Innovation Challenges

Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd, RE&S, & Neo Group Limited

There has been a higher demand in takeaway and delivery, and bento boxes for food catering, especially amidst new norms brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. An example of the new norm includes customers expecting their food to be packed separately to avoid direct contact. The new operating conditions have led to an exponential increase in the amount of packaging and food waste generated.

How can we design a cost-effective range of packaging which uses environmentally sustainable materials and reduces the amount of packaging materials used, while being able to separate food and retain food temperatures? 

What We Are Looking For

Novel packaging solutions and innovative processes which includes designs and concepts for but not limiting to:

• Smart designs for packaging that allows for multiple functions
• Cost-effective and innovative packaging materials and solutions (e.g. Packaging that effectively separates hot and cold food/drinks)
• Optimised workflows so that it is easy to assemble the packaging (e.g. no folding required, stackable), sort and pack the food, and deliver the items.
• Innovative solutions to minimise food waste (e.g. food composting)

Please refer to the Good Design Research website linked below to access documents detailing additional requirements.

Shiseido

How are we able to upcycle cosmetic products* (packaging and/or product formulation itself) to meaningfully add value to what would have had to be discarded?

*Due to various reasons like end of shelf life, they are unable to be used on consumers’ skin. Examples include lipsticks, foundations, eyeliners, mascara, etc.

What We Are Looking For

Innovative and cost-effective ways to upcycle cosmetic product waste from packaging and/or product formulation to create new products that have new value.

Feel free to be creative! However, should you require some ideas on what end-products we could be looking out for, here are some ideas (but not limited to):

1. Novelty items suitable as a gift with purchase of Shiseido products

2. Fashion pieces and accessories

3. Furniture and lifestyle products

4. Sculpture/Art installation

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Burger King Singapore Pte. Ltd

How might we design the future of fast food restaurant in a way that enhances the guest experience even with the challenges (e.g. social distancing policies) arising from the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How might we design for authentic human connections when we integrate digital elements in these new experiences?

One of the most obvious impact of Covid-19 on our lives has been the leap to digitalization across all areas of our lives. But while the pivot to digital enables people connect more easily, current digital experiences are a pale shadow of true human interaction. As good service and tasty food are of upmost importance in the Burger King, designs for authentic human connections via online-offline hybrid experiences and new workflows that doesn’t compromise on food quality will be the true game changer in post-Covid world.

What We Are Looking For

Novel online-offline hybrid experiences for the future of fast food restaurant, which includes designs and concepts for:

1. A contactless restaurant service
2. Interior and exterior façade of a Drive Thru & Dine in experience·
3. Pick up/Take away experience
4. Workflow for the Back of house (BOH) and Front of House (FOH) operations

Please refer to the Good Design Research website linked below to download an example of the floor plan layout. For this proposal, applicants should include supporting visuals for the concept/zoning plan, along with a digital mood board. 

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DesignSingapore Council

How might we design for authentic human connections via digital experiences?

One of the most obvious impact of Covid-19 on our lives has been the leap to digitalization across all areas of our lives - in work, personal communication, leisure consumption, purchase behaviours, necessitating new business models, work flows and even organizational culture and social rules. And these changes are here to stay. But while the pivot to digital enables people connect more easily, current digital experiences are a pale shadow of true human interaction. Skilful human-centred digital design will be the true game changer in post-Covid world.

What We Are Looking For

1. New online experiences leveraging technologies (such as haptic, extended reality, AR/VR, affective computing, AI, etc) particularly in the spaces of entertainment, sports, heritage, arts, medicine or any area contributing to lifestyle and/or well-bring.
2. Novel online-offline hybrid experiences, especially in lifestyle sectors of retail, wellness, tourism, and for work.
3. New business models for digital or hybrid experiences
4. Models, plug-and-play platforms, tools or frameworks that can scale digital transformation of Singapore businesses in general, but especially that of design businesses in product, spatial and visual design. The emphasis is on scale, proving that the technique can be easily adopted and leading to sustained, impactful change.

In short, this is NOT about just UX / UI design!

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DesignSingapore Council

How might we, learning from the experiences of Covid-19, all live healthier, more sustainable and less anxious lives? How might we strengthen our connections to culture and heritage and social bonding through activities that we love, whether they be sports or food?

Even pre-Covid, we have seen shifts in consumption patterns, particularly in greater willingness to adopt digital technology for work and leisure. We further anticipate new consumer behaviours and preferences following Covid-19 that will change the nature and types of goods and services demanded globally, in particular:

1. Increased demand for higher standards for safety, hygiene and quality
2. Increased focus on health and well-being, driving up demand for healthcare related products and services
3. Increased demand for environmentally-friendly materials and practices
4. Reduced willingness to travel, especially to high density destinations like Singapore

What We Are Looking For

There is significant scope for design to shape the future of key lifestyle sectors like tourism, hospitality, F&B, heritage and culture, sports and MICE. We are looking for design ideas and practices in the following areas:

1. Designs for health, safety and well-being (physical, mental, emotional), that seek to inform the development of new regulatory codes while maintaining a positive experience. Examples could include service, material, environment or space designs that improve resilience, and/or innovate on space use, acoustics, air or human circulation.
2. Flexible and multi-modal spaces or products that do double-duty in homes, work spaces and public spaces. This is an especially precious opportunity to redefine traditional segmentation of space and product design by current definitions according to public, commercial and residential.
3. Designs for environmental sustainability, for instance sustainable packaging, building materials and circular business practices.
4. New ways of experiencing lifestyle, whether they be completely virtual or hybrid (also refer to challenge on Human Touch in Digital).

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