The Big Difference Between The Education Systems

Today's a great example of why I chose the Australian education system over its Singaporean counterpart.

We had a submission today for a project that involves us "talking to strangers" and then translating that experience onto an A0 size poster in black and white. Everyone had a different experience depending on the strangers they have spoken to and the outcomes were vast and diverse. Everybody approached the project from their distinct "designer" point of view and I dare say the solutions were all lovely.

My classmate Soli begged to differ and produced a solution that questioned the brief. A blank A0 sized piece of paper with a simple paragraph in the middle that stated something to the effect of "an experience between two individuals cannot be translated onto a piece of paper for it is priceless." It proceeded to criticise the brief and made it quite clear that if the lecturers wanted to know the experience, that they spoke to her directly.

Now, this kind of thing will definitely be frowned upon in Singapore. The student would most probably be thought to have failed the project. Soli, however, got the praise of the lecturers for challenging the brief and was told that was exactly what they were looking for. I think I can safely say that she aced that project.

I believe for Singapore to move forward in the design industry, one needs to accept the fact that design is not purely cosmetic, but functional. It is about designing what best suits the client's brief, and not what looks best.

If Singaporeans are ready to stop criticism and embrace design in its functionality, I would say that we are finally taking a right step forward.