How do we define design in Canada? Without a design movement or iconic object that conjures our national creative spirit, it may be an impossible task. If asked about design, those in the know might offer the iPhone or an Eames chair, but almost no one will say the Blackberry or a Patty Johnson chair.
We know other countries might be handling their design histories better, telling their stories louder, or understanding how design drives identity and innovation. But why should we care? People love HBC striped things, Tim’s Double Doubles, and the Toyota Rav4 as the best-selling car in the country.
I care, and after dedicating decades to the promotion of Canadian design, I reached a pivotal juncture. I had established a national archive, but realised that it was time to welcome new voices and perspectives to shape the next chapter. Farewell to The Canadian Design Resource, and a warm welcome to Nor, an evolving and inclusive collection of Canadian design – a collaborative and communal effort aimed at documenting, preserving, and critically examining our material culture, and a vital way to make sense of the contemporary world.
The pandemic had a silver lining, becoming the moment needed to reset the eighteen-year-old archive. We wanted to challenge our thinking, and organised dozens of working groups to collect ideas from designers, community builders, archivists, activists, and business minds. We surveyed stakeholders to think about what they needed most, what would elevate the creative industries, and what design even means to the many different people on this land.
Design culture emerges when we allow these elements to coexist, appreciating and learning from the connections between them. It involves recognizing what’s absent and making efforts to identify and fill those gaps. Preservation is essential, not as a static relic but as a dynamic entity improved through critical examination.
It is not a passive design museum, but a living common of Canadian design. Open, with everything mashed together to discover what the country is capable of. A rabble of creativity, illustration meeting fashion, architecture beside graphic design, craft challenging industrial design, and more. The archive is an entrance, a voyeur, wondering what could be, a collection of design’s possibilities and impacts. Ultimately becoming a gigantic journey into what Made In Canada means and exploring if our identity can be found in the things we make.
Visit nor.design to join us. OD
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Joel Derksen, Patrick Pittman, Tom Creighton, and the rest of the team, for their visionary thinking and steadfast efforts in charting this exciting new direction.