Mandate

What is design?

Design is an important component of our everyday lives. Product design, package design, brand and corporate identity, retail design, book and brochure design, interactive design (software, interactive information, interfaces), and design of buildings and environments represent the spheres of influence of design on our lives. The design disciplines of concentration for the DX include:

Our mission

To promote the value of Canadian design, through engaging and enriching programs.

Our vision

"Canada by Design" to establish Canada as a design leader worldwide.

Our guiding principles

1. Leveraging the Power of Design: Design has the power to create and sustain economic advantage for Canada and the role of the Design Exchange is to promote and leverage the value of design-led thinking to enable the business community to take full advantage of the opportunities that good design creates.

2. Establishing a Cohesive Design Sector Workforce: The role of the Design Exchange is to encourage and create incentives for design professionals from all disciplines to work together, across disciplines, in order to more efficiently and more effectively serve the needs of our business and social communities and to create competitive advantage.

3. Promoting Design Excellence: The concept of good design involves a strategic and creative process that integrates technical, functional, aesthetic, cultural and economic considerations. The Design Exchange facilitates new collaborative efforts to produce good Canadian design and promotes and celebrates Canadian design success stories.

4. Showcasing Good Design: The Design Exchange is North America’s premier Design Centre with exhibition, presentation and meeting space to showcase the best in design and to host public and private forums on design issues.

5. Connecting Through Networks: The Design Exchange builds links between education, business, designers, and the public through its programs, which outreach to national and international audiences.

DX goals

• To be recognized internationally as a center of design excellence for Canada.
  

• To build a Canadian brand identity, nationally and internationally.
  

• To offer DX programs and services locally, provincially and nationally.
  

• To operate efficiently and effectively with a stable financial platform.
  

Our values

• We value design excellence for all segments of the Canadian population.
  

• We value designers and the design process across every discipline.
  

• We value the role and power of design in the Canadian economy.
  

• We value design’s contribution to quality of life for Canadians.
  

• We value collaboration and interactivity between the DX and all Canadians.
  

• We value the contribution of youth education programs to our future.
  

• We value creativity and innovation.