The RGD Project-Based Mentorship Program fall 2026 is open for applications

The Project-Based Mentorship Program is a 12-week program designed to help emerging designers fill gaps in their portfolios with projects they haven't had the opportunity to complete in their school curriculum or professional workplaces. Emerging designers or upper-year Student RGDs will develop skills such as project management, giving and receiving feedback and rationale writing.

A senior designer acts as a design leader. An Associate RGD or upper-year Student RGD acts as design manager and one to two Student RGDs act as designers. Each team will work on a mock project, proposed by the mentor or the RGD Mentorship Committee. If you're curious about the work, see the results from the Spring 2026 round.

Complete the form by November 6, 11:59 PM Pacific to select mentors from the list below. 

Mentors

Armando Ascorve RGD, (he/him), Hamilton, ON

Armando is a Mexican graphic designer, creative director and photographer with more than 17 years of experience in the creative industry. He is the founder of Büro Studio, a multidisciplinary agency in Veracruz, Mexico, where he developed branding and advertising solutions for a range of clients. He was Creative Director and Lead Designer at Klear Innovations Inc./Paybilt, specializing in UI/UX and creative strategy for fintech and payment technologies. He also worked as a Graphic Designer at Aqua Fast Flush, contributing to marketing, advertising and visual communication in Canada's industrial sector. He is currently helping build 90five.ca, an Ontario creative studio focused on branding, design, photography and video production for small and medium-sized businesses.

Armando holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's in advertising, along with certifications in photography, videography and teaching in marketing and advertising. Before moving to Canada in 2021, he also worked in academia and publishing as a marketing and creativity instructor at Centro Universitario Hispano Mexicano, Marketing Manager at Cristóbal Colón University and Creative Director of AD Magazine. As a Certified RGD, he has contributed to the design community as a judge, mentor and volunteer. His guiding principle is that great design solves problems with creativity, empathy and purpose.

Project Description (Branding): Armando will lead a project focused on creating a brand for a food truck. 

Yuliya Fedorovych RGD, Victoria, BC

Yuliya is a visual communication designer from Ukraine who moved to Canada after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. She is a Communication Designer with Island Health (Vancouver Island Health Authority), where her work focuses on making healthcare communications more accessible across digital products, physical environments, wayfinding and brand tools. This helps ensure information can be understood and used by people with a wide range of abilities. Her independent practice explores difficult histories and how design can engage audiences with the past, inspire action toward social justice and help prevent similar harms from recurring.

Project Description (Awareness Campaign): The team will create an awareness project focused on difficult histories by bringing greater attention to an overlooked event or experience from the past, with the goal of helping prevent similar harms from being repeated in the present.

Shannon Hewlko, Calgary, AB

Shannon is the Founder and Creative Director of Heyya Brands, a brand strategy and design studio that helps growing organizations build brands with clarity, confidence and purpose. With more than 15 years of experience, she works with businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations across Canada, specializing in brand strategy, visual identity, website design and marketing.

A graduate of the Alberta University of the Arts, Shannon has built her career at the intersection of creativity and business, guiding organizations through periods of growth and transformation using research, strategy, design and storytelling. She is an Affiliate Member of the RGD, where she volunteers as a mentor and awards judge.

Project Description (Branding): Mentees will develop a new brand from the ground up, beginning with research and positioning before creating a distinctive visual identity and brand system. The project will challenge the team to translate a clear business idea and audience need into a cohesive brand that can extend across digital and physical applications.

Rebecca Hirsekorn, Calgary, AB

Rebecca is a creative leader with 20 years of experience at the intersection of branding, strategic communication and print design. Her leadership style is facilitative and standard-setting—bringing people into the thinking, not just the making. She values craft, decisive thinking that stays open to better ideas and creative confidence grounded in genuine curiosity. She believes great design communicates and earns trust before a single word is read.

Rooted in a dual foundation of design and fine arts, she is a visual storyteller who helps clients and her team bring to life the essence of products or services through compelling design, translating what they do, who they are and why it matters into something audiences feel before they consider it.

Project Description (Branding): Rebecca will work with mentees to develop a visual identity and brand system for a fictional Northern café concept and carry that identity through the customer-facing touchpoints needed for a successful launch. The project centres on translating a cohesive brand story into tangible design across packaging, merchandise, digital presence and an in-person launch activation. Visual identity, packaging design, customer merch, digital media, printed collateral and launch activation design support for an opening evening or pop-up experience (such as signage and environmental graphics) will be explored.

Deirdre Hughes RGD, (she/her), Toronto, ON

Deirdre is a designer, creative director and strategist with more than 20 years of experience spanning creative agencies, public sector organizations, strategic communications and film production. Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary teams, developed award-winning campaigns and directed brand, publication, engagement and digital initiatives across a wide range of sectors.

A proud generalist with a deep appreciation for craft, Deirdre's practice brings together brand strategy, visual identity systems, storytelling, publication design, public engagement and integrated communications. Equally comfortable shaping creative vision and contributing as a working designer, she is passionate about building strong creative cultures and creating work that is thoughtful, accessible and human-centred. She believes the best design emerges when curiosity, collaboration and diverse perspectives come together.

Project Description (Branding): Participants will develop a comprehensive rebrand for a fictional regional transit agency created through the merger of several local transit systems. The project will explore brand strategy, visual identity development and launch communications, culminating in a suite of public-facing applications designed to introduce and establish the new brand.

David O'Connell RGD, (he/him), Toronto, ON

David is the founder and creative director of BANG! creative, an award-winning brand design studio with a reputation for impactful, innovative solutions. With nearly 30 years of experience in the communication arts industry, he began his career as a multimedia designer during a pivotal time in design technology, when long-form HTML was the new standard, InDesign was Aldus PageMaker and Photoshop had just added layers.

Throughout his career, David has worked with clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, developing brands that resonate across print, digital and broadcast media. His specialties include creative direction, brand development, art direction, strategic marketing and advertising. Whether working in traditional media or the digital landscape, his expertise ensures that every project stands out and makes a lasting impact.

Project Description (Branding and Packaging): Mentees will work with David to create branding and branding touchpoints for the launch of a new beverage. The product will have an activation point, such as a trailer or pop-up at a sporting event. The project will involve branding, packaging, a website, digital ads and a printed ad or handout for the event.

Noah Ortmann RGD, Toronto, ON

Noah is a Senior Designer at Significant Other, where he specializes in UI/UX, digital design and branding. With more than 13 years of experience, he brings a user-focused and accessible approach to creating clear, intuitive digital experiences for organizations across culture, public service and the private sector. His self-published design projects have been featured in the National Post, CTV News, BlogTO, Mental Floss, Bloomberg's CityLab and CBC Radio One.

Project Description (UI/UX): The Toronto Zoo is home to one of the most diverse animal collections in the world: 3,000 animals across 300 species on display in seven zoogeographic regions. The health and well-being of each animal depends on the dedicated zookeepers, veterinarians, technicians, zoologists, nutritionists and managers who care for them. The Zoo is looking to design a new internal web platform that catalogues, monitors and coordinates daily care for its animal population. Drawing from and expanding on the Zoo's existing branding, this platform needs to be easy to use, responsive, accessible and robust.

Paige Pennifold RGD, (She/Her), Edmonton, AB

Paige is an art director and creative services manager at National Bank and a multidisciplinary designer with a passion for developing creative ideas from strategy through execution. Her experience spans creative direction, brand identity, graphic design, illustration, typography, motion, photography and visual storytelling, giving her a broad perspective on how ideas can be brought to life across mediums. Her work has been recognized by the RGD and the IABC Capital Awards. She has worked in various agencies and in-house teams.

She believes the most impactful creative work starts with curiosity, collaboration and a deep understanding of the audience. Paige is passionate about challenging convention, uncovering new opportunities and developing visual stories that are meaningful, distinctive and memorable. She thrives in collaborative environments, working with clients, creative teams and cross-functional partners to build strong creative visions and turn ideas into innovative work. At the heart of her approach is a belief that great creative partnerships are built on listening, trust and making the most of opportunities in order to make an impact.

Project Description (Branding): The team will work on branding for a fictional small business start-up, such as a dentist, doctor, physiotherapist, eye doctor or hair salon. The deliverable will be a vision board that includes stationery and an animated logo. The team will also produce social media assets with the branding that is developed.

Chris Reyes RGD, (he/him), Sherwood Park, AB

Chris is an associate creative director with more than a decade of experience in marketing and advertising. He has worked with everyone from corporations and non-profits to government agencies and rock bands, helping turn ideas into thoughtful brands, campaigns and creative work that connects with people. At the heart of his work is a love for good design, strong ideas and storytelling. Chris believes creativity can do more than make things look good: it can move organizations forward, bring people together and make a meaningful impact.

His work has been recognized by Applied Arts across branding, typography and illustration, along with numerous ACE Awards from the Advertising Club of Edmonton. He has also been shortlisted by Communication Arts and was a finalist in the 2021 RGD Ultrabold Awards. For Chris, the best work solves a real problem, resonates with people and leaves something better than it found it.

Project Description (Branding): Mentees will create the branding for “Dead Air,” an independent community radio station focused on underground music, local culture and strange late-night programming. There will be lots of opportunity for experimental typography, posters, show identities, merch, motion and web.

Javier Reyes RGD, (he/him), Edmonton, AB

Javier is an art director with more than a decade of experience collaborating with agencies and direct clients across Canada, the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom. He brings a structured and practical approach to creative projects, from concept development through execution. He has also supported emerging designers through mentorship, sharing professional experience, creative guidance and the realities of navigating the design industry.

Javier approaches branding as transforming strategy into a living visual system, where every decision has both a reason and an emotional intention. His mentorship approach is transparent and collaborative, creating a safe environment where participants can share ideas, ask questions and explore possibilities without fear of judgement.

Project Description (Branding): This collaborative branding project focuses on developing the brand system for a fictional Canadian digital mental health platform for creative professionals. Participants will work together across brand strategy, brand concept and brand design to shape the platform's purpose, voice and visual identity. The project offers an opportunity to contribute to a meaningful brief, exchange ideas, receive feedback and experience how a brand develops from an initial concept into a cohesive system across digital content and organizational applications. The finished project will become a portfolio-worthy case study that participants can feel proud to share with future employers and clients, demonstrating their creative thinking and ability to solve a relevant, real-world challenge.

Louis Schreyer Duarte, Toronto, ON

Louis is a passionate brand builder with a creative career spanning more than three decades. He blends strategic thinking with deep expertise in design, art direction and holistic brand systems. Throughout his career, he has shaped identities for brands of all sizes, consistently pushing creative boundaries and transforming strategy into meaningful visual communication. Driven by the belief that great design can change everything and that collaboration is key, Louis is eager to share his experience and help nurture the next generation of design talent through the RGD Project-Based Mentorship Program.

Project Description (Branding): Louis will lead a team in creating a brand identity for storm&stress, a Toronto-based theatre collective that works with a core group of artists and alternating collaborators to present innovative, challenging and provocative contemporary plays. The team will be responsible for creating a complete brand identity and design system, including a wordmark, favicon and motion design concepts, alongside deliverables such as social media asset direction, website screens and a quick-reference guide (compressed brand guidelines).

storm&stress was founded and is led by Birgit Schreyer Duarte. The collective is named after the Sturm und Drang (“Storm and Stress”) movement, an 18th-century German, early-Romantic cultural movement that championed raw emotion, individual freedom and rebellion against rationalism. The name reflects the company's belief in art that speaks to both intellect and feeling and aims at social engagement through both reasoning and emotional turmoil. The collective often works with international collaborators and works in translation. It incorporates a strong musical component and physical theatre elements, and it takes artistic risks with uncomfortable, outside-the-box subject matter and theatrical styles. It recently launched a public reading series of new German plays in English translation, “ACHTUNG! Radical New Plays from Germany,” held in off-the-beaten-path venues in Toronto.

Alyssa Westman, (she/her), London, ON

Alyssa is the Creative Director at sagecomm, an award-winning marketing, communications and public relations team supporting businesses and organizations across North America. She leads a multidisciplinary team and shapes brand identities, campaigns and creative strategy for organizations across the commercial, public and non-profit sectors.

With more than a decade of progressive experience, Alyssa has led the creative direction of award-winning projects across a diverse range of organizations and industries. She brings a strong strategic perspective to the creative process, pushing beyond expected solutions to produce work that is purposeful, drives action and contributes to meaningful change for clients and the communities they serve.

Project Description (Branding): A new fictional café concept within the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) will bring food, art, culture and conversation together as an extension of the broader gallery experience. The project will develop a bold identity and launch assets that reflect the creativity and energy of the AGO and the broader world of art and culture.