OCAD U creators win 2024 DesignTO Awards

Image: From Theory to Practice: A Caring Design Lab.

OCAD University congratulates its community members who have won 2024 DesignTO Awards, following the DesignTO Festival which took place this year from January 19 to 28.

The DesignTO Awards recognize excellence at the DesignTO Festival, Canada’s leading and largest annual design festival that celebrates design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making. The Awards are supported by KPMB, celebrating the talent, expression and diversity of designers from Toronto and abroad.

Here are the winners from the OCAD U community.

Best in Festival – Exhibition
BLOOD, WATER & BATHURST STREET

Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design (IAMD) grad Naomi Daryn Boyd’s participatory, textile-based mapping project explored the histories, communities, and journeys that have shaped these lands. 

Best in Festival - Window Installation 
Ribbon 

Material Art and Design instructor Brad Turner's exhibition was a modular collection of handblown glass “ribbons” with integrated lighting in a multitude of colours.

People’s Choice Awards – Favourite Event
Connect & Collaborate: A Design Salon

Strategic Foresight and Innovation alums Milena Tasic and Elizabeth Lane led this event at Staples Studio Corktown. This was a salon-style, in-person gathering, focused on getting to know others in the Toronto design scene, fostering creativity, and sparking innovation.

Juror’s Choice Award (selected by Alexandra ‘Alita’ Gonzalez-Vučina)
Introducing: The Biodiversity+ Design Toolkit

Dr. Kathy Moscou, Interim Dean, Faculty of Design, co-led this panel with Karel Vredenburg, Global VP of UX Research and Head of Canada Studios for IBM. They spoke to the value of biodiversity to inform various aspects of design and contribute to the betterment of humanity and a greener future.

Juror’s Choice Award (selected by Quan Thai)
From Theory to Practice: A Caring Design Lab

Associate Professor Ranee Lee is the founder of DESIGNwith, which is opened its doors to share its latest innovative soft goods line in collaboration with the Regent Park Sewing Studio to reveal design for inclusion beyond products — the co-design methodology.