Northward: Canada's Design Future

06: Lynsey Thornton on building design culture that scalesHost 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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projectnorthward.substack.com

04: Ana Serrano on designing Canada's civic futureHost 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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projectnorthward.substack.com

02: Dylan Horvath on why Canada needs to get serious about Industrial DesignHost 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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projectnorthward.substack.com

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. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit projectnorthward.substack.com