In more recent years, we have seen an increasing push for human-centred designs that impact lives in positive ways.

And for the past 10 years since its inception, the biennial INDEX: Award by non-profit Danish organisation INDEX: Design to Improve Life has been doing just that on a global scale.

Design Seoul (South Korea) – ’Community’ award winner

The 2011 winners in the award’s 5 categories – Body, Home, Work, Play and Community – along with finalists will be on show in Singapore in February.

Design for Change (India) – ’Work’ category award winner

Of the 5 winning entries, 2 hail from Asia. Design Seoul (South Korea), which has been described as “the first ever coherent design based approach to improve life for citizens in a very large city”, took home the ‘Community’ award; Design for Change (India), bagged the prize in the ‘Work’ category for its worldwide movement that helps children express and put into action their ideas for a better world.

Elemental Monterrey (Chile) – ’Home’ category award winner

Other fun and innovative solutions will also be displayed, such as an invisible helmet to protect cyclists, skin cancer treatment without hospitalisation, and solar powered electrical airplanes for commercial use.

Hövding (Sweden) – ’Play’ category award winner

The INDEX: Award is the world’s largest monetary prize for design at €500,000 (€100,000 for each category).

See Better to Learn Better (Switzerland and the USA) by Yves Behar – ’Body’ category award winner

Top image: Design Seoul

The exhibition will be held in Singapore from 4 to 19 February at the Plaza in front of The Cathay building.