The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) has presented David Labistour with the inaugural "DesignThinker of the Year" award. Labistour is the Chief Executive Officer of MEC, Canada's leading retailer of outdoor gear, apparel and services.
The award was presented at RGD's 14th annual DesignThinkers Conference in Toronto, attended by 1,500 creative professionals and business communicators.
Labistour was recognized for his long-standing commitment to design and appreciation for the process of design thinking to fuel innovation, as well as leading one of Canada's most beloved brands through a bold redesign with Toronto firm Concrete this year.
"'Design thinking' allows us to make sense of our complex, exponentially changing world and address the needs of our customers, communities, economy and ecology," Labistour commented.
"[David]
has built MEC on design... with a deep respect for the people that both make and use their products, as well as the environmental and social impacts," said Award judge Alan Dye, Executive Creative Director at Apple. Other judges were Mark Leung, Director of DesignWorks at Rotman and Bruce Nussbaum, author of Creative Intelligence.