Seoul Design
International Forum
서울디자인국제포럼

[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.

[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.

[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.

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.

City, Design and AI

What should a city in the age of artificial intelligence aspire to be and what value should it provide to its citizens? This talk provides a comprehensive view of how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are redefining how cities function and transforming the lives of their citizens on a deeper level. Today's rapidly evolving artificial intelligence is more than just a technology, it's revolutionizing society as a whole. However, how these changes are specifically realized in urban environments and how they should be integrated into the daily lives of citizens is still an area that needs further exploration. This talk will explore how artificial intelligence technologies can substantially improve urban environments and provide meaningful value to both individuals and communities. It will analyze the current state of AI's development and future possibilities, exploring not the technology itself, but the design potential of the technology - how it can evolve to focus on human connection, empathy, and convenience. Furthermore, it will share insights and lessons we can learn from examples of cities and countries around the world that are already using AI to revolutionize the way cities function. This talk will provide an in-depth discussion of how the future of AI can transform our cities into smarter, more livable spaces, and point the way forward for creating citizen-centric cities. In this new era driven by AI, cities need to rethink their role as platforms to enhance the lives of their citizens, not just adopt technology.

Seoul Enhances Urban Aesthetics by Integrating Art Across the City

- Creation of "Attractive Fences" featuring illustrations around long-term construction sites, such as Aeogae Station and the Namsan Gondola project. - Works by renowned illustrators like Subsub, CUNA, and Glory showcased. - Collaboration with L’Oréal Korea to display artworks by disabled artists on the covers of Seoul-style street trash bins. - The city remarked, “We aim to highlight Seoul's charm by incorporating art into urban spaces. Look forward to various street installations at the end of the year and the start of the next.”

Reborn as a Vibrant Play Space for All Generations... 'Seongsu 1 Play Park' Opens

- On Monday the 16th, the Second Edition of Seoul’s Active Design Landmark… A New Play Space Offering Daily Vitality and Fun - A Circular Walking Trail for All Generations to Enjoy, Offering Dynamic Experiences While Strolling Along the ‘Wave-shaped Hill’ - Designed with Citizen Safety as the Top Priority… Features Include Slip-resistant Surfaces, Gentle Slopes, and Accessibility for Mobility-impaired Individuals - The City Aims to Create an ‘Attractive and Healthy Space’ Offering Fun and Unique Experiences Year-round.

'Horizontal Trashcan", easy to dispose and convenient for collection... a makeover as a urban icon

- Seoul pilot installation of 30 horizontal trash cans in 15 urban centers with high foot traffic such as bus stops of City Hall and DDP - Developed design of trash cans such as Type A, which is a simple form, Type B, which has an expression with 'fun' points and specialized types - Evaluate aesthetics, convenience, cleanliness, and ease of collection to improve the design... expanded through autonomous districts - The City expects that "street horizontal trash cans that consider the urban environment and convenience will improve the quality of life of the city"

Seoul transforms 'Runner Station' construction site into MZ Holin's 'attraction fence'

- Works by popular MZ generation artists on display from 3.29~4.14 at the construction site inside Yeouinaru Station - Construction site fence as a FUN space instead of a disconnecting space...Opportunity for emerging artists to participate in public design - Seoul, "Attraction fence that provides daily 'fun' to citizens... Expected to be utilized as an exotic photo spot"

The Innovative City for the Next Generation(the MZ Generation): Advancing Towards Ultra Connectivity and the Real World

This forum is an inspiring time for myself as well. Until now, we carried out discussions under the theme of the types of spaces that can act as the main characters and about relevant humanizing activities. In this session, we will talk about the perspective where we are the protagonists. Do you happen to know this song? ‘I love to play all day. Come join me, all my friends’. Do you know what it is? Yes. It is Pororo. What would have happened if we had children in this space? They would have disappeared as soon as we started because they would have said ‘This is not fun. I’m bored’. When we think back on our childhood, children could play all day long wherever they were as long as they had three things. The three things are playground, toys and friends.

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.

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.

From Ideas to Implementation, Transforming Limits into Opportunities in Design

There is a slogan pursued by the design studio, Maum Studio. The slogan is Love, Play and Heart. We emphasize this slogan because Maum Studio believes that ‘ideas are equivalent to stories’. Today, I would like to take the time for us to all resonate about how story-based anecdotes implemented in Maum Studio started small and grew to become bigger. Against this backdrop, I would like to introduce the projects of Maum Studio centering on various keywords.