Designing the rural

These free-hand posters on mill paper were meant to inspire participants as they entered the CRI for the Rural Design Conference.

A Rural Design Conference was hosted last fall at Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI) in Corner Brook. The CRI is a collaborative project of Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, the City of Corner Brook and the Corner Brook Campus of College of the North Atlantic.

The event, which took place Oct. 24-25, featured keynote and hands-on skills building activities. It was an opportunity for participants to interact with designers and the design-curious from across Canada and beyond who are poised to shape the field and who are curious about the opportunity for greater impact in rural areas.

Dr. Todd Hennessey, conference organizer, addresses participants in the room and those who joined online.

This conference combined formal programming with space for conversation and action, introducing the basics of design thinking through joyful, hands-on activities. At the same time, participants explored how our current definitions of design might be too limited for the rural context.

"Rural design is an emerging field that we are building together," said organizer Dr. Todd Hennessey. "What better place than Newfoundland and Labrador to launch this discussion and this network?"

The conference examined:

"In tandem, design firms across the country also hosted their own local events and engaged with rural communities, so we were part of a larger conversation taking place across the continent on that day," said Dr. Hennessey.

For more information, visit: https://www.ruraldesignnetwork.com/conference2022