Al Albania RGD and the team at Acart Communications created the YR Man a& Ryder campaign for York Region Transit (YRT) / Viva.
Background: Acart was selected as AOR for York Region Transit (YRT/Viva) originally in June 2010. The contract was since renewed following an agency review. This project was planned as part of a multi-year marketing and communications strategy.
Project: The YR Man & Ryder campaign was a preventive measure against accidents in and around YRT/Viva buses. As well, we wanted to educate riders about YRT/Viva’s digital tools. This campaign was designed for students (15–24 years old) residing in York Region and surrounding areas. Most safety campaigns aim to preach or terrify audiences into changing their behaviour, but the YR Man & Ryder campaign takes a different approach by reaching people through lighthearted humour and showing them how they can enhance their transit experience. Measured results over the multiple phases of this campaign have proven that this approach is very effective. The characters appeared on web banners, mobile ads, and YRT/Viva’s social media channels via animated videos and organic and paid posts. They also appeared on bus shelters and interior cards, as well as in targeted public gathering places, such as malls and salons.
Challenge: "The biggest challenge with presenting safety information to youth is to avoid talking down to them, or being overly dramatic. We avoided a preachy tone, ironically, by creating a cartoon character who is the epitome of the preachy do-gooder. But by presenting the information in an entertaining manner we were able to overcome the audience’s cynicism and deliver a serious and helpful message." - Al Albania RGD
Claire Dawson RGD, Fidel Pena RGD and the team at Underline Studio created a new brand identity for Art Museum University of Toronto.
Project: This new institution brings the existing Justina M. Barnicke Gallery and the University of Toronto Art Centre together as one entity. The museum sought an identity that would emphasize its place within the city and its engagement with both the university community and the public. The identity is set at the same 16.7 degree angle as the street grid of Toronto, firmly situating the museum in its Toronto location.
Challenge: "Two galleries formed one federated institution, Art Museum, but the gallery names continue to exist. This meant we had to create an appropriate and straightforward system that could communicate that." - Claire Dawson RGD
Steve Garwood RGD and the team at Faren Agency designed an advertising campaign for Youth Without Shelter’s Tokens for Change, for display in the TTC.
*Pro bono project
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Background: Faren was selected for this project based on an existing relationship with YWS, having worked with the organization to create the T4C campaign for the last four years.
Project: Youth Without Shelter is a charitable organization dedicated to helping homeless youth. Through their work with YWS, Faren understood uncertainty and instability are characteristics of everyday life for homeless youth. To creatively illustrate this, they employed a visual metaphor – the house of cards – to deliver a narrative of the challenges homeless youth in Toronto face.
Challenge: "The biggest challenges to this project were how to realistically portray the youths in a house of cards and how to show the situations which can trap these youth. For the former, many options were explored but we decided to actually construct larger-than-life size cards and photograph the subjects inside them. The latter was solved by using creative angles, lighting and depth of field to show scenarios happening around the youth without being overly graphic, which the client wanted to avoid." - Steve Garwood RGD
Wayne McCutcheon RGD and the team at Entro designed environmental graphics for the Pan Am Aquatics Centre.
Background: This was a Design Build Construction Project. Entro was paid to create a conceptual approach to the graphics for the building. When the team was awarded the project, the concept was developed further in collaboration with the project architect (NORR).
Project: The Pan Am Aquatics Centre was recently featured on CBC’s Disrupting Design with Entro’s Wayne McCutcheon RGD and Udo Schliemann, principal creative director. The Entro team designed the environmental graphics taking their cue from the alternating tilted planes of the venue’s dramatic roof structure, itself inspired by the rock fissures in the Canadian Shield. Abstract water patterns, which interact with light and shadow, were created for large-scale wall treatments in the building interior and as a key element on signage.
Challenge: "The project had a very restrictive budget and we had to work within this, while still having a major impact on the overall experience. I believe our team met this challenge and we were able to create a very unique experience that was the backdrop to some of the highest attended PanAm Games events." Wayne McCutcheon RGD
Karen Satok RGD and the team at Sputnik created the 2016 Hydrangea series of stamps for Canada Post.
Background: Canada Post Corporation engages designers in paid pitches for most projects. There are typically two studios/individuals that submit, then receive feedback and make refinements before presenting concepts to the Stamp Committee which is made up of a cross section of the community. The committee selects the final stamp. Sputnik won the pitch and was commissioned to create the rest of the program.
Project: Continuing a long tradition of flower stamps often sought after by gardeners, plant enthusiasts and brides, the Sputnik team created the 2016 Hydrangea series for Canada Post. Inspired by traditional botanical drawings, the stamps feature high-contrast tones, sumptuous colours, and realistic details. Art directed by Karen Satok, RGD and David Sacha and designed by Benny Corrigan, the stamps were illustrated by Montréal artist Marie-Élaine Cusson.
Challenge: "Making sure everything was correct in terms of the flowers and the appropriate bugs was the biggest challenge for this project. Because the illustrations by Marie-Elaine Cusson were based on historical botanical illustrations, they had to be accurate. We worked with a person from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada who gave us information about the plant, beneficial insects, colour and soil pH." - Karen Satok RGD