Seoul Design
International Forum
서울디자인국제포럼

[Special Interview] Jeffrey T.K. Valino Koh

1. In countries like Singapore, various tax incentives and policies are provided to support and nurture design-related startups. What type of government support do you think is most effective in fostering the growth of the design industry? I think it’s important to understand that the design industry in Singapore is not necessarily the same as in Korea. In South Korea, design often focuses on creating objects or crafting compelling experiences. In Singapore, however, design is more about process redesign.

[Special Interview] Chris van Duijn

1. What do you think is the ideal urban space in Seoul and why? What’s interesting about Seoul is its diversity and variety, which makes the city truly unique. One notable feature is its proximity to the mountains. On the slopes of the mountains, you’ll find villages with a unique, fine-grained scale and rich texture where people live, work, and dine.

[Special Interview] Craig Kiner

1. What was it like to return to Korea and visit DDP, a place you personally contributed to designing? It was a pleasure returning to Seoul to attend the Seoul Design International Forum 2024. I was involved with the design, development and construction of DDP over 6 years. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the facility once again. Considering the facility is now10 years since completion, the building has performed well. SDF and SMG have been superb guardians of DDP organising a broad programme of events to ensure the facility remains a key component of the cultural infrastructure and life of Seoul, with art, fashion, music and design at the forefront.

[Special Interview] Birgit Mager

Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for Korean students aspiring to become leaders in service design? If you would like to be a leader in service design, you should try to be a tree-shaped person. What is a tree-shaped person? You have to have deep roots and you have to have many branches. So the deep roots are the roots in design research. You need to have a good understanding on how to understand a complex system, how to visualize a complex system.

[Special Interview] Prof. Dr. Peter Zec

As someone currently traveling across Asia, could you share your thoughts on what you find most inspiring about Seoul’s design compared to other cities in the region? I think Seoul has developed very strongly in the last decades and I would compare the designers from Seoul and from Korea with the designers from Italy.

[Panel Discussion 2] Designing for a sustainable future

[Chair] Welcome everyone. Today's session topic is 'Design for the Future.' The presentations we've heard from our speakers have been very insightful, covering various aspects that affect both our current lives and future existence. In this panel discussion, we would like to discuss with our session speakers and panelists how various digital innovation technologies, including artificial intelligence, are impacting our public services and product design. Furthermore, we'd like to exchange views on how these changes will guide urban life and our daily existence.

[Session 2] The Convergence of AI and Design: Organizational Culture, Personalization, and Ethical Leadership

[Kaya Kim] Hello, I'm Kaya Kim, Senior Specialist at Design Center of LG Electronics. Today, I'd like to talk about AI and design from a different perspective than the public or academia, from the perspective of working in a company looking at products and markets.

[Session 2] Designing for Transition: Transforming Design(ers) for a Sustainable Future

[Jeffrey T.K. Valino Koh] I'm Dr. Jeffrey Koh, an Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology, where I lead the Design Factory, part of a global network. South Korea is fortunate to have two design factories. I'm also co-owner of Chemistry, a design consultancy with offices in Singapore, Amsterdam, and London. We've been operating for about 23 years, specializing in service design, experience design, and planet-centered, regenerative, and circular economy design.

[Keynote Session 2] Service Design for the Desirable Cities – Smart Living through Design

[Birgit Mager] What Makes Cities Desirable? When we consider desirable cities, urban design and aesthetics - which we discussed extensively in the morning session - are crucial elements. This includes architecture, planning, public spaces, and historic preservation. However, these aspects alone don't complete the picture. A truly desirable city encompasses multiple dimensions. We must consider livability, economic opportunity, and sustainability. Infrastructure and mobility play vital roles, alongside community and social cohesion. Culture and lifestyle shape the city's character, while education and innovation drive its future. Resilience ensures its longevity, and governance and leadership guide its development. All these aspects can be addressed through design, particularly service design - a field I began teaching in 1995 when it was entirely new. Over the past 30 years, I've had the privilege of experimenting with, framing, and expanding this field until it became what we might call "the new normal" in many organizations and governments worldwide.

[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.

[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.

[Session 1] City, Design and AI

[Sang Lee] Today's presentation topic is 'Urban Design and Artificial Intelligence'. Since it's not too difficult a topic, I hope you can listen comfortably. I am currently a Creative Director at TikTok, working on AI system implementation. Before that, I was a Design Director at Google, and prior to that, I was the head of C+ AI Plon Studio at Microsoft. Before that, I worked at LYIN Digital. This year, I wrote a book called 'AI Works, Humans Grow' which fortunately became a bestseller. Thank you.

[Session 1] Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Fashion and Future

[Craig Kiner] Urban Development and Architectural Challenge Ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests, it's a real pleasure to be back in Seoul and at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Like Mayor Oh mentioned before, there are a lot of memories of this place, from the beginning back in 2008 to the grand opening in 2014 — and even the groundbreaking four years before that. Thank you for the invitation to attend the Seoul Design International Forum. On behalf of Dr. Schumacher and myself, I'd like to thank Mayor Oh for his vision, leadership, and ambition in supporting us at ZHA Architects and the DDP project — a design that was unfamiliar and perhaps a little alien, an extraordinary challenge for the city. As we are all aware, DDP was conceived to commemorate Seoul as the World Design Capital in 2010 — 14 years passed — and today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the building’s opening. We’d also like to offer thanks to the competition jury for their courage and resolve throughout the process, for selecting the design of the metonymic landscape, and to all of our partners and consultants in London and Seoul, including SAMOO Architects and Engineers, ZHA, as well as all of the dedicated construction teams whose efforts played a critical role in delivering the project.

[Keynote Session 1] The Spirit of Success – Designing the Urban Quality of Life

[Prof. Dr. Peter Zec] Urbanization and City Challenges I'm happy to return to Seoul, a city I've known well since the late 1980s. This familiarity brings me here today to reflect on the DDP and World Design Capital Project outcomes. Urban populations continue to grow globally - 57% of people now live in cities worldwide, with developed nations showing even higher percentages: Japan at 92%, the US at 83%, Korea at 81%, and Germany at 77%. By 2050, this is expected to reach 68% globally. Cities attract people with their facilities, lifestyle, and entertainment options. However, cities face significant challenges. Climate change impacts are evident - from recent floods in Spain to Seoul's challenges with the Han River during heavy rains. While politicians may favor electric cars, they likely won't resolve our clean energy and air pollution concerns. Seoul leads in smart mobility, with what the mayor describes as the world's benchmark metro system. While modern cities increasingly use surveillance, it should focus on safety and urban understanding rather than tracking individuals as seen in Chinese cities.

[Special Discussion] Landmarks, the Engine of Urban Competitiveness

[Chair] We are joined by three key figures closely associated with the design city Seoul and its central hub, DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza). DDP has now undoubtedly become a global landmark. First, we have Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul, who oversees the city’s transformation into an attractive design-centered metropolis, including the establishment of DDP. Next, we are joined by Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, Chairman of Red Dot, who officially designated Seoul as the World Design Capital in 2010 during his role as the founding chair of WDC. Lastly, we have Craig Kiner, Associate Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, who was the lead architect of the DDP project.

The Convergence of AI and Design: Organizational Culture, Personalization, and Ethical Leadership

This talk discusses the impact of AI on organizational culture and product design, highlighting the need for designers’ involvement in the early stages of design. Additionally, it explores privacy and ethical issues arising in AI personalization services, using on-device AI technology as an example, and examines the role of design leadership in balancing corporate profits with the preservation of human-centered values.

Designing for Transition: Transforming Design(ers) for a Sustainable Future

This talk examines the urgent need for a paradigm shift in design education and practice to address the pressing sustainability challenges of our time. The presentation will: Challenge the prevailing anthropocentric worldview in design, advocating for a more holistic approach that considers the interconnectedness of human and natural systems. This shift necessitates moving beyond human-centred design to encompass the needs of all stakeholders, including non-human actors and future generations. Deconstruct the myth of the designer as a singular saviour, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, co-creation, and knowledge sharing across disciplines and sectors. Designers must transition from problem solvers to enablers, empowering communities to participate in the design process and fostering collective ownership of solutions. Highlight the critical need to move beyond short-term, profit-driven design solutions that prioritize immediate gains over long-term sustainability. The talk encourages designers to embrace circular economy principles, particularly the often-overlooked strategy of "refuse," questioning the necessity of new designs and prioritizing reduction, reuse, and regeneration. Explore the expanding role of design beyond traditional boundaries, encompassing not only objects and interfaces but also experiences, services, and systems. The speaker argues that designers, with their unique ability to articulate problems and translate ideas into tangible outputs, are well-positioned to facilitate transformative change across diverse fields. Through compelling examples and practical insights, this talk aims to inspire a design renaissance, urging designers to embrace their agency as changemakers and contribute to building a more just and sustainable future.

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.