GTMA Case Studies

In 2007, the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance commissioned DIAC to undertake a case study research project exploring the design dimension in advanced manufacturing companies in the Greater Toronto Area. DIAC focused its research on three companies, Umbra, D&V Electronics and Zenon Membrane Solutions, now part of GE Water and Process Technologies. Each of these companies is a global leader in its industry sector and each of them has worked with local designers to add value to product, process and marketing strategy.

SME Case Studies

Ontario is a hub for small business innovation and for design. But there was no infrastructure to connect innovation-focused entrepreneurs to designers to improve commercialization success. That is why DIAC launched the Design Advisory Service (DAS) in 2009. The program is supported by the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).

The program provides a limited number of qualifying companies with a design audit and a one week strategic design project led by a senior designer from one of the six design disciplines (industrial, interior, graphic and fashion design, architecture and landscape architecture). The Design Advisory Service team supervises the projects and documents the process and the results in a series of case studies.

For further information about the Design Advisory Service please contact: strategy@diac.on.ca.

DIAC Design Advisory Service Case Studies

AURELLE

The Aurelle portable toothbrush is ideal for brushing away from home. But the company needs to upgrade packaging to reach mass market retailers.
Read “The Marketing Aesthetics of Oral Hygiene”

AVNAN

Transferring OEM capability to own brand products can create sustainable advantage.
Read “Can Electronic Equipment Manufacturer Add Value by Design?”

BOTHWELL-ACCURATE

Solar and green roof installations are placing stress on the traditional roof but Bothwell-Accurate has a solution.
Read “Show, Tell, Commercialize”

CREATIVE EDUCATION

Kids costumes build self-esteem while company builds growth.
Read “Children’s Costume Manufacturer Explores New Options for Growth”

GESTURETEK

The presence of cameras in consumer electronics paves the way for new ways to communicate with hand gestures.
Read “Design Research Identifies Guidelines for a Standard Gesture Language”

iSILS

The skills of designers from various disciplines are needed to develop adaptable living spaces for our aging population.
Read “Design Helps Seniors Stay In Their Homes”

iSPAN TOTAL JOIST

Designing an Informed Marketing Pitch for Innovative Building Technology.
Read “Designing an Informed Marketing Pitch for Innovative Building Technology”

MORGAN SOLAR

Many green technology entrepreneurs find it difficult to demonstrate the value of their innovations at an early stage. The Morgan brothers faced this challenge twice!
Read “Design Team Sees Potential in Solar Window Concept”

NU-CO PLASTICS

A third tier automotive supplier ponders the question: what else can we make?
Read “Beyond Autoparts”

ON THE WATER DESIGNS

New Seasonal Opportunities for Muskoka Dock Manufacturer
Read “New Seasonal Opportunities for Muskoka Dock Manufacturer”

PROTEK PAINTS

Protek Paints can own a white space in its market sector (not being addressed by larger competitors).
Read “Brand Plan Can Help Small Paint Manufacturer Compete”

SCHWANK

Education and training series can reinforce market leadership positioning.
Read ”A Simplified Approach to Brand and Communications Design”

SHERWOOD INNOVATIONS

As a supplier of dash-trim kits, Sherwood Innovations must adapt to frequent changes in automotive design and consumer tastes.
Read “New Directions for Dash Trim Kits Keep Pace with Lifestyle Trends”

VERTICIEL

The inventor of an ingenious moss tile planting system faces challenges in bringing the innovation to market.
Read “Delivery Concept Brings Moss Tile Planting System Closer to Mass Market”

WOODSCAPE ARTKITS

For niche manufacturers in Ontario, a strategic design approach is just as important to marketing and distribution as it is to new product development.
Read “Bringing Design Innovation to Point of Sale”

XYZ INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Like many technology startups, XYZ Interactive wants to demonstrate a compelling application to attract licensees.
Read “XYZ INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES: “Imagined Products for a Hands-Free Future”

ANONYMOUS

Design Research can help to develop a multi-faceted approach to countering drug-induced sexual assault.
Read “A Holistic Design Approach to Counter Drink Tampering”

Integrated Design Process

Innovation is often portrayed as a linear process with design represented as one step in that process. However, the process of innovation is more accurately represented as a continuous cycle of improvement with design integrated into every stage in the cycle. To illustrate the innovation process used in the development of products, services, environments and communications, DIAC and ACIDO created the IDP Innovation Cycle diagram. The diagram highlights opportunities to leverage strategic design throughout the cycle of development, implementation and commercialization.

One of the most critical tools designers bring to the creative process is the Integrated Design Process (IDP). The process integrates designers with other experts at each stage of innovation.

An Integrated Design process helps Philips to think holistically about ways to add value to new products. This picture demonstrates the way the company has augmented the business and social value of its MRI technology by created a reassuring environment for patient and staff interactions.

Quick Facts

GREATER TORONTO AREA: A DESIGN VALUE PROPOSITION

Advanced Manufacturers in the GTA have access to a unique talent pool: the GTA design workforce. There are 25,645 designers working in the region. This well-educated and highly skilled multi-disciplinary design workforce represents the largest concentration of designers in any Central Metropolitan Area (CMA) within Canada, and the third largest centre for design in North America.

1. GTA is a leading North American Centre for Design Talent - The GTA is a design centre for North America with a high concentration of expertly-trained designers in the workforce. There are 25,645 designers working in the region.

2. GTA Design Workforce Ranks #3 in North America – the Toronto region has the largest design workforce in Canada and the third largest talent pool of designers in North America, after New York and Boston.

3. The Design Workforce is Growing – the region’s design capacity is growing. Between 1991 and 2001, the 4.7% annual growth rate for the design workforce significantly outstripped growth in the overall labour force (which grew by 1.4%).

4. Highly Educated and Skilled Design Workforce – Approximately eight-five per cent of designers in the region have a university or college level education.

5. Access to Range of Design Disciplines - The design workforce in the GTA is broadly-based with strong representation from the six design disciplines: Industrial, visual communication, interior and fashion design, architecture and landscape architecture.

6. High Creativity and Problem Solving Skills – Industrial Designers in the GTA demonstrate their creative talent and ability to integrate new materials and advanced technologies into innovative new product concepts for industry sectors including contract furniture and medical devices.

7. Design Education Infrastructure - The GTA has a strong design education infrastructure with the region’s three universities and five colleges of technology and advanced learning offering three and four year degrees in design. The University of Toronto offers graduate programs in architecture and landscape architecture and York University recently launched Canada’s first Master of Design program in Visual Communication Design. York University, Ryerson University and George Brown College offer post graduate courses in Design Management. York University and Sheridan College Institute offer a unique, joint Bachelor of Design Program in visual communication design.

8. Centre for Design Research - The university and college network in the GTA provide specialized courses and research opportunities on a range of design themes including Designing for Sustainability, Design for an Aging Population and Game Design. The region affords opportunities for collaborative design research connecting design faculty and students with researchers in engineering, business, the social sciences and other disciplines.

9. High Level Expertise in Industrial Design – Two of Ontario’s three internationally-recognized, post secondary institutions offering industrial design degree programs are situated within the GTA. Humber College offers a four-year degree program in industrial design and has recently become the first institution in Canada to offer a specialization in automotive design within this degree program. The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) offers an industrial design program with specialty courses in materials & technology, design research methodologies and interaction design.

10. GTA is a Centre for Branding, Communication and Information Design – Approximately half the designers in the workforce are visual communication designers with high level expertise in branding, corporate communications, packaging design, web site and interactive design, information design and signage systems. Highly creative visual communication designers work in almost every sector of the economy within the GTA.

11. State-of-the-Art Facilities Design - Architects, landscape architects and interior designers working in the GTA have a strong track record in designing and building state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities for advanced manufacturing industries. Partnering with designers, manufacturers have been able to introduce innovations to enhance production efficiencies, to improve indoor air quality and to reduce the environmental impacts of building materials, production processes, water and waste disposal.

12. User-centred Design Research – Designers in the GTA collaborate with research institutions and corporate clients on ethnographic research exploring user behaviours to inform the design and production of products in health care, automotive, transportation, electronic communications and other industry sectors.

13. Universal Design and Human Factors – Designers in the GTA are well trained in the principles of universal design. They integrate strategies to enhance accessibility and usability and to reduce human error into the design of technical equipment and consumer products.

14. Multicultural Awareness – the multicultural environment in the GTA, has heightened the sensitivity of the local design workforce to cultural issues. GTA designers are highly skilled in customizing the design of products and services for export to other cultures around the world.

15. Professionalism of the Design Workforce – Designers in the GTA are accustomed to meeting the needs of clients in a dynamic, fast-paced business environment. They display a high level of professionalism and organization in the delivery of services on time and on budget.

16. World-renowned Project Management Skills – Designers from the GTA are hired around the world and well respected for their strong project management skills.

17. Environmental Responsibility – GTA designers are taking a proactive stance in helping clients to reduce environmental impacts in product development, production processes, materials sourcing, packaging and distribution practices.

18. Integrated Approach to Design Process – Architects, industrial designers and interior designers work on cross-disciplinary teams within the GTA to integrate strategic design practices and sustainability strategies into the development of state-of-the-art industrial facilities that enhance productivity and enable innovative product development.

19. Products of Local Suppliers Informed by Design – Local suppliers to the manufacturing industry have drawn on the local design talent pool and worked closely with designers to improve the quality and added value of the products and services they provide to manufacturers located in the region.

20. Proximity to Major US Business Centres – By concentrating both design and production in the GTA, manufacturers have easy access to North America’s top markets (135 million people within a 500 mile radius). This proximity can also help to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of distribution.