RGD Project-Based Mentorship open for applications for Fall 2026

This 12-week program helps emerging designers fill gaps in their portfolios with projects they haven't had the opportunity to complete at their school or workplace.

Associate RGDs 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 Mentor/Creative Director. An Associate RGD or upper-year Student RGD acts as design manager and one to two Student RGDs act as designers. Each team works on a mock project, proposed by the Mentor or the RGD. If you're curious about the work, see the results from the Spring 2026 round.

Apply by Monday, November 9, 11:59 PM PT and select your preferred Mentors/Projects from the list below. 

Mentors

Armando Ascorve RGD, Hamilton, ON

Armando is a Mexican graphic designer, creative director and photographer with 17+ years' 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. He is currently helping build 90five.ca, an Ontario creative studio focused on branding, design, photography and video production.

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

Ally Blunt RGD, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Ally has 10+ years of experience working across design, marketing, technology and agency environments, helping teams turn complex ideas into meaningful, well-executed work. Her design background shapes how she approaches both creative work and project delivery. Ally believes successful projects depend not only on strong ideas, plans and timelines but also on collaboration, thoughtful feedback, an understanding of different perspectives and a clear connection to what the work is meant to accomplish. 

Project Description (Branding): Mentees will develop a cohesive brand identity for a fictional non-profit organization addressing a contemporary social or community issue, such as food insecurity, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion or equitable access to essential services. They will explore how to translate an organization's mission, values and diverse audience needs into a meaningful visual identity, supported by brand guidelines and digital and print materials.

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. 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 campaign 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.

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 15+ years' experience, she works with businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations across Canada, specializing in brand strategy, visual identity, website design and marketing.

Project Description (Branding): Mentees will develop a new brand, beginning with research and positioning before creating a distinctive visual identity and brand system. The team will be challenged to translate a clear business idea and audience need into a cohesive brand that extends across digital and physical applications.

Rebecca Hirsekorn, Calgary, AB

Rebecca is a creative leader with 20 years' 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.

Project Description (Branding): Rebecca will work with mentees to develop a visual identity and brand system for a fictional Northern café and carry the identity through the customer-facing touchpoints needed for a successful launch. The project centres on translating a cohesive brand story across packaging, merchandise, signage digital presence and an in-person launch activation. 

Deirdre Hughes RGD, Toronto, ON

Deirdre is a designer, creative director and strategist with 20+ years' 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. 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. 

Project Description (Branding): Mentees 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, 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 30 years' experience, he began his career as a multimedia designer, when long-form HTML was the new standard, InDesign was Aldus PageMaker and Photoshop had just added layers. David has worked with clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, developing brands that resonate across print, digital and broadcast media. 

Project Description (Branding and Packaging): Mentees will work with David to create branding and branding touchpoints for the launch of a new beverage. The project will involve branding, packaging, a website, digital ads, an activation point (such as a trailer or pop-up at a sporting event) 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 13+ years' 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, 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. She believes the most impactful creative work starts with curiosity, collaboration and a deep understanding of the audience. 

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, Sherwood Park, AB

Chris is an associate creative director with 10+ years' experience in marketing and advertising. He has worked with corporations and non-profits, government agencies and rock bands, helping turn ideas into thoughtful brands, campaigns and creative work that connect 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.

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, Edmonton, AB

Javier is an art director with 10+ years' experience collaborating with agencies and clients across Canada, the US, Mexico and the UK. He brings a structured and practical approach to creative projects, from concept development through execution. 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): Mentees will develop 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. 

Louis Schreyer Duarte, Toronto, ON

Louis is a passionate brand builder with a creative career spanning 30+ years. 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 help nurture the next generation of design talent.

Project Description (Branding): Louis will lead a team in creating a brand identity for storm&stress, a real-life 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).

Alyssa Westman, London, ON

Alyssa is 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. 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.