Meet our guest writer, Ranee Lee, an Associate Professor of Industrial Design at OCAD University. She’s a caring professor, a fierce design advocate, and the founder of DESIGNwith. Today, she shares her inspirational design story, both personal and professional. Get ready to be inspired!
What were the reason(s) for your personal project, DESIGNwith?
DESIGNwith is at the intersection of academia, corporation and community.
I saw an opportunity post pandemic to create a design lab for the community in an accessible space where most people are: a shopping centre, to democratize the learnings of design for a more equitable future.
DESIGNwith employs women from Regent Park sewing studio through participatory design to produce products from waste materials for an alternative economy (livelihood) and circular economy (sustainability).
How has the DesignWith evolved? Anything changed/updated or even something you did not know initially?
DESIGNwith has evolved into this wonderful lab in social innovation and circular design for the community.
The idea of DESIGNwith was in my head so everything was new. But I also have this thinking that it’s not until we approach community differently that we can start to expect new results.
So as a designer, this has been a gift to have a space for experimentation and research with various partnerships.
I think you are asking about what surprised me?
What surprised me the most would be all the new organizations that’s we’ve partnered with in the last two years.
Like never did I expect to produce a new product line for The Power Plant Contemporary Gallery (which opened just on May 2) with products designed with the women of regent park and launched at a public gallery opening.
What has been your biggest professional accomplishment/risk/story? and Why?
We’ve done so much in the past two years, probably more than any two years in my professional life. I say we, as in, I have managing creative director at DESIGNwith who is a recent grad (this month!) in industrial design, Katya Koroscil.
I think the reason why we’ve done so much is due to the wide interest from people all around both this concept of this lab.
We have been invited as far as Oslo, Norway to share about DESIGNwith.. and at the International Design Conference in NYC to present about DESIGNwith’s framework.. to partnering up with a gallery to produce what I thought was a “brave” press release about the buy-back of marketing waste to produce limited edition products.
Risking at DESIGNwith is easy because this isn’t my job.
This is like creating an ideal dream of a community lab that benefits both people and planet.
When money isn’t the bottom line, then “risking” looks different and we can absolutely risk to prioritize people first.
What were the reason(s) for your personal project, DesighWith?
As a designer, I believe we have to be relevant in our work and respond in ways we feel called to do using our skills and interests.
So starting up DESIGNwith felt like a natural outflow for me and my passion from years of learning from my work in social innovation.
So it’s not necessarily a “reason” but an extension, if that makes any sense.
Check out DESIGNwith today and help drive sustainable design and community innovation!
Life Outside of Design Studio 