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2020 Ultrabold Award Finalists

Loren Aytona Arena, Vancouver

Loren has experience working with in-house teams, producing everything 

from brand identities and social media content, to research reports and large-scale exhibits. She is a relentless problem-solver and an imaginative thinker. Her design approach is inquisitive, empathetic and always joyful. She adores collaborating with subject matter experts, researchers, writers, marketers and creative folk of all stripes. Her passion and expertise lies in supporting research, educational and public service programs through graphic design. Her information design work has been showcased internationally – with permanent exhibits displaying in museums in Vancouver and Toronto, United States and Iceland. It is her hope that when people engage with her designs, they walk away with a better understanding of the world, themselves and issues around them.

Logan Brazeau RGD, Peterborough

Inspired by the work Charley Harper, Hans Kleefeld and Burton Kramer, Logan’s style is often bright, geometric and bold. Logan believes that good design is a powerful tool that can be used to raise awareness and shift social stigmas. In 2016, Logan started his studio to pursue clients and projects that align with his own values and beliefs. He is passionate about working with small businesses, agro companies and non-for-profits to impact social and environmental change. His work has been recognized by LogoLounge, Logo Wave Awards, Applied Arts Magazine and the Redgees. 

Lin Oosterhoff RGD, Calgary

Born and raised in the Netherlands, Lin’s design aesthetic has always been influenced by the Dutch design — characterized as minimalist, experimental, innovative and quirky. Lin blends these bold, hard edges with Canadian thoughtfulness to create design concepts that are beautiful, meaningful and full of stories. The majority of her work has been created for brands and people that are like-minded and draw awareness to the community, environment and outdoor culture. By providing her skillset, Lin has managed to amplify the voices of artists, outdoor enthusiasts and book publishers locally and internationally. 

Mustaali Raj, Vancouver

Mustaali is an independent art director and graphic designer whose focus lies between interdisciplinary concept development and visual communications. As a third culture kid, his multi-faceted sense of belonging and experiences play an important role in exploring intersection of identities through his design. His work focuses on bringing diverse voices out by projecting a more inclusive and holistic view of Canada’s varied framework through client projects, personal initiatives and community activations. Mustaali’s design approach centres around community building, elevating creativity and designing for social good to build a beautiful and a functional world.

Ronald Tau RGD, Toronto

As a Chinese Canadian, Ronald's path of enquiry has always been about embracing the crossroads between east and west, both in terms of aesthetic form, cultural context and societal values and connotations. He strives to foster communication and truth in different cultural contexts through his work, to facilitate communication and cultural exchange between different cultures. In his work, this is achieved by a direct and somewhat classical typographic approach. Ronald strives to create a the tone of the typography that bridges languages and brings together a unified voice. He believes that design has the ability to inspire positive change and surprising intersections of culture. If design is created with values of simplicity and honesty and timeless form and aesthetics, it becomes a powerful and positive channel of dialogue. 

Paul Twa Associate RGD, Edmonton

Paul’s design practice is driven by the desire to create distinct visual languages for each client and, in tandem, a commitment to producing a personal body of work that serves as an outlet for his individual voice. Paul strongly upholds the importance of design to not only effectively communicate, but also to delight its audience. This is evidenced by his focus on multi-faceted illustrations that allow him to execute work in branding in a way that contemplates not only a logo, but also the surrounding visual identity it exists within. Design history is another keystone of Paul’s practice. He believes in being inspired by the past as an element to how he contributes to the visual culture of Canadian design today. His design work has contributed to clients in Canada’s energy sector, aided in the communication of municipal and provincial environmental initiatives and promoted arts-based cultural events. His personal work has been used as a way to communicate a more intimate dialogue and has led to connections and engagement locally and internationally.

Jay Wall RGD, Toronto

As a design entrepreneur, Jay has dedicated his career to advancing social change across Canada and around the world. He has done this through his design studio RallyRally, building bridges with other fields and planting seeds for the next generation of designers. Jay works with progressive non-profits, foundations, governments and purpose-driven businesses to amplify their efforts through creative strategy, branding and communication design. Jay has developed particular expertise in partnerships with urban planning firms, for example designing public awareness campaigns to promote inclusive community engagement in the planning process. He advocates for the role of graphic design in advancing social change by writing articles and speaking at conferences internationally. Jay also engages with the broader design community – especially with emerging designers and aspiring design activists – to share his path and to offer guidance.