Northward: Canada's Design Future – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 00: Michael Grigoriev - The very first episode of the Northward podcast, in which host Michael Grigoriev explains why we need to have conversations about the role of design in this country.

Project Northward is about bringing a spotlight to design in this country, and the power it has to proactively shape a better future. This podcast, is an opportunity to learn and spotlight leading design minds on what their experiences are, and what it will take to raise the bar for design’s impact in this country.

01: Ian Chalmers on listening to CanadiansIn this inaugural episode of the Northward podcast, host Michael Grigoriev talks to Ian Chalmers, a prominent figure in Canadian design, founder of Pivot Design Group and DesignMeets. They explore the essence of Canadian design, its evolution, and its impact on society. Ian shares his journey from graphic design to human-centred design, emphasizing the importance of understanding people's needs. The conversation touches on the challenges facing Canadian designers, the need for a national design council, and the potential of design as a tool for social change. Ian reflects on his proudest moments in design and the importance of community engagement in shaping the future of design in Canada.

02: Dylan Horvath on why Canada needs to get serious about Industrial Design

Host Michael Grigoriev sits down with Dylan Horvath, a leading figure in Canada’s industrial design community as they explore what industrial design really means far beyond just “making things look sexy” and dig into its power to solve human problems at scale. Dylan unpacks Canada’s untapped potential in using design to commercialize innovation, strengthen the healthcare system, and boost our economy. He shares his own path from systems engineering to design entrepreneurship, why public understanding of design still needs work, and what a more design-literate Canada could look like.

The conversation also touches on the importance of nurturing the next generation of designers through student competitions like Rocket, and why Canada should take cues from countries like Japan and the UK to embed design more deeply in policy and industry.

03: OD Krieg on Designing the Future of Housing

Host Michael Grigoriev speaks with OD Krieg, President of Intelligent City and a national voice in the movement to industrialize housing through design. Together, they explore how Canada can move beyond one-off construction and toward scalable, sustainable building systems without compromising design quality to meet Canada's housing challenges.

OD reflects on Canada’s evolving design identity, the need for higher baseline expectations around quality, and why prefab doesn’t mean generic it means better. Drawing from his experience in Germany and Vancouver, he highlights how thoughtful system design can unlock both customization and repeatability at scale.

The conversation digs into the challenges of scaling housing supply, the role of public investment, and the cultural shift required to reframe prefab as a premium, not a compromise. From mass timber and manufacturing automation to partnerships with architects, OD outlines how Intelligent City is building the full stack to meet the moment.

04: Ana Serrano on designing Canada's civic future

Host Michael Grigoriev explores how design can shape Canada’s civic future with Ana Serrano, President and Vice-Chancellor of OCAD University.

Ana argues that design in Canada is still too often understood as object-driven that's focused on logos, furniture, or typefaces when it should be embedded into the systems, policies, and spaces that define how we live together. From a national design council to rethinking public space and democratic trust, this conversation explores what it would mean to take design seriously as a tool for shaping a more connected, imaginative, and equitable country.

05: Joseph Hofer on designing for commercial success

Host Michael Grigoriev and Joseph Hofer — product design strategist and founder of Hofer Studio — get in depth on how design is a vehicle for commercial success.

Hofer reflects on lessons learned at BlackBerry, where he helped shape some of the company’s most iconic devices, and how those experiences inform his current work with entrepreneurs. He outlines his “three R’s” framework — relationships, risk, and ROI — and his two-phase process: first validating the right product, then refining it into the right product for manufacturing and scale.

The conversation also explores aesthetics as a strategy, the challenges of building hardware companies in Canada, and why design remains essential to turning innovation into lasting businesses.

06: Lynsey Thornton on building design culture that scales

Host Michael Grigoriev and Lynsey Thornton — former VP of UX at Shopify and now VP of Experience Design at Jobber — dig into building and scaling design teams and how strong design cultures become engines for business success.

Thornton reflects on scaling Shopify’s design team from a small group of generalists into the largest design organization in Canada, and how shared standards, customer focus, and design systems kept quality high as the company rapidly expanded.

The conversation also explores why good design is good business, her next chapter at Jobber, and why Canada needs more ambitious, design-led companies to keep talent at home.