stated, “We will develop Go Seoul into an urban icon that represents Seoul’s world-class transportation system.” -
Design 2.0 Design Policy and Future Strategies
I am honored to be speaking with Thomas Heatherwick and Shigeru Ban and I think the interesting designs of Lee Dal-woo was a good stimulus. I will. I will now think again about the actions to be taken by a big city like Seoul Metropolitan Government. My presentation will be about the fun city with vitality, Seoul. I will be presenting in the order of 5 Vision Principles that were carried out. -
Role of Design: Assist Co-existence of People / Environment / Technology
I am Choi So-hyun, and I am in charge of design and marketing, and space and architecture at Naver. After hearing the presentation of the two previous speakers, Thomas Heatherwick and Shigeru Ban, I could also feel the excitement and tremor as a designer. I would like to talk about the theme of ‘Design that aids in coexistence of people, environment and technology’. I am confident that instead of being fearful of technology we can use technology to resolve the issues that we are facing and design can also play a critical role in a rapidly changing society. I hope you will think about what sort of work you do and the perspective you have as you sit here. You are here as urban planners but you are also probably here as residents of the city. Why don’t we think about how you want to live? I think you may find different answers depending on the individual contexts. Let me continue my talk with these questions in mind. Now, I will introduce you to various spaces of Naver. I hope that these various spaces of Naver will be a clue or a solution when you are looking for your own answers in your respective places.
Living Environment
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Universal Design welfare facilities meet with the system / Cases in Norway and Australia
Universal Design has been used for a very long time and has been implemented as part of Seoul's design policy to create an urban environment that is safe and convenient for all citizens, regardless of gender, age, nationality and disability. But it is still difficult for citizens to feel it directly or to fully popularize it within the remit of our daily lives. At this point, we need to think about what strategies the Seoul Metropolitan Government should use in relation to its policies, understand how some countries, like Norway and Australia, understand "different" through the UD system, and look at examples where Seoul can choose to apply UD in the future, especially in relation to important issues regarding welfare services, facilities and space. 1. Origins of Universal Design Universal Design is design for everyone. Its scope is wide-ranging, from products, architecture, environment, services, the urban environment and social institutional improvement, which should be easy to use regardless of age, gender, nationality or disability. Universal in the dictionary sense can be interpreted as universal or all, and it also contains the concept of planning and designing products, buildings and environments from the beginning to make them available to everyone. Universal Design was initially designed as a standard for people with disabilities and the elderly but over time, the scope of its necessity expanded as it gradually targeted a larger number of people. The concept of UD is seen as a concept of life-span design or trans-generational design which goes far beyond the concepts of the barrier-free design, accessible design, and adaptable design of the past. -
The Innovative City for the Next Generation(the MZ Generation): Advancing Towards Ultra Connectivity and the Real World
Space defines an experience. At a café, we drink a beverage. In a museum, we see exhibits. People have the same experience at a specific space and sometimes need to stand in a long line. No one think this is weird. On the other hand, for spaces in a movie or a video game we enjoy on a daily basis, a content defines an experience. The main character may stay in a space where a fantasy adventure unfolds or where characters play cat and mouse with each other in a spectacular event. The same space can be a world where so many stories turn into reality. What would happen if the two worlds are merged into one? What would happen if our world turns into a huge playground and all of us become main characters of an exciting story? What would happen if you can share the experience you have had in a movie or a video game with people in a real world? To prove these hypotheses, I would like to guide you to a space which was once an unattractive neighborhood filled with factories and vehicles but is now a must-go place for MZ generation, and a space where once dull and inactive places have become popular spots for a lot of visitors and even a city-wide festival. -
[Panel Discussion 1] Empowering Global Design Capabilities through Urban Initiatives
[Chair] We have arranged this special gathering today to highlight DDP's contributions in leading global design culture, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and spreading design values. We are honored to have Mr. Craig Kiner, Mr. Junggi Sung, Mr. Sang Lee, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, and Curator Dahyoung Chung join us for an in-depth discussion about balance, universality, and public nature in urban design. This session will serve as a cultural forum to examine how design thinking outcomes influence our city's competitiveness and policy development. Today's discussion will particularly focus on the philosophy and culture inherent in design, inclusive design, accessibility, and non-discriminatory design, along with their contexts, experiences, and creativity.
Social service
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From First Class to Coach
Universal design is increasingly becoming an important part of our lives. Universal design should ensure transparency and involve as many people as possible. Universal design encompasses all fields, including economic, architectural, and social design. The history of universal design can be said to have started with the Weimar Declaration. The Universal Design Forum is a German non-profit organization whose purpose is to create a safe place for all of us. We see universal design as an economic and social mission. There is an old German saying, “A good idea reflects the times.” Today, with rapid changes with industrial development and technology, it is necessary to seek changes in production to accommodate good ideas, and to apply universal design globally by changing all strategies and methods that have been pursued previously. In the past, most buildings were made of wood. Wood has the advantage of allowing you to build a house in a short time, but it has the disadvantage of low sustainability because it is vulnerable to fire and wind. At the time of the Bauhaus, standards of design and construction were defined. The definition concerned planning standards and standards for how a particular building should be built based on ergonomics. It was published as a book and used as a guidebook for builders worldwide. -
[Abstract] Design Connecting People, Cities, and the Future: Focusing on Seoul’s Design Policies
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has implemented “people-centered design” that citizens can tangibly experience in their daily lives, and “creative design” that enhances the city’s attractiveness and global competitiveness. Looking ahead, it aims to advance toward “future-oriented design,” opening new pathways to address the pressing global challenges of climate change, digital transformation, and shifting lifestyles. -
SDIF 2025 Highlight Video
We are pleased to share the highlight video of the 2025 Seoul Design International Forum (SDIF 2025), held on September 19, 2025 (Fri) at the Multipurpose Hall of Seoul City Hall. Under the theme “Attractive City of Seoul: Designing a Better Global Life,” global design experts gathered to share insights and discuss Seoul’s design vision and future. Relive the inspiring moments through this video.
Disaster response
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Respond to the crisis, “Coronavirus reminder’ – from observation to action (Designing Safety Content That You Want to Keep It on Your Desk)
Corona Alert started at the end of January, not long after the outbreak of COVID 19, with the idea of creating a service that can give a little help to society with the programming skills we learned. The members who developed 'Corona Alert' all gathered through the same programming conference. The team members who studied coding together at the conference and had experience in actually developing various services were working as developers of startups. I saw a lot of advertisements saying that such sites exist. We first analyzed several services already on the market. If it is similar to the previously released services, there is no significant meaning, so we considered the inconveniences and the direction of improvement for the existing services. In addition, we established the core value of the service by determining on what points we differentiate, and what value we can provide to users, beyond simply removing inconveniences. -
Architect in action, Shigeru Ban: The power of space and architecture
Can designers help humanity? I've had this thought before. If the Earth enters a post-apocalyptic era (like the destruction of the Earth or the end of humanity, which appears quite often in movies), only a small group of people who are essential for the survival of humanity can take shelter, cab architects or space designers should join that group? This is also a light question about whether architects or space designers are doing the work necessary for our society and humanity. Of course, my personal opinion is that they should join the group. First of all, it would be difficult to create a shelter without an architect or space expert. Otherwise, wouldn't the place become a crucible of chaos? The subtitle of the book <Paper Architecture in Action> (2019, Minumsa publishing) written by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban is ‘What can architects do for society?’ From the public's point of view, rather than from the fields of architecture, space, or design, architecture is a tangible entity that creates the landscape of a city. Most people recognize architecture as a landmark, a base, or something that symbolizes something. The lifespan of architecture is also quite long, or more accurately, it should be long, so the experience of architecture is difficult to be fragmented or specific. -
The Social Role of Architects
I started building residence and residential spaces related to disasters, because I started thinking that, maybe in the past, I was designing for the privileged class. Because there are cases where people with wealth and authority will construct buildings and structures to visualize and show off their wealth and authority that is not tangible to the human eyes. That made me think that I should be constructing structures for the public and that is why I started building architectures in disaster sites. Of course, it is not bad to build architectures for the former. But we do need to think further about this. There are cases where developers and construction companies are pleased about new projects that may emerge when there is a disaster. However, the victims would of the disaster would be suffering a lot. That is why I thought that social role of an architect would like in supporting refugees of disasters.
Service & Innovation
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Seoul Expands Its "Design Companionship" Initiative to Other Metropolitan Cities
- On March 27th (Thursday), Seoul signed an agreement with Busan, launching intercity collaboration through the "Design Seoul" initiative. - The two cities will share accumulated design assets, capabilities, and policies to seek solutions to urban challenges through design. -A joint workshop will be held in Busan from March 27th to 28th, featuring expert presentations, keynote lectures, and participation by public officials. - "Through continued exchange and cooperation with Busan, we will lead innovation in urban design," Seoul city officials stated. -
Public Space and Design for Everyday Lives of Citizens
City is an inevitable space of life for the modern people. The skyline that we are currently experiencing, the plaza, parks, natural environments and so forth are mostly the result of the city plan that was systemized in the past, and until now, the urban space was planned to play its role in line with the usage that was planned and defined based on function. Various parts of cities that achieved industrial competitiveness by prioritizing efficiency and economics is far from ‘user-centric approaches’ and achieving ‘sustainability’ that is the focus of today’s society. Future city should be restructured into a space that can enable exchange and circulation based on the needs and the thoughts of citizens or stakeholders of local communities, and aged spaces and the environment should be improved to resolve urban issues. -
[Session 1] Invisible Landmark
[Chris van Duijn] Returning from AI to Human Intelligence Good afternoon. After artificial intelligence, back to human intelligence. Feeling like going back in time a bit perhaps. It's a bit of a mashup of the last subject that Professor Dr. Zec kind of was talking about: existing and new. It's about the landmark that Craig explained in detail, but also, it's about human connection.