Dream Lab: Designing Singapore's AI-Powered Democratic Engagement Platform in 27 Days
Leading strategy, research, and design for URA's SG60 flagship exhibition—navigating AI vendor pivots and emergency UX redesigns to deliver a national showcase
The Strategic Context
Singapore's 60th birthday. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is announcing the Draft Master Plan 2025—the nation's urban vision for the next five years—and needed a flagship SG60 experience that would democratize engagement with urban planning. The challenge: transform complex, technical planning concepts into an accessible, engaging public experience that invites all Singaporeans to collectively dream about their shared future. The stakes extended beyond the exhibition itself—the AI-generated outputs would be used in Prime Minister Wong's National Day Rally speech, making this a highly visible national showcase with CEO-level oversight.
Leading Strategy & Design
As Lead Designer & Strategist, I pitched and won the project, then led a cross-functional team of 11 (3 creatives, 3 tech specialists, 2 project managers, 3 operations) through concept to launch in 27 days. I designed the experience strategy around three modes: individual creation where citizens reimagine spaces using AI through diverse persona lenses, collaborative co-creation where groups contribute and vote on generated options, and discovery mode where visitors explore the collective imagination. To ensure representative design, I developed 8 personas spanning Singapore's diversity—active seniors, young caregivers, climate champions, working adults, nature seekers, heritage lovers—across different races, abilities, and jobs. This half-controlled approach guided variety while enabling free-form ideation.
Crisis Management Under Pressure
Two weeks before launch, we faced concurrent crises. First, Pixar copyright issues forced an emergency pivot from Midjourney to Flux AI—requiring URA legal clearance and rapid technical reintegration. Second, user testing revealed critical failures: invisible loading indicators, undiscoverable buttons, broken iPhone compatibility, and a fundamental flaw in co-create mode that only processed the last two ideas, undermining the collective creation promise. I facilitated emergency redesign sessions with stakeholders, securing CEO approval for a three-choice voting system (safe idea, combined idea, wild card) that gave everyone voice and showcased AI's creative range. Both pivots were delivered within the fixed timeline.
Impact & National Reach
Dream Lab launched on schedule for VIP audiences, then expanded to roving exhibitions across 10+ Singapore locations. The AI-generated urban visions contributed to PM Wong's National Day Rally speech, demonstrating government commitment to AI-enabled civic participation. User feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the project established new standards for accessible, engaging urban planning dialogue—proving that complex policy conversations can spark curiosity and collective dreaming when designed thoughtfully.
"From the early design stages to launch, the team demonstrated exceptional professionalism and dedication. They responded promptly at every step, showing a real willingness to iterate through multiple rounds of changes to get every detail just right... It's rare to find a partner so reliable, responsive, and solution-oriented."
— Eugene Lau, Director, Architecture & Urban Design, URA
Media Coverage
Dream Lab was featured in Singapore media and contributed AI-generated urban visions to Prime Minister Wong's National Day Rally speech on Singapore's future planning.
Coverage:
