Illustration for FIKA's union station store depicts life in Toronto

Context

FIKA, a cannabis retailer was opening a new store amongst the bustling at Union Station in downtown Toronto. FIKA targets a sophisticated audience and my work for Nordstrom had caught their eye. I was contracted to create an illustration for a mural to be installed within the shop as an ‘Instagramable’ work of art for visitors to enjoy.

Methodology

The goal of the project was to normalize cannabis use beyond younger users and to highlight the energy and excitement of downtown Toronto while working with the FIKA brand. To achieve this, the people in the artwork aren't shown out partying or sitting around the couch with friends but out enjoying Toronto life: restaurants, skating, biking, enjoying time with friends outdoors — and, of course, commuting through Union Station. FIKA itself is depicted as an ‘urban jungle’ popping out of Union Station as a place to relax and find comfort. The colours royal blue and gold used in the mural are in line with FIKA's brand. Additionally, they have particular little dome jars in their shop to showcase the different strands of cannabis so, when I was coming up with the concept, I kept these domes in mind and extrapolated that to create an overarching FIKA cannabis biodome to represent the shop as a haven within the Toronto landscape.

Result

The client loved the result as it brought a degree of personality to the shop, livened up the space and is a prominent feature that passersby can relate to. The mural has been used in shoppers’ social media feeds to draw more attention to FIKA and this store's busy location.

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