Casey House in Toronto is a hospital unlike any other. Located in downtown Toronto, Casey House provides ground-breaking care for people living with and at risk of HIV.

The ZipGarden™ is a small hydroponic system for homes, schools, and small businesses that easily grows herbs, decorative plants, leafy greens, and fruiting plants.  Building upon the success of their patented ZipGrow Towers and Farm Wall™ system for DIY growers, ZipGrow Inc. recognized the opportunity to introduce a more aesthetic solution to the consumer market while utilizing the same technology.  

In Toronto, Ontario, on March 2nd, 2023, at the age of 76. Arlene is survived and lovingly remembered by Robert Cushman, her husband of 48 years, her three children Chloe (Peter), Anthony and Mitchell (Amy), her grandchild Sacha and her brother Lorne (Penny).

DIAC acted as subject matter experts for this labour market analysis of Toronto’s design workforce. 

In 2021, DIAC published its Design Impacts Framework to demonstrate how positive design interventions in Placemaking can be assessed and measured. In the second phase of this research, DIAC is applying the Framework to projects in other disciplines.

Launchpad was developed by Artscape to help bridge the gap that exists between the tremendous cultural and economic value artists’ ideas contribute to society and what creative people earn for their work. Whether helping to ease the transition between post-secondary and self-employment or supporting a creative business to scale up, we help creatives succeed on their own terms.

Copernicus is an Ontario-based manufacturer of learning tools and furniture for schools. Since it was founded in 1989, Copernicus has been making products that improve the classroom experience for teachers and for their students.

Now that we have entered yet another wave of the pandemic, we continue to require creative design solutions to adapt how we live and work. In this series, DIAC collects some of the recent design success stories to share with you.

After 2 years and 3 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a need for fast and accurate virus tests at point of need. MicroGEM, a medical technology company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has developed the first point of care PCR saliva test to be authorized by the FDA for emergency use in the US.

As bungalows and other older houses are demolished, the number of single family residences built in Toronto is growing. But not very many are distinguished by innovative design. The Tile House by architects Kohn Shnier is different.

Tommy Thompson Park has a new front gate. The beloved linear walkway and bike path on the Waterfront was created by the building of the Leslie Street Spit in the early 1950s. Recently, to add to the functionality of the park, the City of Toronto commissioned DTAH, the multidisciplinary Toronto-based design firm, to create an entrance pavilion and entry landscape to house an educational support space and public washrooms.

On October 26th, 2021 the City of Toronto and the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) held a half-day virtual design charrette to explore innovations for enhancing safe outdoor dining and entertainment activities into the colder months.

DIAC Celebrates 20th Anniversary Milestone, Featured Projects, Design Impacts Framework, Information Graphics in the Pandemic, Toronto Design Sector Study and CaféTO Winterization Design Charrette.

Now that people are returning to the office and spending more time in public spaces, they have concerns about how often and how thoroughly surfaces such as door knobs, buttons, levers and handles are sanitized. HandSandal is a simple hand hygiene device designed by Design 1st that allows for zero-contact with potentially contaminated surfaces in public environments.