CBC On Design: How an idea evolves to become a product in the world

CBC

2 days ago

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Industrial designers create the objects we surround ourselves with. Pairing craftsmanship and innovation, designers in Canada are creating the objects we find in our homes and around our world.
Our new series CBC On Design, now streaming on CBC Gem and YouTube, explores the evolution of an idea and the path it takes to becoming a item in your everyday life — but that journey is rarely a straight line. Between the initial concept and finished object lie sketches, prototypes, material experiments, user testing, manufacturing puzzles, and countless hidden steps.
Each product tells its own story, whether it's traditional craftsmanship meeting modern manufacturing or a secretive method for creating colourful concrete. In CBC On Design we get a look behind the scenes and meet some of the designers who are making our country brighter and more beautiful.
All episodes of CBC On Design are now streaming on CBC Gem and will be roll out every two weeks this summer on the CBC Arts YouTube channel.
Episode 1: Concrete
Concrete is all around us, but we don't think about it much.
In this episode of CBC On Design, industrial designers Matt and Shawna Heide redefine the possibilities of concrete, making it into beautiful home goods. While this material is commonly associated with roads, bridges, and towering structures, the duo transforms it into something unexpected—vibrant, tactile, and refined objects for everyday spaces.
Episode 2: Lighting
It's easy to design for people's bad shopping habits. But can you design a light that lasts forever?
In this episode of CBC On Design, we explore the art and science of lighting with industrial designer Christian Lo and the team at Anony, a Toronto-based lighting studio. She aims to design lighting that feels invisible—subtly shaping the spaces we inhabit without drawing attention to itself.
Episode 3: Seating
This designer's products have ended up everywhere from the silver screen to your local cafe.
In this episode of CBC On Design, we learn about hospitality seating with industrial designer Geof Lilge, whose chairs and stools are found in restaurants, cafes, and offices around the world. Geof's career is filled with examples of both small-scale craftsmanship and large-scale production, showing the phases and cycles of a design practice.
Episode 4: Privacy Booths
In a world of open offices and remote work, how do you design for silence and privacy?
In this episode of CBC On Design, industrial designers Nick and Brendan find an old solution to a new problem—how to create private spaces for phone and video calls in open, noisy workplaces. While traditional phone booths have largely disappeared from city streets, the need for quiet, enclosed spaces in office environments has grown.
Episode 5: Rugs
Rugs don't have to be boring rectangles.
In this episode of CBC On Design, we explore the bright, nostalgic rugs designed by Rashelle Campbell. A designer who blends a traditional craft with contemporary aesthetics, Rashelle creates rugs that are colorful, asymmetrical, and rooted in the playful energy of the early 2000s.