Since I’m going to be a designer in Canada, I was curious to see something written on a web site for a design local design shop that I had not known of until recently, Industrial Brand Creative.
The question was: Is There Anything Canadian About Our Design? It was raised during a Design Competition that was held here in November (and I was unfortunately ignorant of that as well, not because I wanted to enter, but I feel that I haven’t yet learned enough about the design community here. I do know there is a lot of talent here. That’s pretty evident wherever you look.)
The discussion included some observations that could apply to a number of disciplines, design just being one of them:
Canada is a very big country, but our population, just twice the size of most of the world’s major cities, is concentrated primarily in three urban centres with vast bodies of water, prairies and mountain ranges separating them. Added to these factors are the dizzying array of cultures, religions and languages our mostly immigrant populace brought with them, it would be easier to argue that these geographic factors would lead to regionalism within Canada more than producing any common style. Perhaps any “Canadian style” is a direct result of post modernism and the mix of these many backgrounds, perspectives and cultural predilection for travel and exploration which makes us flexible, skilled (if not rather underpaid) producers of high quality design. This celebration of diversity is our key strength, and is arguably the only real Canadian truism.
I guess I like everything about that quote, except for the word ‘underpaid’.
written while listening to: Carl Nielsen — Wind Quintet — iii. Praeludium: Adagio — Tema con variazioni’
Okay, I want to see more of these listings of the music you’re listening to while you write — you know I never got the chance to raid your record/CD/MP3 collection before you left Boston, and I’m still kicking myself because of it…
OK, Joan. I’ll try. Sometimes I do the postings later in the evening and am not listening to anything then.