Shaping
Emerging
Exemplary
Designers
2025
Organised by
Overview
The Seed Award serves as a forward-looking statement of how DBCS envisions design leaders who will flourish in the future. It seeks to broaden traditional measures of success in design education by recognising leadership qualities that are critically important and that will support graduates throughout their careers.
Our logo is more than a symbol.
It is a mission.
At its heart, the Seed Award celebrates not just design, but the young designers who are shaping the future. Built from interlocking geometric seedling pots, the logo reflects how each recipient is a seed being nurtured, growing roots in their craft and branching toward new possibilities.
Each block and colour represents the unique designer qualities and potential within every awardee. Together, these modular forms build upon one another, symbolising how collaboration, creativity, and perseverance can form the building blocks of tomorrow. Their interconnected structure captures the endless possibilities that arise when these emerging talents come together as future design leaders.
The vibrant palette mirrors this diversity of strengths, every hue represents each of the 5 designer qualities: creativity, critical thinking, perseverance, connective intelligence, and ethical decision-making. Together, they blend into one dynamic spectrum of growth. Within it, the DBCS red serves as a grounding element, representing DBCS’s commitment to nurturing and supporting emerging designers through the Seed Award platform.
Ultimately, the Seed Award logo celebrates Singapore’s emerging designers growing, connecting, and shaping the design world with their ideas and potential.
Criteria & Guidelines
The 5
Designer
Qualities
Creative Impact
Concerns the use of design to address real needs and to deliver positive, measurable outcomes for users, stakeholders, or society.
Critical Thinking
Concerns clear problem framing, evaluation of alternatives, and reasoned judgement in conditions of ambiguity.
Connective Intelligence
Concerns empathy and collaboration across disciplines and communities, together with the ability to integrate human, nature, and digital considerations.
Perseverance
Concerns resilience, reflective learning, and sustained effort in the face of constraints or setbacks.
Ethical
Decision-making
Concerns integrity, anticipation of consequences, and demonstrable regard for the public good in design decisions.
Guidelines
“As we advance, let us hold firmly to the values that make us human. Because it is these values that will guide how we use technology and ensure it serves people, and not the other way around”
- Jasmin Lau, Minister of State for Education and Digital Development and Information
Submission Guide
All awardee submission must be completed through the online form via www.seedaward.sg/submission
Every submission includes:
- Submission Form, to be completed online
- Administrative Fee invoiced by DBCS to respective institutions after completed submission.
Fee per student: S$70 for DBCS Education Institutions Members and S$150 for non-members - Rationale (100–200 words) to explain the selected grading across the 5 designer qualities
For each Top Seed Award nomination, additional materials are required. This includes:
- Additional Rationale prepared by the nominating staff member that outlines why this nominee stands out nationally across the 5 designer qualities
- Evidence Pack containing project summaries, process documentation, indicators of impact, and testimonials where available
File format: PDF, up to 10 slides
DBCS may request additional materials for verification. All submissions must be submitted through the online platform by 31 October 2025.
From Seeds to Top Seeds
Seed Award Recipients
All participating Institutes of Higher Learning will serve as the assessors for the Seed Award within their own institutions. Each institution should apply the DBCS guidelines and rubric consistently, and evaluate candidates on evidence that demonstrates the 5 designer qualities. Institutions are expected to ensure fairness and transparency by declaring and managing any conflicts of interest, calibrating scoring before and after reviews.
Institutions may submit any number of Seed Award recipients
Top Seed Award Nominees
Each participating institution may grant the Seed Award to any number of eligible students within the institution. Within the submitted students, each institution can nominate up to 3 proficient and exemplary students for the Top Seed Award.
Each institution nominates three recipients for the Top Seed Award
Top Seed Award Recipients
From the pool of nominees submitted by all institutions, the DBCS Judging Panel will conduct a final review and select the ten outstanding students who will receive the Top Seed Award.
The DBCS Judging Panel selects ten Top Seed Award winners from all institutional submissions
Institutions may submit any number of Seed Award recipients
Each institution nominates three recipients for the Top Seed Award
The DBCS Judging Panel selects ten Top Seed Award winners from all institutional submissions
Timeline
Key Dates
Submission
During this period, institutions should enter and complete submissions via www.seedaward.sg/submission
At the same time, identify up to 3 candidates for the Top Seed Award and prepare the additional materials required for that nomination.
Incomplete or late entries will not be considered.
6 October 2025
Submission Deadline
By this date, all institutions must complete their submissions and upload the required materials (where applicable) for each student via the designated online platform.
Upon verification of all completed submissions, DBCS will acknowledge receipt and issue a payment invoice to the respective institutions.
31 October 2025
Announcement and Recognition
DBCS provides formal confirmation to institutional coordinators of all Seed Award awardees and issues official invitations to all participating institutions, together with individual invitations to the Top Seed awardees to attend the DBCS Gala.
10 November 2025
Award Ceremony
All participating institutions are invited to attend, and the Top Seed awardees receive their token award, presented by the Guest of Honour.
Recognised students and participating Institutes of Higher Learning may be acknowledged in DBCS communications and at the Gala, subject to approval of supplied media assets.
25 November 2025
Nominate the Top Seed and Attend DBCS40 Gala Dinner Celebration
25 November 2025 | Gardens by the Bay, Flower Field Hall
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Are students from different years of study eligible to receive the award?
Yes, all students in a design-related programme are eligible.
Are graduates eligible for the award?
Yes, recently graduated students (within the previous academic year) are eligible.
What level of rubric assessment will students need to qualify?
Students just need to meet the Emerging level of each criteria to qualify for the Seed Award. There is no need to be Effective or Exemplary in any criteria as we acknowledge that youth are still learning and establishing themselves. For Top Seed Award nominations, institutions are encouraged to put forward students who are at least Effective (Level 2) and preferably Exemplary (Level 3) across the 5 designer qualities.
What benefits will Seed Award recipients receive?
Recipients will receive a certificate of recognition from DBCS and may be featured in DBCS communications. Beyond this, DBCS seeks to sustain engagement through follow-up opportunities, supporting touchpoints and connections with industry partners. The award also enables DBCS to identify and collaborate with promising young designers on future initiatives and special projects.
The criteria and rubrics sound very broad. I’m not sure if this student would qualify?
As we are awarding based on future leadership qualities and not knowledge and ability tests, there will always be a margin of interpretation and ambiguity in the rubrics to acknowledge the richness and complexity that is life. We trust that the IHL will be able to provide stories and rationale for the students upon submission. However, if further clarifications need to be made, DBCS will follow up with the IHL.
How does the Top Seed Award work?
Each institution may grant the Seed Award to any number of eligible students. From these awardees, up to 3 students per institution can be nominated for the Top Seed Award. DBCS judging panel will review all nominations from participating institutions and select 10 nominees to receive the Top Seed Award.
Is there another way to submit if I have bulk submissions for the Seed Award?
Yes. You can submit all entries via a spreadsheet; please contact Shirley Yang at shirley@dbcsingapore.org if you want to do a bulk submission.