In Plain Words

Soon after I restarted teaching, @candicenec reached out to relook her proposal for a class to train more critical design students. It had previously failed to get funding, but she thought we (including @vanessa_ban ) could go at it independently. And instead of figuring it out ourselves, we would learn how other design educators and practitioners approached this issue. The result is this book that captures our conversations with 12 educators and designers on the state of critical practices in Singapore. There are also excerpts from a panel and workshop to explore the topic with others such as design students. I also wrote an essay on strategies designers here used to practise critically and a timeline retracing the histories of local critical practices. In a way, the book is an opportunity to reflect on where theory, history and discourse sit in a design education landscape led by industry needs. It has also turned out to be a way of mapping a “critical turn” in Singapore’s design industry from the 2010s—carrying on from my first book, Independence: The history of graphic design in Singapore since the 1960s. Final hours to pre-order for just $34 via @ipw.sg . Local shipping only, international orders will be accepted later.

What if teaching was more like coaching and designers learn by “cooking”? @hanstan_studio shares his approach to design education in “Critical of/for What? Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education & Practice.” Pre-orders close on Monday (6 April), get yours today for S$34 + free local shipping! Link in bio ☝🏼 For those who ordered, books will be shipped next week. Thank you for your patience!

The design industry celebrates individuality, which is one reason why design schools educate designers that way. But can design education be more collaborative, asks @deathoftypography . Read their full interview in our forthcoming book, “Critical of/for What? Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education and Practice” Order by 6 April 2026 for a special price of S$34 (usual price S$38) + free shipping! Link in bio ☝🏼 Books will be shipped out around mid-April.

Working for clients to pay the billls versus self-initiating projects to be critical: Is being two-faced the only way for designers to practice criticality? @gideon_kong , co-founder of design practice @gideon_jamie_ , publishing arm @temporarypress and bookshop @temporaryunit thinks otherwise. Read his full interview and more in our upcoming book, “Critical of/for What? Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education & Practice”. Pre-order by 6 April for the special price of S$34 + free shipping to a Singapore address. Link in bio ☝🏼

What should be in the curriculum of design education tomorrow? An excerpt from our interview with @_abkhan , who co-founded research and design studio Terrain before going on to work for Eight Inc., Huge, and now, Google. Read the full interview and others in our forthcoming book, “Critical of/for What? Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education and Practice”. Available at a special pre-launch price of S$34 + free shipping to a Singapore address! Order by 6 April 2026 via link in bio☝🏼

a/b/c: A working manifesto for criticality in design In 2009, critical designers Dunne & Raby created the A/B Manifesto to differentiate traditional design (a) from their practice (b). We built upon it to propose new dimensions of criticality (c) for our future. Read more in our forthcoming book, “Critical of/for What?: Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education & Practices”. Edited by @candicenec , @justinzhuang and @vanessa_ban Pre-order at a special price of S$34 via link in bio!

What does it mean to be critical in Singapore design education and practice today? Critical of/for What? Notes on Criticality in Singapore Design Education and Practice asks how Singapore designers and educators engage with criticality in teaching and practice. Through interviews and discussions with designers, educators and students, it explores the tensions between educational aims and professional realities. There are also essays retracing local histories of criticality-engaged design practices and an analysis of how designers negotiate criticality within the Singapore design landscape. Pre-order today for just S$34 (usual price S$38) + free shipping to a Singapore address! Link in bio ☝🏼 Edited by Justin Zhuang (@justinzhuang ), Candice Ng (@candicenec ) and Vanessa Ban (vanessa_ban) With contributions from Abdul Basit Khan (@_abkhan ) Darius Ou (@darius_ou ) Death of Typography (@deathoftypography ) Deric Shen (@dericmz ) Gideon Kong (@gideon_kong ) Hans Tan (@hanstan_studio ) Hera Winata (@hera.www ) Izyanti Asa’ari (@foldpaper ) Martin Chen (@martian.chen ) & Kim Ngyuen (@ahoykimo ) Studio DAM (@studiodam_ ) Melvin Tan (@mlvntan ) Micca Teo (@navelle ) Pann Lim (@pannlim ) Randy Yeo (@randy__yeo ) Sean Kelvin Khoo (skk.v1) Shannon Lim (@thisisveryrude ) Vikas Kailankaje (@vikaskailankaje ) Yasser Suratman (@ournumberswillrise ) Yeo Ker Siang (@yanghexiang )

If you veg out with me this Saturday, I will give you a bookmark that is worth nothing but this idea extracted from my book:   Producers emphasise what’s different about their vegetables to create value—e.g. “sweet”, “premium”, “airflown” and even better if they are from “Japan”. It does not matter whether these factors influence taste or nutrition. They may not even make sense.   Since vegetables of the same kind are marketed as if they are different, I created a “vegetable taxonomy” to double down on the absurdity. I introduced new classification levels based on common packaging labels and reimagined the scientific names of edible, commercial plants. A carrot grown in Malaysia but labelled “Australia carrot” in Chinese, English and Malay is now Daucus carota subsp. sativus orig. malaysia lang. chinese x english x malay qlty. australia.   This new taxonomy seems absurd at first glance, until we learn that botany was very much influenced by colonial trade, and valuable plants were identified and differentiated before others. So, companies aren’t the OGs in value creation through distinction. Scientists are.   👀 you @atthesideway

Had too much to eat during the Lunar New Year? Come veg out with me @atthesideway on Saturday, 28 February, 11am-4pm! Bring a vegetable from home or buy one at the market. We will not eat, but find new ways to name them.   We have mostly been naming vegetables and fruits by:   Appearance: Think long beans, limau purut and pisang mas. Sometimes we reference another, more familiar vegetable, like 红萝卜 (“red radish” for carrot) and sawi bunga (“flower mustard” for choy sum).   Origins: Bawang Bombay and Brussels sprouts. We also treat local vegetables as the dominant varieties. For example, leafy celery is “芹菜” (qin vegetable) in Chinese, while the stalky European variety is “西芹” (western qin). English speakers perceive the opposite. The stalky variety is “celery”, whereas “qin vegetable” is “Chinese celery”.   How else can we name vegetables? What if after body parts whose lengths match theirs? Or the first sound we hear when we hit someone with them? (I said vegetable, so no durian please.)   Illustrations by @sokki , for The [Other/Same Different] Vegetable, which is available at @atthesideway

Veg Out with Sheere! Author of The [Other/Same Different] Vegetable 28 February (Sat), 11am – 4pm, sideway @atthesideway x @ipw.sg 🥕🌽🥦🍅 Come 28 February, veg out with Sheere Ng, food writer and author of the recently published “The [Other/Same Different] Vegetable” at Sideway! Buy a vegetable from the market or bring one from home, and receive a “prescription” to name it. Or just come talk food and pick up a free bookmark inspired by the book. And browse sideway’s collection of all things food related, from local zines on food to tableware for your newfound vegetables. The [Other/Same Different] Vegetable - [Side A] Soursop is a “Dutch Durian” to the Malays. Tomato is a “Caucasian brinjal” to the Hokkien. 白菜 (“white vegetable”) is a “Chinese cabbage” to English speakers. Comparing vegetable names in different languages reveals cultural biases and colonial legacies. The names of fruits and vegetables show how we understand our produce and one another. [Side B] Labels such as “sweet”, “airflown” and “Japanese” create distinctions among the same vegetables and raise their value. It is similar to how plant taxonomy was influenced by what colonialists deemed valuable or not. This essay incorporates modern marketing language into the 18th-century classification system to develop a taxonomy for commercial vegetables. sideway tiong bahru market # 01-85 30 seng poh road

Over the years, we have accumulated more than a thousand books, largely on food, design, architecture and Singapore. Many are unavailable in public libraries. We imagine they would be of interest to students, writers, practitioners and general bookworms. So we’re opening our home. Here are the rules: 1. You have to read the books at our place. You cannot loan them. 2. Each slot is two hours and is open to up to four individuals. 3. You will share one basic, uninstagrammable room. (We hope to provide a table eventually.) 4. We will announce the dates and time slots at least one week in advance. 5. Fill in and submit a Google form (link in bio). 6. If you are in, we will let you know at least three days in advance. 7. If you don’t hear from us, that means we can’t accommodate you.  See you soon!

Thank you! Bye bye! @tokyoartbookfair