Awards of Merit

Cheers to 150 Years by LCBO

In celebration of Canada’s150th birthday, the LCBO developed an in-store campaign with special signage, gift packaging, enviro bags, wine bags and buckets. The ‘Cheers to 150 Years ‘campaign also extended to online applications and featured a brand video. The campaign was designed to be scalable to suit the various layouts and sizes of 654LCBO retail stores. Drawing on the team’s collective design, production and business knowledge, the creative for the campaign was designed to appeal to the LCBO’s wide customer base while maintaining the essence cheers to of the LCBO brand.

The Shopping Channel Rebrand by Rogers Communications Inc.

The Shopping Channel approached Rogers creative group to reinvent the brand and give it new life through elevated photography, color, typography, motion graphics and a logo system while maintaining it’s friendly feel and emphasizing the wide array of brand name products. With limited budget and time, the challenge was to bring relevance to a traditional broadcast brand and help TSC reshape its image as across-platform retailer. Rogers proposed a new tagline “Today’s Shopping Choice” in order to veer away from the traditional association with a television channel. Look and feel were updated across all platforms using bold flat colours, animation treatments and optimized smooth moves focusing on ‘product as hero’ to ensure brand consistency. The result is a modern, elevated and vibrant brand that is aligned across all applications and mediums, as seen in broadcast, out-of-home and social media platforms.

Straight Talk Books by Deloitte 

Deloitte’s consulting practice wanted to provide their clients with an informative leave-behind piece that would-be edgier than a standard branded book. The challenge was to create an interesting conversation starter that would stay within Deloitte’s brand guidelines. Simple ‘Straight Talk’ black and white brochures created in the early1990s provided a starting point, which evolved into a square book with a series of pop-art images alongside provocative copy. Purchased through Shutterstock, the images are reminiscent of art by Roy Lichtenstein and instantly give the book afresh and playful quality. There worked and modernized writing also contributes to the edgy feel. To keep the book on brand, it was created within the Deloitte brand guidelines. Feedback from clients has-been very positive.

Deloitte University North Launch by Deloitte

Deloitte University North (DU North) is an exceptional leadership development Centre that bridges real-world experience and learning to invest in creating tomorrow’s best leaders. The design concept focuses on bright, impactful bursts of color that are shaped into silhouettes of people. The design forth launches also involved the creation of an exclusive, impactful experience for attendees of the launch presentation event, with design elements focused on the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, specific walkway areas in the Toronto PAT Hand multiple floors in the Deloitte building. Teams from Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Hyderabad studios held virtual meetings to brainstorm, review and critique concepts for this project, which harnessed talents from across the country. The design and messaging created for this launch will remain the long-term visual identity for Canada’s Deloitte University and several countries have expressed interest in leveraging the same creative in their local markets.

Powered by Our People: Bruce Power 2016 Annual Report by Bruce Power

Powered by Our People ‘highlights Bruce Power employees and the role they play in providing nuclear energy to Ontario’s families and businesses. The 2016Annual Report uses engaging portraits of employees to outline the important role the company plays in generating clean, reliable electricity for the province. The design uses bold typography mixed with vibrant neon, silver and black inks to guide and engage readers, while emphasizing the storytelling power of numbers. The team worked closely with the printer to adjust the neon saturation and clear gloss foil-stamps. The result is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Bruce Power employees and the role the company plays in community prosperity.

Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story, Feature Exhibition by Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum set out to tell the story of the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet, detailing the significance of these magnificent mammals and how one of the nine blue whales that died in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2014 came to the Museum. The goal of the exhibit was to engage visitors in the content visually, physically and intellectually to help them understand blue whale biology and behavior and the significance of research and conservation. Visual effects create a serene underwater mood and content is presented in small morsels to allow breathing room for large-type and enhance readability of text in two languages. Videos provide visitors with live action, documentary and animated stories to enhance the exhibition’s visuals. Colors, images and shapes are designed to be accessible and surprising for a typical museum experience. The exhibition surpassed the attendance goal set for its entire run in just four months, which is very unusual.

Tragically Hip Concert Wild Postings by CBC

As part of a multi-platform campaign to promote the Tragically Hip’s last concert in Kingston, Ontario, a set of rock concert style wildposting were created to target urban music fans. The wildposting were designed as tear-pad format, so that fans could tearaway a poster and keep it as a memorabilia. Without access to the band, the design team was required to use a small library of images from their previous tours. Typography and treatment on images helped create a fresh look, and the design also influenced the look and feel on other promotional materials for the concert.

Emily Carr Viewbook 2016 by Emily Carr University

For this viewbook, the recruitment team at Emily Carr wanted to highlight the upcoming move to the school’s new campus and build excitement among prospective students, highlighting better technology, better equipment, and more space, in addition to the high-quality instruction, intimate class size and ample studio time offered by the old campus. As renderings of the newbuilding’s were not yet released, the design focused on the idea of moving ‘here to there’ with a personal, tactile design. A unique die cut poster insert and textured stock with high recycled content helped create a crafted look and feel. Recruiters reported that people loved the books so much that quantities ran out before recruitment season was over.

Expansion Event Infographic Insert by University of Toronto

On December 8, 2016, the University of Toronto held especial event for alumni and supporters to celebrate the success of the Boundless campaign and convey the vital need to carry on efforts to support the University’s priorities. For this occasion, Advancement Communications and Marketing developed an infographic to communicate the campaign’s momentum and convey the importance of expanding the Boundless campaign to address urgent, global challenges. The design had to communicate numbers and statistics in a highly visual, digestible and elegant way that would resonate with a disparate audience. Collaboration between writers and designers helped establish narrative that connected the relevant elements into one-story. The piece was adapted by multiple departments and quickly became a template for success.

Great-West Life Corporate Site Redesign by Great-West Lifeco

The Great-West Life corporate website (greatwestlife.com) had not received a significant update in several years; it appeared dated, was difficult to navigate, focused too much on product and was full of financial jargon, with no focus on the customer. The main objective for the new site was to provide a customer-friendly, modern and accessible experience that would support the goals of individual customers, their employers and insurance and wealth advisors. Separate landing pages were created to cater to each group’s top tasks and provide a satisfying user experience. To achieve an authentic look and feel, a Canadian photographer was hired to capture real Canadian families in their homes and out in the world performing day to day activities and flatlay images of everyday objects. The results are impactful and establish a unique visual identity for the site. Since there launch, average time onsite has improved by 25%and the bounce rate is 23%, down from 61%.

Humber NEXT Magazine by Humber College

Humber NEXT magazine is produced by Humber Press for the Centre for Teaching &Learning at Humber College. The magazine highlights the innovation, collaboration and excellence that is happening at Humber College by featuring the successful best practices of students and teachers. The magazine also advertises services offered by the Centre for Teaching& Learning. Humber NEXT successfully reached a wide range of departments and provided a platform for celebrating achievements within the faculty.

You Earned This! by Confederation College

The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) provides a centralized database of extracurricular activities that lets students easily search for opportunities beyond the classroom and see the connection between their engagement and the skills they are developing. The goal of this design was to give students a sense of empowerment and validation through the use of inspirational photography and the graphic tagline, “You’ve Earned This! Take Credit.” The design has-been applied to pull-up displays, large format posters, handouts and web displays. As a result, students have been more engaged in learning about the CCR at events and in general and student registration has increased since the launch of the material.

Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures by Art Gallery of Ontario

This exhibition featured tiny, rare and precious sculptures, mostly prayer beads, handcrafted from boxwood in the early 1500screated in Germany and The Netherlands. The challenge was to showcase these small objects in an engaging and accessible way. The prayer beads were highlighted with large scale photo blowups which were achieved using new photographic software. A 3D virtual experience allowed the audience to travel through the beads themselves, with supporting commentary. Small details from the beads were illustrated as line art drawings which highlighted stories from biblical sources. The graphics echoed the lines or tracery of the beads. The exhibition travelled to The Cloisters in New York City and to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. As expressed by one visitor, “Small Wonders was excellent and way beyond expectations... it took my breath away.”

2016 Season 3 Classics Collection Catalogue by Herschel Supply Company

The “Next, Next Generation “was Herschel Supply’s overarching theme for the Fall 2016 Classics Collection. Multi-purpose functionality was key for creating the three-book series, which features a diverse range of Herschel Supply’s product categories, designed for a variety of consumer profiles. The design was inspired by Tokyo’s urban nightlife, neon signage and colorful fashion, and a vibrant orange was selected to highlight the intriguing and forward-thinking aesthetic. A minimal geometric design approach reflects the simplicity and elegance found in classic Japanese print design. Each look book served as a catalogue, a workbook for Herschel Supply’s global distribution partners, and as a product education tool for the sales team. Over 5,000 copies were printed and distributed internationally.

Bruce Power Beach Party 2017 by Bruce Power

Bruce Power organizes an annual beach party to thank local residents for their continued support. The event attracts thousands of local sand tourists who enjoy arrange of family entertainment, including a spectacular fireworks presentation overlooking beautiful Lake Huron. The goal for this year’s branding was to refresh the look for the event, which is in its16th year, and provide a design that could be executed across a wide range of applications. The design is inspired by the beach location using a sun graphic that is a subtle nod to the atom, the symbol of nuclear energy. A beach-inspired palette of yellow and aqua reinforces the summery, fun theme. The new event branding embodies the fun, vibrant energy of the Beach Party and is a reminder of the company’s goal of fostering community spirit, building engagement and having a positive impact.

The 2017 Video in Business Benchmark Report by Vidyard

This project involved summarizing first-party data findings from Vidyard’s video platform to create a resource that would allow marketers to compare themselves to industry benchmarks. The goal was to present a large amount of content in a way that would be easily digestible and ensure that all pieces of the project felt consistent with each other and with the Vidyard brand. The visual direction used flat-style illustration paired with clean brand type and the content was simplified by creating two guides: one for showcasing findings and another for next steps. Animated teaser stats and insights were shared as display ads and as embedded video on the landing page to generate interest. An animated infographic highlighting key stats was sent to partners to share. The download goal was exceeded by over 50%, with 519downloads in the first 24 hours. The report has generated$169,400 in Vidyard’s pipeline and has seen news coverage from Marketing Profs, Huffpost and the V3B Marketing Blog.

UBC Nano Studio Campaign V3B Marketing Blog by University OF BC

To address increasing demand for UBC student housing, micro-apartments are being piloted as a low-cost residence option. Each 140square-foot micro-apartment includes a kitchen, a bathroom and a study/sleeping space and will rent for around $675-$695. 70 micro-apartments with 650 beds total will be built as part of the Gage South Residence, slated for completion in 2019. This new initiative is being called ‘The Nano Studio,’ and the identity design has involved building a full-size demonstration unit with information/survey cards for visitors. The outside of the demo unit was wrapped with key messaging to act as a communication device when the unit was locked. Two videos were produced and professional photography was used to further showcase the demo online. The visual identity, key messaging, voice and graphic design was crafted with an audience of higher education students in mind. The project resulted in positive exposure for UBC that highlights the school’s bold and innovative thinking.

Fast Forward by Gore Mutual Insurance

Fast Forward was an exclusive invite-only, one-day forum for over 500insurance brokers, featuring talks by David Suzuki, Chris Hadfield and futurist Jim Carroll. Speakers provided insights and inspiring discussions on key industry issues like climate change, disruptive technologies and economic uncertainty. The creative team’s goal was to craft a branded experience that would blast away preconceptions about boring insurance events and position Gore Mutual as a modern, inspiring thought-leader within the industry. Print and digital assets were created for the event as well as a dozen videos to create a captivating and dynamic experience for the audience.

CBC Toronto News – Brand Outreach by CBC

The goal of this project was to increase local brand awareness for CBC Toronto News, to show CBC’s love for the communities in the city. Branded prizes including t-shirts, tote bags and memo books were circulated from tents set up at local Toronto festivals and gatherings. The campaign successfully generated over 10,000impressions at local community events and via social media.

Development Corporation Activity Update by London Economic

Since 2013, the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) has-been producing an Annual Report to inform its board members, stakeholders and partners of LEDC activities and their impact on the London, Ontario economy. Metrics are gathered through rigorous research and collaboration with Statistics Canada, the City of London, LEDC staff, and other relevant sources. The complex data is communicated using colorful charts, bold infographics and images in line with LEDC’s corporate branding. The document exists in Format that is printed for and/or emailed to board members, and lives virtually on LEDC’s‘ About’ webpage. It provides a visual, tangible, and shareable platform for measuring and communicating LEDC’s efforts while comparing key performance indicators to years past.

Talent Campaign Infographic by Deloitte

Deloitte recently revamped their year-end process, transitioning to “Re-inventing Performance Management” (RPM). The Talent group requested that the new process be communicated as a journey and advised that it needed to be fun and friendly to help capture the attention of Deloitte people. Approachable and expressive illustrations represented key roles in the program: Team Member, Team Coach, Career Coach and Business Leader. We also added a dog as a demonstration of the flexible work arrangements that Deloitte provides. The infographic was very well received as it presented anew process in an easy-to-understand format that was engaging at the same time. The infographic was displayed on Deloitte TV screens in offices across Canada.

Fast Forward Virtual Summit Identity by Vidyard

On April 11th, 2017, Vidyard hosted Fast Forward: The Video Marketing and Sales Summit. Branding for the event needed to appeal to sales and marketing audiences, and the format would be built using a template from event hosting provider 6Connex. The name “Fast Forward” was chosen to reflect the rapid adoption and evolution of online video. Change, speed and evolution drove the art direction. Images of the keynote speakers and abstract photography made up the main imagery, and the implied motion in these photos reinforced the theme. Promotion of the event involved video, blog posts, an event landing page, marketing email blasts and digital display ads, as well as personal video invitations from the Sales team and a lead sharing system to incentive partners to promote the event as well. Registration and attendee goals were exceeded and the event generated $47,900 in the pipeline for the Vidyard marketing team.

100 Elements by Canadore College

With a name inspired by the campus’ natural surroundings, Canadore College’s 100elements, offer hands-on training for hospitality students, a unique fine dining experience for local foodies and a distinguished scene for events and conferences. The College needed a fresh brand for the newly named and renovated on-campus venue. The brand needed to reflect sophistication, quality, and culture that is distinctive to the College and City of North Bay. The logo was required to work independently of the Canadore College brand while also sharing certain aesthetic features such as the color black and predominant geometric style. Focusing on elegance and simplicity, the circular shapes reflect positive connections, while their asymmetry illustrates spontaneity, creativity, and the art of hospitality. Since its rebranded launch, the restaurant has the highest score in the city onTripadvisor.ca and continues to build its brand as a strong ambassador for excellence with award-winning students and professors and a vibrant connection to community.

The Shopping Channel – Network IDs by Rogers Communications Inc.

As part of TSC’s 2017 rebrand, The Shopping Channel launched seven category-focused network IDs for Fitness, Home, Kitchen, Fashion, Beauty, Jewelery and Electronics. The concept for this campaign was ‘product as hero’, showcasing products in a bold and playful manner. Using 3D animation and modelling iconic products meant the cost of shooting was cut down to zero. This 3Dtreatment also allowed the team to put products in playful compositions that would not be possible on the limited budget. Vibrant colors, upbeat music and pattern-like compositions help showcase the breadth of products TSC has to offer, reinforcing TSC’s brand and key consumer products with bold animations shown every hour.

Leadership Conference by City of Mississauga

The City Manager’s Leadership Conference is an annual training and education event held in the City of Mississauga. The conference is a way for the City’s leadership to connect and be inspired through conversation, engaging TED talk-style presentations and walking tours. This year’s conference focused on the growing opportunities around the millennial generation, how leaders can help them grow their careers and what is next for the City of Mississauga. The design involved the creation of a unique typeface that would make cliché buzzwords stand out with tongue firmly placed in cheek. Using bright, almost vibrating colour combinations, the strategy was to capture the attention of all generations and to create a design that couldn’t be ignored. The design successfully connected with the target millennial group while also achieving a retro feel that resonated with an older audience.

Grad Ex 102 by OCAD University

OCAD University’s 102ndGraduate Exhibition (GradEx102) took place from May3-7, 2017, celebrating graduating students ‘immense accomplishments and talents. In addition to graduates and existing and potential students, the creative direction for GradEx102 needed to appeal to a broader audience, targeting enthusiasts of culture, art, design and media, in addition to potential donors and family and friends of students. For the chance to contribute to the design, students submitted existing portfolio work along with a document outlining their understanding of the brief and how they would approach the design. Fourth-year Illustration student, Dalbert B. Vilarinowas selected to represent GradEx 102 with his colorful and quirky illustrations of students at work in a collaborative space. A lead designer working in concert with a manager and external print suppliers and advertisers helped bring Dalbert’s illustrations to the masses. Attendance at Grad Ex 102 reached a record 45,818 visitors, which represented an increase of19% over 2016.

Viewtopia Video Marketing Summit Identity by Vidyard

In spring 2016, Vidyard needed to rebrand its annual conference. Vidyard’s goals were to learn more about customers, help marketers and salespeople achieve success through videoland generate pipeline. The design needed to convey Vidyard’s brand as creative, approachable and fun but not goofy. The look of ‘Viewtopia’ was inspired by geometry, op art and impossible objects, with colours taken from Vidyard’s brand palette. A landing page, display ads, video, targeted email blasts and direct mail were used to promote the conference, and attendance goals for the event were exceeded.

50th Anniversary Identity by University of Calgary

On December 8, 2016, the University of Toronto held a special event for alumni and supporters to celebrate the success of the Boundless campaign and convey the vital need to carry on efforts to support the University’s priorities. For this occasion, Advancement Communications and Marketing developed an infographic to communicate the campaign’s momentum and convey the importance of expanding the Boundless campaign to address urgent, global challenges. The design had to communicate numbers and statistics in a highly visual, digestible and elegant way that would resonate with a disparate audience. Collaboration between writers and designers helped establish a narrative that connected the relevant elements into one-story. The piece was adapted by multiple departments and quickly became a template for success.

Do Your Homework Exhibit by City of Mississauga

As part of Canada’s 150thanniversary, the Museums of Mississauga presented an exhibition honoring former Mayor Hazel McCallion, capturing the most captivating moments of her political career. The exhibition explores her life and legacy, showcasing her contributions as a compassionate leader, sports enthusiast, Canadian icon and legacy maker. Artifacts and archival material as well as personal items from Hazel McCallion were displayed at the Mississauga Civic Centre Great Hall, and the exhibition was anchored by a colossal cube displaying larger than life quotes mixed with vibrant duotone images and video elements to epitomize Hazel McCallion’s unstoppable energy and drive as the city’s longest-running mayor. Souvenirs were also designed exclusively for the exhibition to commemorate her no-nonsense dynamism.

2016 Apex Summit Conference by Investors Group

The main objective of the project was to ensure that attendees of the 2016 Apex Summit in Winnipeg would know that Investors Group was the right place for them to be. The theme “This is where you belong” and all visual branding was conceptualized in-house. As the centre of the country, Winnipeg’s geographic location helped illustrate the movement of attendees from East and West into a central location. The shape of Manitoba was used over top of the background map to add some visual interest to the materials. The color palette was fresh and fun and the typography treatment matched that energy. The word you were used in a lot of different ways in the conference creative: for hotel keys, “This is where you stay;” for the Educational Tracks, “This is where you learn;” and for the self-scanning stations, “This is where you scan.” Brand guidelines helped to keep a cohesive look across the materials.

Welcome to Your Plan by BC Pension Corporation

The ‘Welcome to Your Plan ‘package is sent to every new member of BC’s five public sector pension plans. It consists of a keepsake pocket folder, welcome letter, enrolment confirmation statement, business cardan collateral. The original package, created nearly10 years ago, consisted of five different, custom die-cut file folders – one for each plan – containing information requiring regular content updates. As part of a shift toward communications products that put members ‘needs first, the updated folder design needed to be both inviting and functional. The plans share a similar look and feel, while also achieving aesthetic individuality through distinct plan colours. The pocket folder improves functionality and the addition of the business card saves oncosts. The final product was warmly received by the five pension boards of trustees and the corporation as a whole, and resulted in both space savings and a yearly cost reduction of $3,200.

2016 Community Report by University of Calgary

Each year in September the University of Calgary community gathers together to learn about the progress being made toward the organization’s strategic goals and illustrate the path to becoming a top 5 research university in Canada. The Community Report publication provides a balanced and fair representation of key discoveries and points of progress on campus, reflecting the achievements of key stakeholder groups: students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and community. The 2016 edition is the fifth in a series that reports against goals set out in the strategic plan. The design concept focuses on the convergence of three aspects of the University of Calgary community: diversity, inclusion and growth. Graphics represent the diverse student and academic communities. The seamless, interlocking patterns express how the University of Calgary environment naturally encourages collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. Expanding plant and floral forms convey the shared organic momentum towards growth. The vibrant colors and bold design support the university’s youthful and dynamic brand.