Awards of Merit

Branding Project by Tourism Toronto 

Project Description:
The goal of this project was to create a unified brand for use across the corporate, consumer and business events spheres of the organization, and a visual identity that would be seen as uniquely and identifiably Toronto. One logo was created that could be adapted by each department in order to unify all branded collateral with a consistent look, feel and message. With a summer start and a fall launch, a major challenge for this project was limited time, which was addressed through teamwork and a ‘divide and conquer’ approach. Creating the new branding internally saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the response across the organization and from its partners has been resoundingly positive.

Credits:
Art Directors: Candace Niquet, Audree Atendido
Copywriter: Andrew Brudz
Director of Creative Services: Bridget LeGrow
Chief Marketing Officer: Andrew Weir

‘Bradley Walters Journeys' Brochure by Goliger's Travel Plus  

Project Description:
The yearly brochure for ‘Bradley Walters Journeys’ is released every September, and all other marketing material flows around the same branding and style—creating a new brand “package” from year to year. All material is created to meet the needs of the average ‘Bradley Walters Journeys’ traveler, the demographic of which is over the age of 65. For the 2016/2017 brochure, this meant upping the font size to address the lack of legibility in previous issues. The increased font size reduced the amount of space remaining for photography and stylized design. Adding patterns and custom titles for each journey helped ensure that the brochure would maintain the brand’s tone and feel, despite the reduced space. A sidebar was also added to make it easier to find key information for each journey, including physical demand, duration and departure dates. The result is a successful brochure that stays true to the branding and demographic of ‘Bradley Walters Journeys’. The2016/2017 brochure has had the most positive reviews from clients and agents to date.

Credits:
Creative Lead: Efren Baria
Graphic Designer: Sonya Clarry
Product Photographer: Caitlin McElroy, Sonya Clarry
Honourable Mention: Cailtin McElroy

Library Marketing Look by The City Of Mississauga 

Project Description:
The Mississauga Library lacked a cohesive or consistent look across their marketing materials. The objective of this project was to design a marketing look that would reflect the new Mississauga city brand while also incorporating the library’s Future Directions research document. Developed in 2014, this document was created as a guide for the library’s evolution, to maintain relevance among residents. Learnings from this research helped the team identify a key marketing expression: “Discover, Learn, Create”. To accommodate the number and variety of marketing pieces required by the library throughout the year, a grid system was developed to help manage consistency in look and feel, without being too predictable. Clean, simple geometry complemented the photos highlighting the library’s stunning public spaces.

Credits:
Creative Director: Tina Mackenzie RGD
Lead Designer: Josh Remazki
Designer: Rory Kelly RGD

Rebrand by TVOKids 

Project Description:
To maintain the Ontario public’s existing trust in the TVO Kids brand, the new branding couldn’t stray too far from the audience’s expectations of the broadcaster. The main TVO wordmark was combined with a bright, happy kids’ color palette. The font for display and web copy was designed to address early learners and those with learning disabilities. Likewise, some characters were adjusted to conform with Canadian early learning character standards. A unique set of icons was developed to cover science, nature, art and math. For TVO Kids events, stages and activation booths were developed, featuring learning activities, wall graphics and custom activity books. For broadcast, the creative team and the broadcast production team worked with an external agency to create interstitials for TV– guiding them through the very strict modes of conduct for the characters. Custom sequences were written and animated, and really brought the personality of the new brand to life on broadcast. As with the adult brand, the TVO Kids brand was designed to adapt to different environments with consistent color, font, icon and image use, rather than conforming to strict brand guidelines, to create a dynamic, evolving brand.

Credits:
Creative Director: Deborah Peterson
Print Designers: Rich Yuzon, Karin Fukuzawa, Ignacio Peon
Web Designer: Ignacio Ponce
Broadcast Designer: Liz Hayward

Branding by Alzheimer's Australia VIC 

Project Description:
Alzheimer’s Australia Vic is committed to inspiring the creation of dementia-friendly communities, and encouraging the inclusion and sup-port of people living with dementia. This helps enable and empower them to achieve a high quality of life with meaning, purpose and value. This message is reflected through the organization’s physical and social environment, as well as its print and digital graphic design. Transitioning content for new patients from multiple brochures into a single booklet has enabled counselling staff to use one comprehensive document when meeting with clients for the first time, as this can often be distressing and confusing for patients. The Bequest Information Pack was also redesigned to provide a more welcoming information package with materials relevant to individual clients, creating opportunities for more meaningful engagement. The suggested branding was also showcased in their 2013Annual Report with individual stories that helped bring warmth and positivity to it and added a humanizing tone to what can be a dry document.

Credits:
Graphic Designer: Gay Cross

'I am Different Like You' Campaign by The Regional Municipality of York

Project Description:
The goal of this region-wide promotional print and online campaign was to start a conversation about what it means to be inclusive and work toward a common vision of diversity among York Region staff and community members, while encouraging sign-ups for‘ diversity dialogue’ sessions. A unique two-poster, side-by-side format with the tagline “I am different like you” helped highlight the campaign message, with the design adjusted to fit various website, social media and e-blast requirements. A social media frame was produced to encourage participants to share photos and promote the campaign using the hashtag #Inclusive YR. A dedicated campaign page(york.ca/Inclusive YR) offered session information and a feed of social media posts. A PowerPoint slideshow was also developed to support the diversity dialogue sessions. Having the project championed by the senior management team and collaborating closely with internal clients helped accelerate the project through a demanding internal approval process. Accessibility was taken into consideration in order to comply with‘ Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act’ (AODA) guid-lines. The result was increased website traffic during the campaign, major social media reach and engagement, and increased participation for internal and external focus groups.

Credits:
Lead Graphic Designer: Trinette Klein RGD
Strategic Department Communications Supervisor: Lisa Zabolotin
Social Policy/Accessibility, Senior Policy Analyst: Aisha Saintiche
Web Coordinator: Neal Kelly

2016 Humber Showcase: 'Wave of Excellence' Branding by Humber College 

Project Description:
Showcase is an annual event that celebrates professional development at Humber College. Alternating each year between being hosted at Humber’s Lakeshore campus or North campus, this massively popular and well-at-tended event is an incubator for collaborative design and offers a chance for faculty and staff to share their passions and their unique approaches to education. The goal was to create an inspiring and relevant theme for the event that would extend across communications, workshops, signage and online sign-up forms/schedules. The theme ‘Wave of Excellence’ references keynote speakers Mark Tewksbury (Gold Medal Champion) and Debbie Muir (award-winning Olympic coach). Under this theme, the team designed a striking conference logo, a user-friendly website, an advertising display and directional wayfinding signage. As part of Humber College’s values, sustainable signage was created for the conference by repurposing previously used foam products, photo frames and magnets to create reusable mobile directional signage. The ‘Wave of Excellence’ website, email communiqué and table top tent cards helped maintain consistent messaging throughout the Humber College community in the weeks leading up to the conference. The conference was a huge success with over600 participants.

Credits:
Showcase Chair: Melody Johnson
Director/Professional Development: Denise Gardner
Graphic Designer: Dekel Chui
Front-End Developer: Kathy Nguyen

'Critical Uncovered' Video by Great-West LifeCo 

Project Description:
In 2015, a research study found that Canadians understood the risk that serious illness would have on their physical, financial and mental well-being. Despite this understanding, they wouldn’t necessarily be pre-pared for a serious diagnosis such as cancer, a heart attack or stroke. An animated series of videos was proposed to increase awareness about the importance of critical illness insurance, a relatively new product in the industry. Conveying a complex message in a light-hearted, relatable and easy-to-understand manner presented a challenge for the team, who would usually convey these messages using statistics in an infographic. The choice was made to tell the story using character animation, to help create a friendly tone for the viewer. As thecriticaluncovered.ca website was outsourced, the video was created in consultation with the external team to ensure the creative remained consistent. When posted to the Freedom55 Financial Facebook page, the video reached over 14,000users –with 3,300 views and over 270 likes, comments or shares by individual users in under 24 hours. It is still the most successful post in the page’s history with nearly60,000 impressions.

Credits:
Creative Director: Sean Odell
Art Director: Jordan Gosselin
Designer & Animator: Jordan Gosselin
Strategist: Deborah Peterson
Scriptwriters: Rebecca Tyre, Megan Foerster, Jordan Gosselin
Voiceover: Tony Kay
Music: Premiumbeat.com

'Chatelaine Gets Digital' Campaign by Rogers 

Project Description:
This campaign emphasizes the four pillars of Chatelaine, specifically for the digital edition: food, style, health and home. The magazine’s photographic style brings the content to life through bold and beautiful design elements, with a focus on human interactivity. Chatelaine’s digital app was promoted through ads in multiple formats, including print, tablet, standard web units and several televised spots which aimed to help users become familiar with the application and learn how to use it. Collaboration within the internal Rogers team was extremely successful, creating a cohesive concept that worked equally well across broadcast, print and digital platforms. The campaign successfully increased overall engagement and awareness of the Chatelaine tablet app, which saw a boost in downloads through the ‘Next Issue’ plat-form. In addition to this, the campaign received tremendous consumer feedback.

Credits:
Creative Directors: David O’Brien, Yvonne Lines, Margaret Lee
Art Director: Colleen Henman Synyard
Print and Digital Designer: Colleen Henman Synyard
Motion Graphic Designer: Alisdair Jones
Photographer: Adrian Armstrong
Prop Stylist: Catherine Doherty
Food Stylist: Christine Tizzard

Craft Beer POV by Deloitte 

Project Description:
This point-of-view document for Deloitte was created to target the British Columbia (B.C.) craft brewery industry. The goal was to reach craft brewers and provide insight on how they might acquire the funding and support they would need for growth and expansion. A visit to a local craft brewery led to a greater understanding of the culture of this type of business. Placing a growler on the cover of the document helped highlight knowledge of the audience’s industry. The document provided information about comparable craft beer markets - including breakdown of the percentage of alcohol in craft beer versus other beer; craft beer sales figures; the number of breweries per capita; and the five-year compound annual growth rate for each province and state. This information was conveyed using an info-graphic with beer taps that illustrated the statistics. Craft beer styled icons and beer-themed imagery were used throughout the document to maintain a look and feel that would speak specifically to the target audience.

Credits:
Creative Director: Caroline Bruckner RGD
Lead Designer: Donna Graffi-Smith RGD
Senior Manager Vancouver: Marketplace, Ninu Gill
Marketing Specialist: Cora Lam

Admissions Handbook 2016 by Ryerson University

Project Description:
In September 2015, Ryerson University introduced a refreshed brand to the community, positioning Ryerson at the intersection of mind and action – where diverse minds connect to turn passion into action that’s relevant to society. The Admissions Handbook presented an ideal opportunity to showcase the new brand to an audience of prospective students.

A flexible design approach allowed for a smooth flow of content and visually appealing spreads to target an audience of design-savvy high school students. Engaging images and pull-outs of specific facts and figures give snapshots of what Ryerson University has to offer. The most important/relevant information for prospective students was determined through research study and focus groups and highlighted throughout the handbook.

As the first piece of recruitment collateral to showcase the new brand, the handbook received positive feedback from faculty and students. Likewise, it also inspired design updates to additional pieces of collateral to achieve a consistent brand look and feel across recruitment channels, including the Ontario Universities Fair booth and a number of posters and flyers used for student recruitment.

Credits:
Director of Marketing and Communications: Cathy Parry
Graphic Designer: Cheryl Wang
Marketing Officer: Janet Jardine
Manager, Communications: Samantha Read
Director, Communications, Recruitment & Client Relations: Susan Vercruysse

'The Fallout' Book Cover by Harlequin Enterprises

Project Description:
The goal of this design was to package the novel in a way that would position it as a psychological drama about infidelity and the resulting destructive repercussions. The original design concept was a table set for four, with overturned glasses and broken dishes. This design was nearly at the production stage when it was rejected by the sales force for lacking commercial appeal. With very little remaining turnaround time, it was necessary to distil the concept of broken dishes as a metaphor for a broken home in a more direct way. The cover was updated with a new design, placing the broken home inside of the broken dish. The team successfully responded to internal concerns within the tight timeline, and the sales force and industry buyers were pleased with the results.

Credits:
Creative Director: Erin Craig
Art Director: Kathleen Oudit
Designer: Quinn Banting
Photographer/Retouching Artist: Allan Davey

2016 Ki-n De'e' Art Calendar by Bruce Power

Project Description:
The Bruce Power Aboriginal Affairs program partnered with Saugeen First Nation to create a 2016 calendar showcasing the artwork of local indigenous artists. Bruce Power completed the design, in-house printing and photography of the artwork pro bono for the calendars. The end product was sold in the surrounding communities, with the profits going to the Ki-n de’e’ Forest and Community Gardens. The amount of content for this project was the biggest design challenge, as the calendar needed to incorporate photos of the art, artwork descriptions, calendar details and information on annual traditions. The months and days are listed in both English and Ojibwa.

The calendars were designed and printed in time to be purchased for Christmas. Bruce Power purchased 300 calendars and gifted them to members of the Saugeen First Nation community. Volunteers involved with the project were extremely happy with the final calendar and there are plans to create another calendar for 2017.

Credits:
Graphic Designer: Sue Priban
Photographer: Crystal Gunson

Affinity Partners Program by University of Toronto, Advancement Communications & Marketing

Project Description:
Affinity Partners Program is a fundraising unit that collaborates with the U of T family and alumni to provide funding for extracurricular student programs including theatre, clubs, associations, events, mentorships, etc. The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness for the program and encourage alumni to help the student experience extend beyond the classroom and encourage students to become more well-rounded individuals. 

The headline “Can Hamlet Build a Better Bridge?” challenges the audience to reflect on whether an engineering student might become a more inspired engineer by participating in a theatre club. The small budget was spent on hiring a photographer and renting costumes. Student volunteers appear in the campaign and props were gathered from around the university and students’ homes. In each of the last three years, the campaign has run, the number of participating alumni has increased.

Credits:
Creative Concept/Art Director/Graphic Designer: Camelia Linta
Photographer: Jacklyn Atlas
Copywriter: Susan Fischer
Account Manager: Bel Navarro
Collaborator/Client: Affinity Partners Program

'Punctured Landscape' Exhibit Design for Canada Council Art Bank

Project Description:
Curator Kegan McFadden describes ‘Punctured Landscape’ as “an exhibition intended to recognize the breadth of this land as well as its parallel histories; an alternate national timeline with artwork serving as symbolic punctures that represent moments of crisis.” Graphic and typographical elements provided a valuable amplification of this provocative curatorial premise, providing viewers with engaging and accessible clues to the exhibition’s meaning.

The exhibition’s title was made prominent with extruded block letters placed over a cartographic image, capturing the exhibition’s core notion of a geographically-themed remix. Two freestanding pillars were wrapped with colourful calls-to-action, such as “What do you remember from history class?” This invited visitors to reflect on their own experiences and add their voices to the exhibition.

The response was extraordinary, with visitors adding hundreds of handwritten post-it-notes that brought the exhibition to life in a very immediate, diverse and authentic way. The exhibition showcased artworks drawn primarily from the Canada Council Art Bank, Canada’s largest collection of contemporary Canadian visual art.

Credits:
Senior Designer: Alex Contreras
Manager, Brand and Content Strategy: John Sobol
Manager Canada Council Art Bank: Amy Jenkins
Curator: Kegan McFadden

University of Toronto, Engineering Strategic Communications Centre for Engineering, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CEIE) Graffiti Installation

Project Description
The goal of this project was to spark and sustain the conversation about the CEIE over the course of the two years between the groundbreaking and grand opening (2017), and to reflect U of T’s connection to its urban environment. The 276 feet of hoarding surrounding the construction site became the canvas for a creative collaboration with renowned Toronto-based graffiti artist Jason Wing (a.k.a. SKAM). Imagery was selected that would strategically represent the spirit of the Faculty, highlighting symbols of tradition, innovation, professional diversity and student involvement.

The in-house designer brought these components together to form a coherent blueprint for the mural — which SKAM brought to life — creating the longest single street art installation in Toronto. The hoarding’s utility on an active construction site was an important consideration, as crew access points would require a design that would remain meaningful, even when panels were removed. Given these parameters, a tremendous amount of planning went into the design.

The project generated considerable media attention and has become a point of celebration and pride for alumni, students and the entire U of T community. It has been featured in everything from alumni magazines and student-run newspapers to being included as a stop on campus tours for prospective students.

Credits:
Creative Director: Raymond Cheah RGD
Strategist: Catherine Riddell
Strategic Planner: Shilpa Gantotti
Website Developer, Photographer/Videographer: Roberta Baker
Graffiti Artists: Jason Wing (a.k.a. SKAM), Alex Lazich (a.k.a. Bacon), Aleksandrs Popelavskis
Media Relations: RJ Taylor

Deloitte Executive Gift Package

Project Description:
To reinforce existing client relationships, Deloitte launched a select number of unique once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The objective was to present an exclusive experience to clients that would fill them with anticipation and intrigue for their upcoming journey to Brazil. The concept evoked nostalgia using an invitation package inspired by vintage luggage: a custom-designed wooden box with leather straps, handmade to the design team’s specifications. The box was lined with a flat-bed direct print of a vibrant feather pattern on brushed chrome. Upon opening the box, the recipient would find a card with a built-in video message, an invitation letter with the trip itinerary, Brazilian-themed gifts and hand-made Brazilian wooden artifacts. Recipients of the gift box were delighted with the package and Deloitte received excellent response rates.

Credits:
Creative Director: Caroline Bruckner RGD
Senior Designer: Jessica DeVaal, Yuka Seiriki
Lead Designer: Arash Sharifi
National Director/Marketing and Sales Support: Jason Boyer
Senior Manager/Sponsor: Rachel Franklin
Design Studio Manager: Sharon Pang
Marketing Specialist: Katrina Warren

Cinco de Mayo Event by Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)

Project Description:
LCBO regularly hosts special events to enhance customer experience and promote product knowledge. For LCBO’s tequila promotion, the team came up with a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Hosted by Valdez, a prominent Latin-themed restaurant in downtown Toronto, the event featured custom cocktails paired with samples of delicious street-style dishes, plus live music, hands-on cocktail stations and a premium tequila ‘taste and learn’ session. The design collateral included a vast spectrum of needs, including print and digital signage, custom coasters, invitations and tasting tickets. Prior to the actual event, digital and print components were also created to advertise and promote ticket sales — all under a tight timeline. The result was a sold-out, well-attended event that received tons of positive feedback.

Credits:
Creative Director: Brad MacIver
Graphic Designer: Lyda Arevalo
Marketing Manager: Sarah Smith
Marketing Coordinator: Matt Wade
Support: LCBO Special Events Team

Growler Packaging Design by Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)

Project Description:
As part of the organization’s business mandate, the LCBO developed a special section in one of its flagship stores in Toronto to showcase local and international craft beers. The boutique features a tasting bar and the Growler Stop, where customers can purchase freshly-poured draft beer in oversized, jug-style containers, called ‘growlers’.Custom graphics and labels were designed by the LCBO In-house Design Team for the growler packaging.

One of the main design challenges was to create a packaging solution that would stay true to LCBO branding, while also appealing to craft beer enthusiasts. It was also necessary to source and test various paper stocks for the growlers’ information hang tags, which needed to be moisture-proofed and sturdy enough to withstand condensation in the beer fridges.

The Craft Beer Boutique officially launched on September 17, 2015, and has received lots of media and industry attention. Local beer makers are very supportive of this initiative and look forward to roll-outs of additional boutiques province-wide. New locations with Growler Stops are currently in the works.

Credits:
Creative Director: Brad MacIver
Graphic Designer: Cris Jaw
Production Artist: Lyda Arevalo
Marketing Director: Kathy Messersmith
Marketing Manager: Colleen McHughan
Project Coordinator: Debbie Williams
Production Coordinator: Ross Taylor-Munro

Agile Workspace Café by Sun Life Financial

Project Description:
The objective of this project was to create an environmental design that would reflect the core personality of the Sun Life Financial brand: bright, human and rich in history. With the celebration of Sun Life Financial’s 150th anniversary last year, the team chose to draw on historical print documents for the design. Late 19th century reports discovered by Archivist Krystal Rycroft, were treated with Sun Life’s contemporary brand colours. The result is a space that fosters a connection to the rich history of the company and increases pride among employees.

Credits:
Designer: Grant McKeown
Photographer: Tim Fraser
Project Manager: Elaine Teo Mak
Archivist: Krystal Rycroft

Toronto Raptors In-Arena Presentations by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE)

Project Description:
The goal of any opening is to create hype around a team and make fans believe that they can no matter who enters the building. It also helps to intimidate the opponent before tip-off. This design used aggressive visuals that were cut to aggressive music, creating an atmosphere of dominance. Coming off of the Raptors’ overwhelmingly successful regular season, followed by the disappointing first round of the playoffs, the team’s fan base became deflated and needed encouragement. This challenge was addressed head-on with the execution of this design — and the results were tremendous. Fans brought a playoff energy every time the team took to the court, developing a reputation as one of the most dedicated and vocal fan bases in the league, and leading to the team’s best home record in history.

Credits:
Creative Director: Matt Coyle
Art Director: Kevin Mones
Designer/Animator: Kevin Briones
Designer/Animator for “Big Rings” and “Playoffs”: Davor Mihalji
Animator for “Playoffs”: Sean Curry
Projection Animator: Ryan Massiah
Executive Producer: Michael Gelfand
Editor/Associate Producer: Mark Vallena
Producer: Adam Holmes

Toronto FC (TFC) Pop-Up Shop by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) 

Project Description:
To celebrate the TFC’s 10th anniversary and their highly successful season, the TFC Pop-Up Shop was created. The goal was to build hype for the home opener and the grand re-opening of the BMO Field stadium after extensive renovations. In addition to the space itself, the shop included merchandise and giveaways, including the grand prize of a vintage Toronto FC foosball table signed by the entire team. With the Raptors playoff run, the Blue Jays opening day, and the hype surrounding the Leafs’ chances of getting the #1 NHL draft pick, competition for visibility in Toronto’s crowded sports market was extremely stiff over the shop’s six-day lifespan. In the end, the TFC Pop-Up Shop surpassed sales goals and the shop’s microsite was the second most visited page on TorontoFC.ca. The hype generated by the shop led up to a record attendance for the long-awaited home opener, setting the stage for a landmark season.

Credits:
Creative Director: Matt Coyle, MLSE
Art Director: Louis Cohen, MLSE
Art Director, Set Design/Props: Andrew Berry, Artquake Inc.
Production Supervisor: Ashleigh Johnston, MLSE
Production Artist: Mike Kavouris, MLSE
Illustrator: Dan Funderburgh

'The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper' Book by Harlequin Enterprises

Project Description:
The primary objective of this project was to create a charming cover that would reflect the journey of Arthur Pepper and position the book competitively against the current bestselling titles in the genre. Large, bold type and catchy illustrative design helped achieve this goal. Charms on the back cover, end sheets and interiors helped show a commitment to the story without compromising the goal of reaching a broad audience with the cover.

Jeff Miller at Faceout Studio was provided with the manuscript, a design brief with descriptions of the charms and locations where they should be placed, plus the competitive comps. Once the design was selected, collaboration with the team helped ensure it would be competitive on bookshelves and in thumbnail-size displays online. The design lends itself well to promotional flexibility, which created opportunities for the illustrations to be used in pre-launch promotions to drive awareness for the author’s North American debut. The book was selected by the American Independent Bookstores as an ‘INDIE Next Pick’ of June 2016.

Credits:
Creative Director: Erin Craig
Art Director: Gigi Lau RGD
Graphic Designer: Jeff Miller, Faceout Studio