Awards of Merit

2020 Annual Report by The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) in Alberta, Canada

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) celebrated its centennial year in 2020 capping off a year-long campaign with this annual report. The cover design for The Journey to Here uses strong minimalist type fusing the number 100 into the title. This concept continues throughout the publication with a timeline of important milestones such as The Journey to STEM and The Journey to Diversity. The inside pages are clean and purposeful featuring line drawings over photos and a variety of charts that show how far the organization has come as a regulatory body, by the numbers. Working with minimal resources during the pandemic, stock imagery was used with emphasis on data and infographics to continue the centennial narrative. The report was promoted at the online AGM and has received a higher number of clicks versus the previous year’s report, successfully representing Alberta’s history and the journey forward.

APEGA Emerging Professionals Summit by The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) in Alberta, Canada

Expanded from an in-person bootcamp event, this new annual conference for students and young professionals in engineering and geoscience includes industry leader presentations, resume reviews, practice interviews and networking events. Moved completely virtual due to the pandemic, objectives were pivoted to find new ways to reach the target audience through digital distribution of collateral and online advertising and social media. Five different designs focus on different specializations, applied across posters, print and digital ads, social media and a new online event platform. Campaign branding incorporates relatable imagery of target audiences looking ahead towards a brighter future with arrows pointing up and ahead. Transitioning to a virtual event allowed for stronger metrics from multiple sources, effectively reaching the target demographic and exceeding impressions and engagement achieved in the previous year. Elements from the campaign have been maintained and refreshed to create lasting brand continuity.

Legend Timeline Wall Graphic by Legend Boats in Toronto, Canada

This informative graphic details notable milestones in Legend’s 25+ year history. The 38’ wide design covers the wall in a hallway that connects Legend’s showroom to their service centre. Active correspondence with upper executives at the ownership level informed the content, highlighting the company’s history and origins with supportive imagery. Positioned in a high-traffic area for customers and staff, the impact was maximized for people waiting for assistance and became a highlight for attendees at the first open house hosted at the new facility.

Powering Today for Tomorrow Publication by Bruce Power in Tiverton, Canada

This publication illustrates the unprecedented challenges the company faced during 2020 from the COVID-19 global health crisis and how they turned its innovative firepower into initiatives to help their local community. The report’s format draws attention to Bruce Power’s work with local residents, businesses, volunteers and companies. Work with the printer provided interesting solutions for finishes such as foil stamping, blind debossing, high build spot UV varnish and Smyth binding with exposed blue threads, in keeping with overall branding. The text is broken up into index cut signature steps and blocked into the three important areas: COVID-19 initiatives, company operations and the future of electricity. The publication was mailed out to staff working from home, business owners and community members to become a resource on how Bruce Power is responding to the pandemic at work, in their local communities and the province.

Advanced Advisor Practices: Welcome Kit by Canada Life 

To solidify relationships with those who contribute substantial income to the organization, the team delivered premium branded and personalized welcome kits to each of the top 53 insurance advisors. The kits were manually assembled with custom pieces including biographies and contact details for each Canada Life™ contact. Luxurious materials, finishes and processes helped deliver a premium experience, taking advantage of a newly developed high-net-worth colour palette for the Canada Life brand. Anecdotal feedback from advisors proved that we hit the mark with this project and several senior leaders took notice of the kits and commissioned generic versions.

TechZone: Environmental & Promotional Wayfinding Launch Material by Canada Life

Launch material was designed to draw attention to new internal tech support services available and drive employee engagement with a drop in space for learning and exploring new equipment. The “genius bar”- style experience offers in-person and digital workshops and seminars to provide more effective and efficient ways of working. The limited budget and quick timeline required creative thinking for wayfinding graphics to draw the attention of staff on site at the corporate office and positively impact their tech support experience. The project received positive feedback on the amount of buzz generated within the building and led to the creation of two more locations in other head offices. The technology improvements implemented through the TechZone have been instrumental for transitioning employees to work from home over the course of the pandemic and continues to be seen as a great success story throughout the organization

Employee Brand Launch by CWB Financial Group with Support from Cossette in Alberta, Canada

This refreshed visual identity represents the organization's new objectives and how they could be used to guide employees in their daily job functions. After the logo rebrand, an in-house project team implemented the brand strategy launch to employees across Canada in a celebratory fashion. A teaser campaign with posters and decals was implemented to stir positive excitement leading up to the launch. Each employee received personal branded items including an interactive value journal, a set of magnets, an appreciation postcard and an enamel pin to promote team spirit and enable each individual to see themselves as part of the change. Employee surveys were sent out after the launch date and the outcome was exceptionally positive. Shortly after launch, CWB was recognized as one of the 50 best workplaces in Canada.

Zero Waste Victoria Campaign by The City of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada

To encourage participation in the City’s first long term plan to reduce waste, the campaign needed to stand out from common uses of ‘green’ branding while representing the idea of zero waste in a fresh and engaging way. New sorting stations were installed across the city and icons were created for each bin, tiled in the same bold colour palette used to wrap the City’s new recycling trucks. The use of the recycling trucks to promote the program meant mobile advertising, high visibility, and brand recognition across the city. Drivers distributed information cards to help community members learn about the program, and a report was designed to further educate, inform and inspire. Zero Waste stations have successfully diverted 750 kg of recyclables and organics each month. The concepts and designs are being adopted by other jurisdictions, and the campaign has helped Victoria gain recognition across Canada as leaders in waste reduction.

We Are Dal Website by Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada

This fifteen-month, weekly digest focuses on members of the Dalhousie community who wouldn’t typically appear in the spotlight but remain vital to the university’s success. Designed to stand out from Dalhousie’s other channels, the approach focuses on portrait photography accompanied by first person stories in the words of the subjects themselves. The sparse site design emphasizes the photos and stories, while subtly connecting to core identity elements. Monthly page views and time spent on pages indicated high levels of engagement with the stories and photos featured.

2020/21 Community Report Website by Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada

This report showcases the diverse perspectives and achievements of students, faculty and staff and how Dalhousie is building a community of belonging, sharing research, leading with compassion, helping students excel, supporting the community on campus and beyond. Offering few functional bells and whistles, the site is fully responsive and accessible, prioritizing stories and images while gently reinforcing Dalhousie’s core identity elements in colour and type. The site launch was preceded with a small digital ad campaign to entice viewers to explore the site. Compared to the previous year, the site received three times more unique visitors and twice as many pageviews.

Climate Change Awareness Campaign by Deloitte in Toronto, Canada

To engage the market about climate action in a dynamic way while also building brand awareness, the team created an interactive website and climate-focused thought leadership documents tailored to specific industries (Consumer Business, Financial Services, Energy Resources). These assets were used to build connections with clients and accelerate their climate action journeys, making Deloitte the trusted choice for achievable and actionable climate solutions. For a project that expanded from a single thought leadership document to a multi-pronged campaign, the team’s agile, nimble and decision-focused approach made it possible to hit the market in record time, with teaser spots achieving more than five times more views than typical firm content.

“Trust” Campaign by Deloitte in Toronto, Canada

To engage the market about ‘Trust’, a new, intangible, business offering, the campaign required a unique approach that people would be able to easily understand. The team created an interactive website and Trust-focused thought leadership documents to help build connections with clients and teach them the value of Trust within their organizations. The Canadian team delivered on bold creative that pushed the boundaries of the global branding approach with custom creative driven by blue-sky thinking. The multi-pronged approach between print, environmental and digital made it possible to flood the market in a dynamic way. In-office environmental branding ignited curiosity and bold print advertising in The Walrus magazine combined with the informative, easy-to-navigate website connected with the target market. The campaign was well received and eventually picked up by the Global team to be applied on an international scale.

Catalyst Visual Identity & Video Campaign by Deloitte in Toronto, Canada

Catalyst reports are flagship thought ware publications from Deloitte’s Future of Canada Centre, an organization which facilitates the exploration of important national issues to help propel Canada into a new age of growth. An elevated, modern editorial approach expresses calm and contemplation. The thoughtful use of negative space, scale and contrast create drama and reinforce key messages and themes. The idea of “framing” is expressed in both implicit and explicit ways, representing the Future of Canada Centre’s mandate to highlight the important issues, generate new insights and perspectives, and bring the future into focus for Canada. The identity also maintains a strong connection with Deloitte’s master brand by adhering to the four brand codes defined within the brand guidelines: Logo, Circle, Colour, and Personality. The first Catalyst report achieved a download rate 28% higher than the internal benchmark, with LinkedIn and social media engagement exceeding industry benchmarks and page views hitting above average results.

COVID-19 Wave 1 Public Health Campaign by The Government of Ontario in Canada

As Ontario entered its first wave of the COVID-19 virus in Spring 2020, the Government of Ontario required a new public health campaign to quickly reach as many people in Ontario as possible with information about the new stay-at-home order and physical distancing guidelines. A flexible visual system with an established colour palette, library of icons and pre-made templates helped facilitate clear, accessible messaging that could be easily understood across different ages and cultural groups. To combat sources of misinformation, the campaign was tied to the Ontario brand to make it easily recognizable as an official source of valid information. Illustrations with subtle human touches like unique hairstyles, clothing and accessories helped balance the serious tone of the message to help the campaign remain reassuring, friendly and hopeful. The campaign exceeded performance expectations, achieving outstanding impressions across all channels, and was adopted by the federal government for the roll-out of the COVID-19 Alert App.

The Smart City Sandbox: Activating Urban Innovation by IBI group in Canada

The Smart City Sandbox unites like-minded public- and private-sector partners to foster innovative new products and solutions focused on improving the quality of life in urban environments. The physical Sandbox located in Toronto brings together entrepreneurs, start-ups, influencers, and the tech ecosystem at-large with programming that fosters engagement and collaboration, offering opportunities for developing tangible new products and services. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the creation of a dynamic virtual environment which offers community members unique opportunities to increase the profiles of their brands and access the latest smart city advances. The Sandbox brand identity is applied throughout its associated collateral and has been extended through membership outreach and application across programming and events. The Sandbox’s reputation as a physical-turned-virtual hub for urban innovation and collaboration continues to gain momentum with new partners and pilot projects.

Kira Systems Rebrand by Kira Systems & Jacknife Design in Toronto, Canada

Toronto-based AI and machine-learning tech company Kira enables enterprises to easily find and use trusted information from their documents. Following a US$50 million funding round and recognition as one of the top 5 start-ups in Canada, the company required an evolved look to support upcoming growth. Kira’s in-house creative team collaborated with Jacknife Design to evolve the logo and brand story to better communicate the company’s overall mission: to shine light on important aspects of documents.

With the evolved logo, the in-house team built out a comprehensive brand system across internal and external touchpoints including sales and marketing materials and employee recruitment and experience. The new brand system incorporates the use of a new colour palette, engaging illustration, a new typography system and bold photography. Current clients are still able to recognize the company they know and trust, while the new brand look also opens up opportunities for recruiting new talent and onboarding new clients.

“Now You’re Talking!” Illustrated Booklet by Legal Aid BC in British Columbia, Canada

This printed booklet artistically unifies 15 picture stories featuring scenarios with characters sharing concerns about family law issues. The booklet achieves a graphic novel feel, capturing readers’ situations and leading them to relevant information on the associated website. Colour-coding used for five distinct sections on the website is applied throughout the booklet to achieve consistency and easy topic identification. A subtle numbering guide was added to clarify panel order and improve readability. Introductory pages feature characters from each story and brief descriptions. The creative use of speech bubbles highlights key information for each topic, with interspersed graphic elements helping to break-up text-heavy resource lists. Legal advocates and other stakeholders in the justice system have responded positively to the booklet as an effective tool for public legal education.

Capital Pathway Strategic Plan by National Capital Commission in Ottawa, Canada

This 176-page plan clearly communicates the long-term vision for a worldclass regional pathway network, with the goal of providing easily accessible tools for decision makers and the public, to help build consensus. The bold new vision connects over 300km, creating a seamless Capital Pathway network linking two cities, two provinces and a multitude of inter- regional trail networks. The plan uses NCC’s branding and identity and includes original photography, extensive pathway maps and iconographic illustrations throughout. Maps were expertly designed to make the networks pop while maintaining clarity for pertinent details. The plan incorporates a clear hierarchy of information through layout, text styling and graphic cues to ensure clarity for a variety of audiences ranging from the general public to program managers to engineering and design experts. The project received strong public support during consultations, and the plan, maps and guidelines have been useful tools for target audiences.

Annual Conference Kickoff by O2E Brand in Vancouver, Canada

O2E’s annual in-person conference event for franchises and corporate staff is an opportunity to align on organizational goals, share learnings and plan for business growth. Shifting to an online format for 2021 required a shift in the objectives of the event to lean into the strengths of a virtual event, relying heavily on video. The overall concept focused on the theme of “home” as both a feeling and a multi-functional space, capturing the idea “there’s no place like home” while illustrating what home can look like to different groups. Designed assets included the fully digital conference platform, in-studio LED background wall, video, overlay graphics, transitions and more. By adjusting scale, proportion and depth, the design team created playful visuals that represented customers, team members and traditional branding elements. The online event reached a larger audience than previous in-person conferences, and allowed more franchise employees to be included which helped drive engagement and connection.

Pilot Coffee Roasters Packaging by Pilot Coffee Roaster in Toronto, Canada

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a reassessment of how the Pilot brand represents its values of quality, relationships and innovation. To become more accessible to the growing national audience, key updates included the introduction of bilingual packaging, the use of colour to differentiate products and a system of strong hierarchical layouts with easily identifiable graphics. New coffee bags are made from 100% renewable, plant-based materials to further represent the brand’s commitment to sustainable practices and an ethical process from sourcing to packaging. A communications strategy was implemented to support the rollout to key audiences: staff, partners and the general public. Building community support helped drive enthusiasm, leading up to a public launch that saw increased website traffic, orders and new customers, successfully establishing a “new normal” for the Pilot brand and packaging.

Canada United Brand by RBC Ventures in Canada

Initiated by RBC along with several dozen ‘corporate Canada’ partners, the Canada United campaign focused on creating a grassroots movement encouraging Canadians to support local businesses affected by COVID-19. The program included grant funding available for small businesses (up to $5K per business) to offset COVID-19-related expenses, and cash prizes for Canadians who showed their support for small and local businesses, with the core message being to “show local some love”. The look was inspired by the feeling of a local farmer market, with colours and design elements maintaining an inviting, grassroots feel. An extensive library of logo options was made available for local businesses to show their connection to the movement. Other campaign assets were created for TV, OOH, print and digital media, plus street-level promotional material and signage.

FCAD Professional Music Program Video by Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada

To raise awareness for Ryerson University’s new four year professional music program in the Faculty of Communication and Design, the team created a promotional video that would generate excitement and drive prospective students to learn more. To convey all elements of the holistic program, the video had to incorporate elements of production, performance, tech, entrepreneurship, audience engagement, festival planning and beyond, reinforcing the program’s positioning as innovative, unique and suitable for anyone with a passion for music. Energetic photographs and video clips with typographic animation were introduced to help elevate the visual storytelling and attract the attention of the target audience during a time when face to face recruitment activities were not possible. The video achieved over 60,000 views on social media, and targets were met for candidate applications and enrolment in the program’s inaugural year.

Canadian Partners Conference by EY in Canada

The 2019 Canadian Partner Conference presented an opportunity to align with a broader mandate by applying the overarching theme of One EY, One Canada. Visuals use dots, circles and rings as a simple and direct representation of form ing “one” whole, which equals 100% when complete. The design supports EY Canada’s various service lines, market segments and regions with distinct patterns or colours aligning and overlapping to form one, cohesive singular shape. To create the required 57 assets for the three-day event, a tracking system was used to keep on top of timelines for printing and shipping. Trade show booths were also included, with individual designs outside of the conference theme. To comply with Quebec language laws, collateral needed to be bilingual with French first, which created longer turnaround times for translation. The event received positive feedback from executive team members and national partners.

SEISMIC Spring Mountain Festival by Silverstar Mountain Resort in Okanagan, Canada

SEISMIC Spring Mountain Festival had three key objectives: to drive re- sort visitations and overnight stays during the month of March; to get athletes to register for the events; and to drive website and social media traffic for SilverStar Mountain Resort. In achieving these objectives, the festival also needed to establish a standalone brand and appeal to a broader audience beyond sports enthusiasts to encompass the smaller festival events (art exhibitions, scavenger hunts, culinary events, etc.). A flexible palette of colours and patterns allowed for necessary flexibility while maintaining overall brand consistency. In addition to positive feedback from the staff and community members, the resort successfully increased overnight stays, reaching 94% occupancy over the 10 day festival period. A summer version of the festival is currently in the works, with buy-in from ski and bike brand partners based on the success of the spring event.

Truth be Told Book Cover by Simon and Schuster Canada 

The book cover for the memoir of Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court, needed to appeal to a younger, feminist audience while still looking distinguished and patriotic. The type-only design required strong font choice, size and colour to achieve a dynamic look. The cream background, red accents and black type create a sense of Canadian pride and anchor the design in a way that pops on the shelves. A serif font was cho- sen for the title and author name, but lower case was used to make it more approachable to the reader. The project was well received by the sales team and sold well into the market. The author was happy with the cover, and the book was also featured in a larger marketing campaign where the eye-catching design helped draw traffic to the publisher’s website, driving more sales.

“Imagine the Possibilities”: TCDSB Kindergarten Registration Campaign by TCDSB in Toronto, Canada

To combat the previous campaign in which tcdsb’s dark maroon branding dominated the design, a brighter, more student-focused campaign was needed to help increase stu- dent enrolment through the annual kindergarten registration. Directed at prospective parents with kindergarten-aged children, the goal of the campaign was to achieve better levity while still maintaining a professional tone that would adhere to the board’s image. The softer pink colour, combined with geometric icons mimicking children’s doodles creating “halos” around the kid’s heads, helped bring out an element of playfulness to speak to the kids as much as their parents. The covid-19 pandemic provided a jumping off point for tcdsb to start using motion graphics and social media on a more regular basis, using this campaign as a flagship opportunity to leverage these digital formats. Using a combination of digital ads and gifs, overall impressions for the campaign achieved 207% growth year over year.

Toronto Transit Commission COVID-19 Campaign by Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Canada

To educate a broad audience of cus- tomers and employees of rapidly changing covid-19 protocols, the campaign employed concise messaging across a variety of communication channels. Customer-facing collateral focused on new policies and messaging reinforcing how the TTC keeps customers safe, while internal messaging informed staff of changing safety protocols, policy changes and general updates. The key challenge was to disrupt visual clutter and deliver continually developing messaging. By identifying how customers and staff prefer to access information and targeting messaging according- ly, the team was able to reach target audiences with clean, crisp visuals that helped simplify complex messages and stood out from the photography-heavy advertisements that dominated the transit system. The TTC has achieved a 99% success rate in mask compliance, which has been significantly impacted by the successful message saturation driven by this campaign.

Radiation Environments Infographic by Triumf in Vancouver, Canada

To capture the significance of triumf’s operational capacity in a visually engaging and easy-to-understand information graphic, the design needed to incorporate intricate, highly technical information in a clear and concise way. Operating a cluster of radiation testing facilities under the label “PIF & NIF” (for Proton Irradiation Facilities and Neutron Irradiation Facilities), triumf serves commercial clients such as aerospace firms, satellite companies, automotive manufacturers, and electronic parts manufacturers. Working closely with PIF & NIF researchers, the illustrator and art director established a clear format prioritizing the brand and the usability of the final asset. The final deliverable was produced for a large print display over the triumf Tour Route and used for STEM outreach efforts. Digital versions were also created for use online and in screen displays and presentations. The asset’s availability in different formats has helped PIF & NIF promote their services and recruit collaborators.

COVID-19 Recovery Signage by University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada

In preparation for the partial return to campus by students, staff, faculty and librarians for the Fall 2020 academic term, the University of Toronto required a cohesive and comprehensive signage system outlining all public health and safety measures. Initially intended to be a few signs used in high-traffic areas, the scope of this project expanded quickly in response to ever-evolving health and safety needs and government requirements. Signs included entry screening posters, instructions for use of stairwells / elevators / escalators, room capacity signage and directional indicators. To be effective, all signage had to be clear, consistent, direct and instantly recognizable as an official sign posted by the University. The team consulted with the University’s AODA Officer regarding type and icon contrast, signage contrast on different backgrounds and language usage to ensure accessibility. Over 82,500 signs were printed and displayed across U of T’s three campuses, and 942 signs were downloaded for use by divisional / departmental partners.

Vidyard 2021 CKO Event by Vidyard

As remote work became the new standard for many workplaces during the global pandemic in 2020, Vidyard’s annual Company Kick-Off event was used as an opportunity to enable radical change in the way team members think about the product. The concept of emergency broadcast systems was applied as a representation of interrupting the “regularly scheduled program”, i.e. the way people did business prior to the shift to remote work. To balance feelings of uncertainty with an optimistic message, the event focused on how Vidyard’s product could help others during a difficult time. Ominous tones of emergency broadcast messages were paired with a fun, retro vaporwave aesthetic to achieve the desired effect. Music, sound design and animation were used to immerse the audience of 200 attendees over three days, and swag items were mailed to each employee, all following a consistent design system.

Dr. Bonnie Henry Pollinator Blend by West Coast Seeds in Vancouver, Canada

In collaboration with Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Office of BC and Food Banks Canada, the team created a pollinator-friendly Cosmos flower seed blend with 100% of sales donated to local food banks. Design elements included photography, packaging, graphics and animations capturing three core messages: the importance of supporting local food banks, honouring frontline workers, and planting for pollinators. The Food Banks Canada logo is prominently displayed alongside a quote from Dr. Henry, describing the importance of supporting local food banks during the covid-19 health crisis. Text used on the packet design plays on Dr. Henry’s catchphrase: “Bee Kind. Bee Calm. Bee Safe.” Over 25,000 packets have been sold with over $220,000 raised in support of Food Banks Canada. The Dr. Bonnie Henry Pollinator Blend has been featured in local and national news stories and led to a significant spike in website traffic following the announcement of the project.