Ornamentum's Fall/Winter 2026 special issue focuses on the "xDX Project: Documenting, Linking, and Interpreting Canada's Design Heritage," an inter-institutional research project centred on the objects and archives once held by Toronto's Design Exchange (DX). The project is an example of how collections of designed objects, and their reintegration as digital data, foster networks of researchers and provide foundations for the work of design history in Canada. 

​

The issue opens with an interview with Rachel Gotlieb and Michael Prokopow, former DX curators, who offer insights on the collection's evolution over time. Jan Hadlaw and Michael Windover offer an account of tracing the trajectory of the collection from physical to digital form through the xDX project, while Alan Elder explores how the meaning of design objects in the collections of three Canadian museums influenced each one's focus. You will also find a series of object biographies, written by the xDX Project team, along with a review of the Éclosion : Creations émergentes en métiers d’art exhibition, which highlighted Montreal's craft schools and offered a glimpse into the future of craft and design in Canada. ​

​

Issue available November 3, 2026