Association ofCanadian Industrial Designers
ACID was formed to develop and promote the profession of Industrial Design in Canada. The discipline needs a community at its center to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices, the advancement of our shared values and growth opportunities for the Industrial Design workforce.
Founded 75 years ago by Vincent Massey,Canada's 1st Canadian Governor General
Lots of exciting news to come!
Stay tuned for updates.


Offering varying levels of membership, ACID benefits the industry and its professionals who join the community. Along with designers, we are an association that advances awareness, research and document excellence of industrial design in Canada.

What is Industrial Design?
Industrial Design is a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success, and leads to a better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services, and experiences. Industrial Design bridges the gap between what is and what’s possible. It is a trans-disciplinary profession that harnesses creativity to resolve problems and co-create solutions with the intent of making a product, system, service, experience or a business, better. At its heart, Industrial Design provides a more optimistic way of looking at the future by reframing problems as opportunities. It links innovation, technology, research, business, and customers to provide new value and competitive advantage across economic, social, and environmental spheres.
ACID History
1948
Founding of the Association of Industrial Designers of Canada (ACID)
1957
Founding of International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). ACID is one of the 5 Founding Members.
1958
Founding of first provincial chapter ACID-O
1961
Creation of the National Design Council
1964
Foundation of Québec chapter ADIC-Q
1967
First ICSID Congress to be held in Canada – Montréal
1969
First university level I.D. programme – Université de Montréal
1979
First post-graduate I.D. programme – University of Calgary
1983
Incorporation of ADIQ.
1985
Dismantling of the National Design Council and Design Canada
Incorporation of BCID
1986
Incorporation of ACIDO with status of corporation with reserved title
2005
After an extensive bidding process involving 34 applications from cities around the world, the ICSID Secretariat move to Montreal
2007
On the occasion of ICSID’s 50th anniversary, World Industrial Design Day was launched to highlight the impact of industrial design on economic, social, cultural, and environmental development. It has since been celebrated every 29 June around the world
2015
ICSID change it’s name to World Design Organization (WDO)
Board Members
- Dylan Horvath - Co-president/ACIDO VP - LinkedIn
- Patrick Messier - Co-president/ADIQ President - LinkedIn
- The Operations Committee includes Reem Abdelhaleem, Raymond Daniel, Adriane Spence, Cristian Loria, Ashantee Spencer, and Stephen Bykowy


ACID is the official parent to ACIDO (Association of Chartered Industrial Designers Ontario) and ADIQ (Association des Designers Industriels du Québec). ACID is a professional member organization of WDO (World Design Organization).
ACIDO is an association of accredited Industrial Designers in Ontario formed to develop and promote the profession. The discipline needs a community at its centre to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices, the advancement of our shared values and growth opportunities for the Industrial Design workforce.
View the official website here: https://acido.info/about-the-association/
ADIQ aims to promote and support the Quebec design community by sharing knowledge and the social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits of innovation through design in order to contribute to a healthier, more prosperous and sustainable world.
View the official website here: https://www.adiq.qc.ca/fr/
World Design Organization (WDO)® is a globally recognized non-governmental organization that aims to promote and advance the discipline of industrial design and its power to enhance economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life. Founded in 1957, WDO services over 180 member organizations around the world, engaging thousands of individual designers through our innovative programming and initiatives that champion ‘design for a better world’.
View the official website here: https://wdo.org/
Partners

Sponsors
ACID has leadership sponsorship opportunities open for both corporate and public organizations. Contact us to view our sponsorship tier packages and become an official sponsor of Canada’s first and only national industrial design organization.
Contact
Location: Toronto, Ontario (Our team works remotely)
Email: dhorvath@design-canada.org / aspence@design-canada.org
ACID aims to unite the Industrial Design community in Canada through a series of initiatives, beginning with an annual award recognizing excellence in Canadian design.
Accredited Design Schools
Quebec:
- UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
- UNIVERSITE LAVAL:
Bachelor’s Degree
Master’s Degree
British Columbia: