What is a determiner of good design? If it’s one person who should know that, it’s former Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of Wallpaper* magazine, Tony Chambers.

In town recently as part of Singapore Design Week (SDW) 2023, with his keen eye for detail, Tony co-curated DesignSingapore Council (Dsg)’s Future Impact: Homecoming Showcase alongside Maria Cristina Didero, which shines a spotlight on six of Singapore’s most progressive design talents. Previously shown during the Future Impact exhibition during Milan Design Week in April, the exhibition finally returns to Singapore for SDW 2023, and is housed at the National Design Centre till 31st October.

“After the successful debut of Future Impact during Milan Design Week earlier this year, I am delighted to present the return showcase on the designers’ home ground. This homecoming showcase will further project Singapore as an innovative design hub by highlighting the impactful and future-focused work of six of the most talented Singaporean designers,” says Tony.

In the cosy pop-up, visitors will find works that emphasise the urgent need for sustainability in design and production today. The six featured designers are Tiffany Loy, Nathan Yong, Forest & Whale, Viewport Studio, Gabriel Tan and Studio Juju, with projects that range from using Artificial Intelligence and coding for creating furniture and textiles to graphic posters that examine our relationship with nature, many of which use a combination of cutting-edge techniques and poetic storytelling to demonstrate Singapore’s design optimism and commitment to shaping a brighter future through design-led innovation.

Speaking to Tony, we found out how more about his concerns on the future of design, the art of discovering what’s next, and what it takes to stand out from the crowd. “This project is one we’ve been working on a long time, and we wanted this exhibition to represent the sheer variety of talent that Singapore has, from industrial design to more conceptual, artistic ideas,” says Tony. “At the end of the day, we’re essentially tackling sustainability in design, and considering how the designer’s role is to ensure we continue to enjoy beautiful things, while improving the standard of living with as little impact on planet as possible.”

“You know, I didn’t initially intend to develop my career in journalism and magazines – in fact I studied graphic design and typography, with visual communication being my real skill set,” says Tony, on his career origins. “But as it happens, my first job was at the UK’s The Sunday Times, where I discovered it was such a wonderful, esteemed place of journalism, and from initially thinking I’d become a graphic designer upon graduation, I instead ended up in magazines. It took me about a year to get the hang of things, and I became fascinated by the world of journalism, seeing the power of design combined with great words with each feature.”

It may have been an unusual step for Tony, but in many ways, it made complete sense with how comfortable he felt doing such a job. “When I eventually got to Wallpaper*, you really see how such a visually-led publication it is, and how it helped me map out a career and get paid to do something that I found such great fun,” says Tony. “Even with the decline of the print industry, I do believe there’s still a place for journalism, and a number of publications who still work with long form. Things are moving faster and faster, and indeed, attentions spans are shortening, but I believe there will always be people who appreciate journalism.”

Upon saying this, Chambers recalls a film he watched on the plane over – Turn Every Page, a documentary about the 50-year professional relationship between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro and his editor, literary giant Robert Gottlieb. “Journalism as one of greatest professions, and when the right person stumbles upon it as their career, they end up enjoying the process of finding out why things happen and what happens after,” says Chambers. “In Turn Every Page, it really reaffirmed my faith in quality journalism and editing, and you really see how important the relationship between the writer and editor is, from the act of creation to being able to turn all that information and content into something manageable and digestible.”

That being said, Wallpaper* itself is now no longer purely the journal it is, but has diversified into events and other forms of content as well. “I found diversification of what a brand was capable of very important, it adds more strings to your bow, so to speak, and it was exciting to take the magazine out of the page and do live events, exhibitions, talks and more,” says Chambers. “It provides more revenue streams too, especially in the wake of economic crises and the more recent pandemic, and brings us back to the idea that journalism has to adapt to whatever is happening, from going digital to transiting to film form.”

In coming to Asia, Tony has also found fascination in how diverse the entire continent is, and hopes it remains as rich and creative as it’s always been. “Singapore is so different from say Thailand, which is more crazy and loose compared to Singapore’s more aesthetic and strategic approach,” he says. “Meanwhile, you’ve got Japan, which is still considered the pinnacle of minimalism and simplicity and has such a strong ‘Japanese-ness’ to the design that comes out of it. With globalisation, one of my greatest fears is the homogenisation of design, and that we lose that unique brand identity and it all becomes the same.”

And as for his advice on how to develop good taste? Tony recommends you get out there and see as much as possible. “Whether it’s a large scale exhibition or a small showcase, you have to get out there to find the trends and potential talent. Being a tastemaker isn’t easy, it’s about hard work and dedication, because there is so much responsibility that comes with that power and ability to given designers a platform to showcase their work somewhere like Wallpaper*, which gives them recognition and kudos,” says Tony. “But most important of all is to make sure that you have a clear point of view and personality as a human being, not necessarily a walking talking brand, but to keep things open while knowing who you are.”

Featured image credit: Chris Floyd

Future Impact: Homecoming Showcase runs till 31st October 2023 at the National Design Centre. More information available here

Singapore Design Week 2023 runs from 21st September to 1st October 2023. Full programme lineup and more information available here