Keywords Design & Graphic Art Related Resources Interactive Resources Canadian Innovation

In the US, the profession of industrial design took a slightly different direction than its European counterpart and began as a method of sales promotion, concerned with product styling and packaging. Essentially a post-Depression phenomenon, this approach was used by American designers such as Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, Raymond Loewy and Walter Dorwin Teague in the design of manufactured objects ranging from kitchen appliances to railway locomotives.

Industrial design became firmly established in Canada only after 1945, as a direct result of the development of secondary industry during the war. C.D. HOWE, the federal minister of reconstruction, was concerned that this particular industrial potential be preserved. He requested that a display of industrial discoveries by the NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA be arranged. The exhibit, organized by Donald Buchanan to show that design and technical competence are not mutually exclusive, opened in 1946 at the annual convention of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association, then travelled across Canada. Buchanan pushed for further exposure of industrial design both through the NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA and in several small publications. In June 1947 he received a federal government grant to investigate the role of industrial design in Canada, and later that year he proposed a list of recommendations. One of these led to the Industrial Design Act of 1961 and the founding of the National Design Council, a policy and promotional body which had great impact on Canadian design and which became a model for many design councils in other counties. Unfortunately, the council was disbanded in 1985. During the same postwar period, industrial designers began to organize as a profession. In 1946 the Affiliation of Canadian Industrial Designers was formed, which by 1947 had incorporated itself as the Assn of Canadian Industrial Designers.

Industrial design education was not formalized in Canada until the late 1940s. The ONTARIO COLLEGE OF ART offered its first course of study in industrial design in 1947 while, in Québec, l'Institue des arts appliqués, formerly l'École du meuble, had a similar design program. By the late 1960s, various community colleges in Ontario also offered programs in industrial design technology. The first degree programs were instituted in 1969, one at l'U de Montréal and another at the U of Alberta. Other universities followed suit and degree programs now exist at Carleton U, l'U du Québec à Montréal and at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. Graduate degrees are awarded at l'U de Montréal, the U of Alberta and the U of Calgary.

Many Canadian designers have left their mark on industrial design in Canada. Jacques Guillon, Julien Hébert, Jan Kuypers and Frank Dudas were pioneers in the profession. Their impact was especially evident in transportation design (Montréal's Métro in the 1960s, VIA Rail's LRC in the 1970s), and in exhibition design (Expo 67, Expo 70) and furniture. In the years that followed, Douglas Ball became known internationally for his office furniture. Ian Bruce played the principal role in designing the Laser sailboat and in making possible its fabrication in many countries. Similarly, John Tyson, Morley Smith, Michel Dallaire, Claude Gidman and Koen de Winter have influenced the design of a great many everyday products: telephones, snowmobiles, leisure products, streetcars and housewares. Thomas Lamb, Keith Muller, and André Jarry are known in Canada and abroad as leading furniture designers.

More recently, a generation of young designers is making its presence felt. Karim Rashid, Tom Deacon, Richard Brault, Diane Croteau, Jean-François Jacques and Michel Morelli are providing leadership and vision in industrial design in Canada. A number of Canadian manufacturers, small and large, have also contributed to both a better utilization and a better integration of industrial design in industry, notably Northern Telecom through its sister company Bell Northern Research, Bombardier, Black & Decker, Noma, Danesco, Prévost, Canstar, Teknion Furniture and Umbra. Within Canada, both industry and the general public are developing a growing awareness of the value of industrial design.

LRC Train
Morley Smith, who was senior designer of this vehicle for VIA rail, is one of many industrial designers who infuence the design of everyday products (photo by Jacques Giard).

Laser Sailboat
The most successful sailing boat of its type in the world was designed by Ian Bruce, Bruce Kirby and Hans Fogh (photo by Jacques Giard).

Author JACQUES GIARD

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