Award for Social Good Design (Tie)

Winner (Tie): Aaliyah Charles

Winning Project: Q Cookbook

Award Sponsor: Gravity; School: George Brown Polytechnic, Toronto, ON; Educator Support: Nicola Hamilton RGD (thesis professor) and Raj Grainger RGD (editorial professor)

Q Cookbook uses recipes as a vessel for history, intertwining them with personal interviews and Canadian queer history so that as recipes are passed from person to person, their stories are too. Built around an intergenerational queer community, the identity reimagines what queerness looks like rather than reinforcing familiar symbolism, balancing three distinct typeface classifications — serif (Publico Text), sans-serif (BBB DM Sans and Bye Bye Binary) and experimental (Banger and Manic Type) — to unify the book’s interviews, recipes and history sections and reflect a community that is anything but monolithic. Riso printing gives the cookbook an archival, handmade quality that highlights texture and imperfection, while a simplified two-colour palette accented with fluorescent pink distinguishes sections and carries through to an accompanying promo kit. The project targets Canadian queer young adults through the stories of seven LGBTQ+ people aged 29–72, aiming to counter a lack of queer history in mainstream education while inviting intergenerational connection over the kitchen table. 

Winner (Tie): Shilo Sun and Charis Catotocan

Winning Project: Memory Lane

Award Sponsor: Gravity; School: Capilano University, North Vancouver, BC; Educator Support: Shayne Letain, Elyssa Schmid RGD, Chelsea Bel Eady & Jai Djwa

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis changes everything, often leaving seniors with fewer safe opportunities to get outdoors and experience the cognitive and physical benefits that come with it. Memory Lane is a for-profit organization offering affordable, local outing programs for seniors with Alzheimer’s across the Lower Mainland. Its warm, human visual identity — nostalgic illustration, simple layouts and a soft, vibrant colour palette inspired by 1960s cartoons, print and children’s book illustration — creates a sense of familiarity and calm that resonates with many seniors’ own memories of their youth. At its core, Memory Lane exists to enrich the lives of seniors living with Alzheimer’s while giving caregivers a moment of rest and reassurance through safe, gentle and meaningful outings. The primary audience is family members and loved ones of people with Alzheimer’s, with a secondary audience of long-term care and nursing home management teams looking to expand enrichment offerings for residents.

Design layouts and branding by contributor Charis Catotocan.

Honourable Mentions

• Raíces y Voces Foundation by Maria Alejandra Marcado, KPU Wilson School of Design, Richmond, BC
• Kimono Kyoto Exhibition by Belqis Mazhari, Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON
• NextDoor by Opal P., York University, Toronto, ON
• Soil Your Self by Cameron Skorulski, Capilano University, North Vancouver, BC
• Nüshu 女书 by Cindy Zheng, York University, Toronto, ON

Judges

• Camille Clores Associate RGD, Founder and Lead Designer at Clores Design Studio, Vancouver, BC
• Danielle Coates RGD, Senior Graphic Designer of Exhibitions at National Geographic Society, Washington, DC
• Matteo Ferralasco Associate RGD, Graphic Designer at Studio Ferralasco, Vancouver, BC
• Christine Goucher RGD, Creative Director at University of Waterloo, Kitchener, ON
• Emerald Lee RGD, Partner, Creative Director at Gravity, Toronto, ON
• Michael Parillas, Designer & Art Director at The Alberta Teachers' Association, Edmonton, AB
• Beverley Simpson RGD, Graphic Designer at Nova Scotia Community College, Halifax, NS
• Kelly Small RGD, Founder, Principal Creative Director at Intents & Purposes Inc., Toronto, ON
• Sarine Tchilinguirian, National Creative Director at EY, Toronto, ON
• Jay Wall RGD, Associate, Engagement & Communication Design at O2 Planning and Design, Guelph, ON
• Belle Williams, Partner and Creative Director at The Agency of Love and Logic (LOLO), Toronto, ON