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Case StudyJun 04, 2025

Significant Other develops a future-ready website for The Bentway

Written by Jacob Sharrard RGD, Significant Other

Context

Occupying the once-neglected space beneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, The Bentway has become a transformative civic initiative—one that reclaims urban infrastructure for public art, culture and community.
Its mission is to ignite the urban imagination.

Methodology

As an organization deeply embedded in city-building and creative placemaking, The Bentway facilitates year-round programming, public art installations, performances and civic dialogue.

With its rapid growth, the organization required a new digital platform that could:

  • Centralize an increasingly complex program of events and cultural offerings.
  • Reflect a bold new visual identity designed by Superfantastic
  • Serve a wide array of users, from everyday visitors to artists, curators and civic partners.
  • Support internal teams with more flexible and sustainable content management tools.

The overarching goal was to create a future-ready website that would foster deeper engagement, expand community access and act as a living archive of The Bentway’s evolving story.

Process

Our approach to The Bentway’s website was rooted in deep collaboration and strategic planning. We began with a series of discovery sessions involving their programming, marketing and curatorial leads to surface key goals and challenges. From these conversations, it became clear the site needed to do more than showcase events—it had to support dynamic storytelling, community engagement and operational flexibility. These insights directly informed the site architecture, which was restructured to better reflect how audiences navigate and interact with The Bentway’s diverse content.

With a refreshed visual identity from Superfantastic as our foundation, we translated static brand elements into a flexible, web-native design system. The front-end was designed to be modular, accessible and responsive across devices, while the CMS was customized to accommodate varied content types and editorial needs. We prioritized inclusive design and accessibility at every stage through thoughtful attention to type hierarchy, colour contrast and screen reader compatibility. The final product not only reflects The Bentway’s civic and cultural mission—it supports its continued evolution as a platform
for bold, imaginative public space-making.

Results

The final website is a dynamic, future-ready platform that captures the energy and ambition of The Bentway’s evolving role in Toronto’s civic and cultural life. Designed to be both flexible and expressive, the site functions as a central hub for programming, storytelling and community engagement. Its modular architecture supports a wide range of content—from public art installations and live performances to curatorial essays and seasonal campaigns—allowing the organization to communicate the full scope of its work in compelling and accessible ways.

Since launch, the platform has contributed to a noticeable increase in community engagement and online participation. Visitors can now more easily discover upcoming events, explore past programs and interact with the ideas and artists shaping the space. Internally, the new CMS has streamlined editorial workflows and empowered the team to publish content more efficiently and creatively.

The site’s design and functionality were recognized with a 2024 Silver Anthem Award in the category of Digital & Innovative Experiences, reinforcing its impact and alignment with The Bentway’s vision. More than a website, it has become a vital extension of the organization’s identity—a tool for building community, sparking dialogue and igniting the urban imagination.


Credits:

Significant Other team:

  • Jacob Sharrard RGD, Co-founder & Creative Director
  • Anika Qureshi, Senior Graphic Designer

  • Adrian Trimble, Developer

  • Lynn Gammie, Technical Strategist

  • Dylan Welsh, Project Manager

The Bentway team:

  • David Carey, Co-Executive Director
  • Ilana Altman, Co-Executive Director
  • Alison Uttley, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications
  • Sarah Konowal, Manager, Marketing & Communications
  • Christie Shen, Digital Marketing Coordinator

Jacob Sharrard RGD

Significant Other

Jacob has over twenty years of experience crafting brand strategy, visual identities, publications, event visuals, and websites for a diverse range of clients including the United Nations, University of Toronto, The Bentway, Azure Magazine, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Royal LePage, and Forests Ontario. He has a passion for helping brands understand their value, identify what sets them apart, and express it through unforgettable visuals and experiences. When he's not in front of a screen you'll probably find him riding the TTC, exploring Toronto's parks, or making crafts with his two children.

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