Centering the margins: The realities and possibilities of industrial design in Canada

The lack of use of industrial design by Canadian manufacturers is understandable when the realities of the Canadian industrial milieu are considered. The development of the industrial design profession in Canada did not find its roots in the way people made or did things but was born in an atmosphere of attempting to educate people about design through exhibits and political initiatives. The significant foreign ownership of Canada's productive instruments and intellectual property has resulted in potential design work being transplanted to home offices, primarily in the United States. The sheer size of the country and its regional heartland/hinterland economic structure has also discouraged the development of sustained design and manufacturing activity. The lack of power in the international trading arena has further contributed to the erosion of Canadian manufacturing initiatives and, hence, the need for industrial designers. Ineffective legislation regarding industrial design and property rights has contributed to the profession's marginality in both physical and psychological terms. The realities of the relatively small size of Canadian businesses and the lack of funding promoting the use of industrial design have continually plagued the profession's involvement in Canadian product development programs. Most importantly, industrial designers in Canada need to understand that they are not practising in Europe where craft-based techniques evolved into high-volume manufacturing and quality-conscious domestic consumers. This will require the development of an indigenous industrial design spirit based on the unique characteristics and the situation of Canadian industry within the emerging international market-place.