The event featured special guest Stuart Ash, co-founder of Gottschalk and Ash, who designed the 1967 Centennial symbol. Guest speakers included Shauna Levy – President and CEO of Design Exchange, Don Schmitt – Principal and Founder of Diamond Schmitt Architects and Tim Jones – CEO of Artscape. Entro would also like to thank PCL Graphics for providing all the displays for the event.

About Gottschalk and Ash and Entro Communications
Beginning with Stuart Ash’s design of the 1967 Centennial symbol, the office of Gottschalk+Ash became a major leader and authority on graphic design in Canada. Inspired by the simplicity and timelessness of European design, G+A created and mobilized the brands of major clients such as American Airlines Arena, Air Canada Centre, Ontario Gaming and Lottery Corporation, Royal Bank, and Canada Post. In 2011 Entro, a leader then in signage and wayfinding, joined forces with G+A Toronto to continue to translate this sensibility to built spaces and introduce a new offering of ‘environmental branding’.

Book Overview
‘Cultivating a Design Legacy: The First 50 Years’ opens with the founding partners of Entro and G+A, reviewing the history of each firm from their own personal perspectives. The next section, “Circles of Influence”, offers perspectives on design history acknowledging such important influencers as El Lissitzky, Anton Stankowski, Mies van der Rohe, Paul Rand and Walter Gropius. Narrowing the focus to Canadian graphic design, the subsequent section provides readers with an understanding of how the International style of design made its way into Canadian design thinking and techniques from the 1960’s through to present works. Significant design pioneers in this section include: Stuart Ash, Fritz Gottschalk, Peter Steiner, Hélène L’Heureux, Carl Dair, Allan Fleming, Ernst Roch, Rolf Harder, Massimo Vignelli and Paul Arthur.

Framing the combined project history through six key decades, prominent art historian, Brian Donnelly illustrates the relevance of Entro and G+A’s work over the past 50 years of evolving design influence:
• 1960s: European Minimalism in the Age of Aquarius
• 1970s: The Rewards of Cool Restraint
• 1980s: The Play of Postmodern
• 1990s: The Beauty of Craft, Computerized
• 2000s: A New Millennium Demands New Methods
• 2010+: A Renewed Vision

The story closes with ‘Thoughts on Design’ from current associates and alumni of both Gottschalk+Ash and Entro Communications, telling the stories of their experience working at each firm, and looking back at particular projects that have shaped their careers.

‘Cultivating a Design Legacy: The First 50 Years’ is a wonderful exploration of the celebrated works of Entro Communications and Gottschalk+Ash Toronto told within the wider context of International and Canadian design history, and is now available for purchase at Swipe Bookstore and online at www.entro.com/our-book