This year’s Nagoya Design DO! competition themed ‘The Act of Eating’, pulled together 1,352 entries from designers across 50 countries. The first screening took place mid June, and the submissions were culled down to the 31 best. After two days of public display earlier this month, the judges awarded prizes to the top eight. Lim Jian -a final year Product Industrial Design student at Temasek Polytechnic- received an honorable mention for his ‘Loffel’ design -no small honor considering the breadth of competing talent.

“Design to me is something fun and aesthetic looking, something that stands out due to its organic forms.” Jian says. “Where my philosophy is complex, my design is minimalist. My interest is to design new products or redesign products that are not appealing to others.”

About his design: “Loffel is a measuring spoon which is manufactured using recycled materials. It works by sliding each layer away from each other using the pivot point which is hidden within the spoon. The spoon is locked in place by the ball bearing on each layer.”

Great illustration work by Marek Haiduk.

A timeless ballet classic comes to life as SDT presents The Nutcracker as envisioned by the dance company’s resident choreographer Jeffrey Tan. A delightful world of magical characters like toy soldiers, candy children, fairies and clock mice come alive on stage in this enthralling ballet piece. Showcasing a cast of 200 dancers with routines from members as young as 6 years old, SDT’s staging of The Nutcracker ballet involves elaborately designed sets, fascinating projections, animated backdrops and colorful costumes that is sure to delight audiences from all walks of life. Dec 12, 13, 17 to 20, 8pm at Esplanade Theatre.

House will be hosting the Postcard Show II from December 5 to 20. It is an exhibition of postcard sized art and you are invited to submit your artwork. The only criteria is that your artwork must fit into a postcard size, i.e.: 10cm (h) x 18cm (w). Click here for more information and to register. Dec 5– 20, 11am–7pm daily at House.

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Method is part of a long-term project of portraits taken by 23-year old Sean Lee. The collection documents the exploration of Sean’s private, internal world through the personage of Shauna, a transsexual.

“Shauna is presented in both public and private moments of fear or despondency, even vanity or disinterest, where through it all she remains alone and silent,” Sean explains. “At times surreal and other-worldly, the images are also harshly realistic. The series powerfully assimilates actual and constructed reality through Shauna – at both times a person and a concept, yet always genuine.”

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Mignon Khargie illustrates a plate per week.

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Sydney based artist, Irene Teng, recently completed her Bachelor of Digital Media at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts. Irene works on the boundaries of perceived notions about sexuality.

“My process of creating work requires me to go back and forth between analogue and digital which I enjoy immensely -although tedious-,” Irene explains. “My love of dots as a pattern gave me the idea to incorporate them into my work.”

‘Endearing as it is, never believe that progress has taken place’ is Irene’s own comment upon her illustration titled Drops of Milk. “The work is an exploration of sexuality, especially within current times, heavily influenced by and criticizing the “imposed perspective” by society and the media,” Irene explains. “Our constant obsession with sex becomes an extravagant extension of ourselves,” Irene adds. “We use it as an excuse to smooth down our egos yet the end product will always just be “Drops of Milk” and nothing more …”

If you’re looking to improve your skills in digital illustration, this workshop is the one for you. Learn about the finer points of storyboarding, concept/prop or character design. Part of a series of developmental workshops by youth arts festival Noise Singapore, Ogilvy Singapore’s Eric Foenander will focus on how to illustrate the human/humanoid figure, while paying attention to the fabric and mechanical aspects of the craft. Registrants are required to have intermediate skills in Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3, illustration, and a wacom tablet. 15 Nov, 2–4pm at scape Youth Centre: Lab. To register: Email workshop@noisesingapore.com with your name and contact number or call 6837 9539.