David Taylor RGD

David Taylor RGD

David has been working in the industry for 20+ years, having originally been bitten by the creative bug at Queen’s University where he studied visual arts and art history. He has been fortunate to name some of Canada’s top advertising and branding agencies as former employers, which include TBWA/Toronto, Cossette, TAXI, and Interbrand. His work on various major brands has been recognized by Cannes, Communications Arts, the National Advertising Awards, the Art Directors Club of Canada, Lotus, Coupe, and Applied Arts, amongst others. His work spans graphic design to creative direction and every type of project from brand identity to advertising campaigns and everything in between. It is his mandate to create a unique and strategically sound visual manifestation of each brand he works with in order to create consumer impact with each and every communication. In addition to working in the industry David has also helped to mold the next generation of creative minds. He worked as an Associate Professor at OCAD University from 2009 to 2012. He is currently the Principal/Creative Director at Awake Studio.

Toronto, ON

Member since August 22, 2006

Creative Director/Founder @ Awake Studio

Skills

• Branding
• Editorial
• Packaging
• Art Direction
• Book Design
• Creative Direction
• Print
• Typography

• Work
• Contributions

New Standard Lager

New Standard Lager

Dave Martin, the founder of New Standard, recognized a distinct hole in this market where most low-alcohol beers have a stigma about being watery and flavourless (and mostly for good reason). He worked with top-notch brewmasters to create a beer that will make consumers forget that they're not drinking a regular alcohol beverage.

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Van Der Hout Jewelry

Van Der Hout Jewelry

Van Der Hout is a Toronto-based jewelry design brand who needed a refresh to create a more clear and galvanized impression on their company. The ask was to create an identity that was a bit more fun without compromising a premium impression of their brand (as they didn’t want to alienate their existing core consumer). The resulting timeless mark and palette straddles both worlds (fun & premium – complete with a bespoke wordmark) and positions them as a more serious contender in the competitive world of online jewelry sales.

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Foes

Foes

Foes describes themselves as “operating partners tasked with building and scaling revenue generating activities for SMBs”. So right from the start you know they’re not your garden variety new agency. Especially when their brand purpose as powerful as theirs: We exist to challenge the status quo. To battle the mediocracy that exists in professional services.

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Aiyana

Aiyana

Healthy, prepared meals designed to add ease to your day. Aiyana exists to provide moms, women, and families with the nourishment they need to optimize body and mind, no matter how busy life gets. All Aiyana work created with created with Cathy Cicchini Studio @cathycicchini_studio

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Bushii Grooming

Bushii Grooming

Bushii Grooming was created out of a desire to explore, change, re-invent or just "switch up" any and all facial hair. Whether you have temporary stubble or are growing a world record beard, Bushii is here for you both for styling and for skin health. A variable height logo was created to convey the idea of beard growth. While there is a “default” logo which is applied to all packaging design, the logo is designed to flex to any application size to convey the sense of playfulness and a “you do you” mentally about facial hair growth.

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Longo's Experience Magazine

Longo's Experience Magazine

Awake was brought in to help execute the brand strategy established by Conflict Advertising. A major part of this internal design included Longo’s in-house publication, Experience Magazine – a quarterly in-store magazine promoting private label products through education and recipe development. Previously, the magazine’s design was cluttered with content and felt lacklustre – especially in a category where strong design and compelling visuals are table stakes. We took the brand photography as a starting point and developed a completely new template and visual direction that allowed for a more contemporary impression, and more engaging storytelling.

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Belmonte Raw

Belmonte Raw

Years ago Carol Belmonte launched Belmonte Raw by bringing salads via bicycle to hungry office workers. At the time of their inception there were no organic places offering what Belmonte Raw was creating. Carol recognized this need and it struck a chord with customers, so much so that many of those original clients remained loyal to Belmonte Raw, still picking up salads, juices, nut milks and smoothies as the brand continued to grow.

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Lakeshore Arts

Lakeshore Arts

On the eve of their 25th anniversary, Lakeshore Arts needed to evolve their brand to align with the organization’s strategic intentions and to move the identity into a direction that let their creative breadth shine through. While the previous logo leveraged the centre’s relative proximity to Toronto’s waterfront, the new logo is a visual manifestation of the drivers “connection” and “transformative” that are central to the vision statement, “Connecting neighbourhoods with the transformative power of arts activity”.

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Righteous Gelato

Righteous Gelato

Previously known as Fiasco Gelato, the Canadian-born company was ready to spread to the U.S. However, a trademark hiccup meant they needed to rebrand as Righteous Gelato. This gave them the opportunity to re-evaluate the brand identity and put a strong foot forward in their world domination. The name “righteous” has strong links to the surf community, which the brand sees as a significant influence in their corporate culture. A surf flag-inspired logo led the rebrand and introduced a new colour palette as well as a surf and flavour-inspired illustration system. Work all produced through Righteous’ creative partner, Jack Russell Agency.

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Azul Mexicana

Azul Mexicana

Toronto has a new restaurant ready to satisfy all your Mexican food cravings. Whether you're in the mood for a street taco (which use eye-catching blue corn tortillas – talk about food branding!), a hearty Milpa bowl, or incredible fresh guacamole, Azul is sure to bring the taste of Mexico to your table. Sabor a Mexico! Food photography by Toronto Life Magazine: Nicole and Bagol nicoleandbagol.com

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Dundurn Press

Dundurn Press

Following the retirement of the Dundurn founder after forty-five years, the press has new owners and a new direction for their literary list. They have been signalling this change through the media for a year now and it was time for the brand identity to catch up. The Dundurn colophon, a signature element of the visual identity, was inspired by the architecture of the Folly from the grounds of the Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario. Using a repeated key architectural feature the result is a portal. This window or keyhole creates a sense of dimension and escapism for the brand that mirrors the mental escape that people enjoy when connecting with a great book. The colophon is the cornerstone of the Dundurn brand and has great flexibility of use in order to be an engaging and memorable element of the visual identity.

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Arcanium

Arcanium

Design on a different plane. A full life comes with stuff (sometimes lots of it).As hobbyists, Arcanium understand the need for space to store, play, and do the things you love. They are continually innovating to bring you exceptional pieces that complement your passions – not compete with them. Arcanium’s launch product, the 260 Hybrid Table, has self-storing leaves and a unique mechanical trickery that transforms from a dining table to a gaming table in less than a minute. arcaniuminc.com Web design by rrralph.com Photography by miketjioe.ca

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