Ranee Lee

Ranee Lee is an Associate Professor in the Industrial Design program at OCAD University, where she has dedicated herself to bridging the gap between design, the circular economy, and social innovation. With a career spanning over three decades, Ranee has continually redefined the role of design in society.

Ranee began her professional journey as a product designer, operating a successful design business for fifteen years that manufactured home products and furnishings in Canada and the Philippines. Her work was showcased at tradeshows and distributed in retail stores across North America, highlighting her ability to blend materials with functionality.

Her passion for participatory design and social good led her to pursue a Master's degree in Education at the University of Toronto, focusing on participatory design frameworks. This interest in participatory design also led to the co-founding of Thinking Forward in 2010, a charitable organization partnered with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the largest school board in Canada. For over a decade, Thinking Forward developed arts-based leadership programs that empowered youth in at-risk neighbourhood schools in Toronto. In 2023, Thinking Forward was legally acquired by Yonge Street Mission to continue its impactful work.

At OCAD University, Ranee plays a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of industrial designers. As a course lead for first and second-year studio courses, a thesis professor, and a master’s advisor, she ensures that the curriculum remains relevant, engaging, and connected to real-world challenges. Her innovative teaching methods include off-site courses, such as Human-centred Design in partnership with Baycrest Hospital, aligning academic learning with community needs in healthcare. Additionally, Ranee’s ongoing design research project, One Lovely Hour, a collaboration with another design professor in the US is at the intersection of food, culture and memory; and in initial stages of use-testing. This initiative underscores her commitment to integrating social and emotional dimensions into design education.

Ranee views studio courses as laboratories of life, where students are encouraged to engage in contextual research and develop innovative design solutions. Since 2015, she has pioneered integrating design for social change into the Circular Design curriculum, establishing grassroots relationships with immigrant women sewists in Regent Park, a former social housing neighbourhood. This collaboration focuses on co-designing to promote skill and knowledge sharing among students and marginalized communities.

In 2022, Ranee founded DESIGNwith, a groundbreaking design lab located in the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, which attracts over 50 million visitors annually. This 635-square-foot space, in partnership with Cadillac Fairview and OCAD University, serves as a caring design practice that unites communities, corporations, and academia to drive social and environmental impact through design. As an inclusive education hub, DESIGNwith fosters an alternative economy where knowledge and skills are collectively valued, shared, and applied through innovative partnerships, product lines, workshops, and exhibitions. Notably, DESIGNwith has won many design awards for its public exhibitions and received sizable grants from Canada's federal and provincial governments. Through international speaking engagements and publications, Ranee has traveled internationally to share the lab's framework and hopeful ideas for the future.

Ranee Lee’s work exemplifies the transformative power of design, continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible when creativity meets social responsibility. The future of design is collaborative, considered, and life-centered.