Award for Placemaking Design
Award Sponsor: Entro
Winner: Siobhan Barry
Winning Project: Sea Star Vineyards
Award Sponsor: Entro; School: Capilano University, North Vancouver, BC; Educator Support: Sepideh Torabi & Spencer Pidgeon
Sea Star Vineyard produces wines that express the terroir of its Pender Island home, and this project repositions the brand to compete in a market shaped by creative expression and environmental values. Rather than relying on literal imagery, the identity communicates sustainability through tone, materiality and visual language for an audience of environmentally conscious, “buy local” consumers.
A hand-drawn logo inspired by the island’s coastline reflects the organic nature of both landscape and winemaking, with an animated version making that connection explicit through literal metamorphosis. Minimal, sans-serif typography and atmospheric photography evoke the calm of island life, while packaging — including distinct label illustrations for each wine and in-store merchandise for the vineyard’s Pender Island storefront — extends a sensory connection to place, even from a distance. Whether or not customers make it to the Gulf Islands, the updated brand is designed to make the ocean breeze feel close at hand.
Honourable Mentions
- Waves by the Wayside by Joseph Camillo, KPU Wilson School of Design, Richmond, BC
- Between Waters Exhibition by Marina Guimarães, KPU Wilson School of Design, Richmond, BC
- IXD Class of 2028 by Jane Hou, Sheridan College, Oakville, ON
- NextDoor by Opal P., York University, Toronto, ON
Judges
- Maria Jose Arias, Senior Designer at Frontier, Toronto, ON
- Jen Cook, Director, Communication Design at HCMA Architecture + Design, Vancouver, BC
- Fred Thwainy, Global Director of Brand Experience at Entro, Toronto, ON
Sponsored
