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Service: Branding + Design

The Well

Services Deliverables
  • Brochure
  • Website
  • Brand Guide Extension
  • Photography Art Direction
  • Video Production

A spirited environment to live, work, shop, and play

The Well is an innovative mixed-use property development in Toronto’s vibrant King West area where visitors and residents can eat, shop, work, live, and play. To introduce this multimillion-dollar endeavour to the public and generate buzz during a major media push, Forge created various marketing materials and brand assets including brochures with custom photography and vibrant layouts showcasing the properties features and the site’s exciting history.

Print collateral to promote offerings and communicate brand values

Moving the brand forward

Expanding upon The Well’s existing brand guidelines created by Bruce Mau Design, additional standards were added by Forge, deepening the brand focus and addressing a broader range of brand application scenarios.

Engaging communities from near and far

A website was created to showcase The Well’s various offerings, and provide an in-depth look at their residences, lifestyle amenities, flexible office spaces, retail locations, and the surrounding neighbourhood. Following an initial discovery phase, wireframes were created to determine an optimal strategy in presenting content and to create a dynamic and user-friendly experience.

Low fidelity wireframing
High fidelity wireframing

Creating a foundation for memorable experiences

With a focus on lifestyle photography, architectural renderings, and data visualization, the website welcomes users with a warm, lively, and inspiring look into The Well’s community-focused philosophy. Optimized for various devices, the website is both accessible and intuitive for a modern audience.

Features

Google Analytics integration
WordPress CMS
Custom theme
CRM integrated forms
Video animation
Custom photography
Amenities maps
Data visualization

Website flexible for regular content updates

Employing motion to amplify the message

To elevate the brand experience at events, our team produced a seamlessly-looping video to be leveraged in various presentation and promotional scenarios, providing The Well with a versatile and powerful marketing tool.

  • 22K daily guests
  • 1.7K premium residential units
  • 320K square feet of retail and food service
  • 1.2M square feet of office space

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Dementia In New Light

dementiainnewlight.com
Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Website
  • Illustration
  • Social Media
  • Lesson Development

Shedding light into the world of dementia

Dementia in New Light is a digital learning experience that builds upon the research-driven production, Cracked: New Light on Dementia. By following individuals with dementia and their families, it aims to challenge the stigma around dementia and its care. Forge collaborated with a diverse team of researchers and artists and applied co-design methodologies to create an accessible educational experience, fostering a reimagining of dementia and improved support for those impacted.

Features

Headless CMS
React framework
WebGL 3D render with custom shaders
User account portal
Analytics

Emotive narratives, challenging stigma

In our initial discovery phase, we met with the project stakeholders, care providers and individuals affected by dementia to understand how to spread awareness and educate people better about dementia and its effects. We listened to each individual’s story about their lived experiences, engaged in co-design discussions to shape our digital learning outcome and fostered an open, inclusive forum for collaboration. This discovery process uncovered invaluable information from diverse perspectives to enrich the outcome of our digital learning experience.

Two people sitting in a boardroom.
A group of people discussion research, while looking a table.
Snapshots from our discovery and research synthesis process

An engaging and informative experience

Our core objective was to enable learners to explore a wide range of topics related to dementia care while providing them with insights into the daily lives of persons living with dementia and their families, fostering empathy and understanding throughout their journey. To ensure an intuitive user journey, we developed detailed site architecture and wireframes, meticulously planning how learners would navigate the content.

An image showing the site architecture with information hierarchy
A circle diagram that shows the relationship between various topics
Detailed sitemap for a complex website and a small sample from our extensive discovery
wireframe image of the login screen
a sketch exploring the theme of murmuration, or clusters of meaning
wireframe showing the idea behind the unique navigation
Wireframes to start defining the experience

Inspiring others to share their stories

The experience presents content in a number of ways and invites the learner to reflect on what they’ve seen and challenge their perceptions. Forge built a custom application backed by a headless CMS that allows the client to update content as needed.

A close up of one of the topics in focus. The topic is shown as a crystal-like gem floating in space
Another close up of one of the topics in focus. The topic is shown as a crystal-like gem floating in space
Topics browser which acts as the main navigation
The stigma topic expanded, to show the sub topics. The topics are shown as crystal-like gems floating in space
The Possibilities topic expanded, to show the sub topics. The topics are shown as crystal-like gems floating in space

Shifting perspective through interactive storytelling

Learners are immersed through dynamic audio and visual learning moments while incorporating scenes from the original production. Learners can explore various topics surrounding dementia care and see things from the perspective of the person living with dementia and their families.

Illustration of a radio
Illustration of open eyes with eyebrows
Illustration of a bike wheel
Custom illustrations to help tell the stories
A desktop screen that shows what the video player looks like
Learning modules to educate users about dementia
An image gallery is shown in one of the subtopics
A handwritten quote in one of the subtopics

Promoting engagement through tracked user progress

Learners have the ability to create personal accounts where engagement can be tracked and referenced throughout the experience, allowing them to take in content at their own pace and feel a sense of progress. Content can also be easily saved and referenced at any time.

A screen showing that the Stigma topic is half completed.
A screen showing learning modules the user has saved to their profile
A screen showing the relationship topic with its sub topics and indicators to show which sections have been completed.
A playful display to keep track of your progress within the lesson plans
A desktop view of the Relationships topic, showing the sub topics and completion status of each topic.
  • 597K of people are living with dementia in Canada as of 2020
  • 61.8% of those living with dementia are women
Forge is a ‘dream team’! They developed an award-winning, multi-media digital learning experience about dementia-related stigma that deepens learners’ engagement. Despite the ever increasing complexities of its design and build, their team never disappointed – they model the very best of efficiency, ingenuity, and participatory design.
Pia Kontos, PhD, Senior Scientist, Professor

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Out At Home

Services Deliverables
  • Video Production

An empowering training tool for home care workers

‘Out at Home’ is an educational video created for the University Health Network in association with the University of Guelph and Western University. Developed for use in training for those who work with the aging LGBTQ+ population in their homes, including nurses, personal support workers (PSWs), and other home care providers. Currently, no formal education exists surrounding the care of individuals from this marginalized and vulnerable community, which has frequently led to substandard and even detrimental treatment.

Sharing heartfelt and emotional stories

We created a brand for the project that appeared throughout the video, including a title introduction and all on-screen graphics. The established brand identity provides cohesion, clarity of information, and a final polish to the finished product that easily extends to further applications.

Interviews with representatives of the community

Illustrating the importance of good care

The video is an emotionally engaging introduction to this important topic, providing insight into the history and background of the LGBTQ+ community and how this has impacted them as they’ve aged. It shares heartfelt stories of how poor home care has affected them and how it needs to change. It also contextualizes practical information from other care workers in the industry on what should be improved, how to go about it, and how simple it is. Dramatizations directly illustrate what good care looks like and helps to humanize the topic into relatable scenarios. These elements come together to establish an effective training tool that is approachable, respectful and thought-provoking.

Awards

  • So(cial) Good Design (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Winner, 2022.

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Stillwater Spa

Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Brand Guide
  • Marketing Materials
  • Stationery
  • Illustration
  • Placemaking

Redefining a sophisticated spa experience

Park Hyatt Toronto recently underwent a massive four-year renovation to redefine and reimagine the modern luxury hotel experience. Located in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, Park Hyatt offers timeless sophistication across all hotel amenities and spaces. With the hotel’s extensive transformation, an opportunity to rebrand Park Hyatt’s Stillwater Spa arose. Forge worked closely with the teams at Oxford Properties and Hyatt to ensure the branding captured the luxurious nature of the spa.

Logo inspired by the soft touch of watercolours
An image showing the safe space around the Stillwater Spa logo
Clear space requirements and a delicate colour palette to support the brand
A letterform of the letter A for the font Senlot
A letterform of the letter A for the font Sweet Sans Pro
Classy fonts for this high-end spa

Curating moments of calm and tranquility

Stillwater Spa is an oasis of urban tranquillity — a sanctuary where guests discover true serenity and balance through a hyper-personalized experience. We sought to explore ways to incorporate this curated aspect of the spa into the brand. What resulted was a distinct and elegant identity with ever-evolving watercolour brush strokes, enhancing the rejuvenation and refreshing sense of the brand.

Gift cards and packaging
Stationery and spa menu

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Liberty House

Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Brand Guide
  • Marketing Materials
  • Stationery
  • Signage
  • Wayfinding
  • Uniforms
  • Placemaking
  • Masterplanning

Fostering a culture of community within a community

Equipped with luxury amenities and stylish spaces, Liberty House is an elevated rental development that strives to provide a community-focused lifestyle for all residents. To fill a gap in the purpose-built rental space, Fitzrovia aimed to build high-quality rental units with desirable amenity packages marketed to the millennial renter. Forge worked with Fitzrovia Real Estate to define a name and develop a brand for this new property.

A preliminary sketch for the Liberty House logo
The Liberty House logo seen aligned to a grid
Preliminary sketch and a well structured logo for a fun brand
A sophisticated colour palette
A letterform of the letter A for the font Univers Ultra Condensed.
A letterform of the letter A for the font Univers.
Stylistic typography to communicate to the millennial audience

Resonating with the millennial renter

Seeking to evoke the community aspect of the property, the name Liberty House reflects the idea of one’s family all under one roof. The name also echoes the sense of pride and unity created by the development’s unique spaces, program offerings and amenities. Liberty House offers luxury living within reach to its residents.

Uniforms
Promotional materials and stationery

Luxury within reach

The property speaks to those looking for an aspirational lifestyle while remaining accessible to the young millennial renter. Curated elements of luxury are present in the buildings offerings and mirrored through the use of carefully chosen materials and custom flourishes throughout the signage program.

Custom pictograms to add flair to the signage program
Parking signage
Room signage, directional signage and floor ID’s
  • 290K sq. ft. of premium rental living space
  • 440 high-end rental units
  • 25 stories tall tower

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Town of Newmarket

Services Deliverables
  • Community Report
  • Marketing Materials
  • Photography Art Direction
  • Placemaking

Crafting a sense of community

Located just north of Toronto, the Town of Newmarket is a bustling community of urban growth that curates a small-town feel for its residents while also providing the amenities of a bigger city. Looking to expand economic development and growth, the town engaged Forge and GCI Canada to develop and create a campaign centred around the concept of ‘live, work and play.’

Community report showcasing everything Newmarket has to offer its residents

Urban, suburban community pride

In support of this envisioned future, our team led the campaign strategy and crafted a comprehensive set of communications materials consisting of print collateral, photography and social media assets to promote a sense of community pride and capture the true nature of the Town.

Positioning a forward-thinking brand

As a result of our collective efforts, we have established the Town of Newmarket as a preferred community within the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) for economic development investment and effectively positioned their brand at both local and regional levels as a forerunner in creative urban, suburban community building.

A fun, playful morph board was created for use by the busines team
  • 90K+ population of Newmarket
  • 33% of residents are immigrants
  • 48K jobs in Newmarket
  • 41 average age of residents

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Constitution Square

Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Brand Guide
  • Illustration
  • Hoarding
  • Brochure
  • Motion Graphics
  • Social Media
  • Kiosk
  • Signage
  • Wayfinding
  • Art Installation
  • Marketing Materials
  • Placemaking
  • Masterplanning
  • Video Production
  • Stationery
  • Website

Reimagining a workplace experience for a new era

Constitution Square is an upscale office complex in the west end of downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It is an amenity-rich space that promotes connectivity and fosters community while conveying a sense of pride in supporting the ever-changing workplace experience. The Canderel team looked to Forge to bring this vision of a holistic workplace to life through brand, physical and digital signage, interactive displays, and digital public art.

A playful logo for a serious office building
A preliminary sketch for the CSQ logo
Logo inspired by the three towers of the building and a simple colour palette to support the brand
Ownable typography to define all communications

Communicating an evolution to a modern audience

The newly established brand adds a sense of liveliness and forward-thinking reflected in the building’s vision—adopting a more casual tone of voice and a visual identity that is modern, friendly and relatable.

Custom illustrations to communicate all things about the brand
Bold hoarding to build suspense during construction
Digital brochure for sales team
Social media and poster campaign to promote the changes

Establishing a strong sense of community and space

Our team developed design solutions that ensured an intuitive understanding of the connectivity of the three towers throughout the newly renovated concourse. The foremost opportunity was to create a strong sense of place and clear awareness of which of the three towers you were in, regardless of which entrance was used.

Interactive building directory integrated into signage program
Bold signage to identify each of the three towers
Consistent signage application throughout the entire building complex

Art as a reflection of brand values

At the heart of each building’s lobby is a 4-sided LED column featuring a series of custom-crafted artwork that ties directly into the brand’s themes of Gather, Grow, Connect, Evolve. The three pillars create a symmetry between the buildings as you walk the concourse, and their impressive presence infuses the space with a sense of palpable energy and vivid life. They further underpin Canderel’s desire to make these public common areas a pleasant place to work and dwell.

Enhancing the lobby experience through a digital art installation on three centre columns
Digital art installation in action
  • 1986 year of completion of first tower
  • 1M+ sq. ft. office complex
  • 21 floors of highest tower
  • 3 towers that make up CSQ

More case studies

Southlake Regional Health Centre

Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Strategic Plan
  • Brand Guide
  • Photography Art Direction
  • Community Report

Shaping the future of healthcare at Southlake

Southlake Regional Health Centre, located in Newmarket, Ontario, is a full-service hospital, providing advanced levels of care to more than one million people living in surrounding communities. Looking to launch a leading-edge strategic plan capturing the hospital’s dedication to shaping the future of healthcare, the Southlake team turned to Forge for visual design and campaign creation to support and evolve internal and external marketing materials for the next five years.

Strategic Plan design including custom photoshoot within hospital

Building healthy communities

To position Southlake as a top healthcare provider, leading-edge in both research and technology, Forge created a distinct visual treatment and messaging direction. The intention was to evoke an authentic sense of emotion while highlighting the people and culture of the hospital and reinforcing the key message of “We’re by your side”.

Reinforcing the human element of care

Forge continued to evolve the Southlake brand by developing a complete set of brand guidelines that established identity usage, colour specifications, typography direction, photography style, and recommendations around creating communication collateral.

The old Southlake Regional Health Centre logo
The new Southlake Regional Health Centre logo
Original identity and evolved identity
Business card and letterhead

Reinforcing the human element of care

Southlake’s newly launched brand experience captured the simplicity of emotional interactions and strengthened the hospital’s dedication to patient and provider care. The creative direction of the campaign reinforced the hospital’s commitment to providing outstanding care to surrounding communities.

  • 560K+ sq. ft. of hospital space
  • $500M annual operating budget
  • 400 patient beds
  • 6K people employed at hospital

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The Mews

Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Brand Guide
  • Stationery
  • Marketing Materials
  • Placemaking
  • Signage

Engaging the interconnectivity of people and community

The Mews is an exciting new mixed-use development located in the east end of Toronto’s downtown core, designed and developed by Fitzrovia Real Estate and Hariri Pontarini Architects. Offering more than a place to live, this development features residential, retail and outdoor spaces connected through numerous pathways. The team at Fitzrovia aimed to name, brand and position this memorable community as a trendy destination for both residents and tourists while elevating the surrounding neighbourhood of Toronto’s Queen Street East.

Logo design inspired by herringbone courtyard flooring
A preliminary logo sketch for The Mews
Preliminary sketch and organic colour palette
Typography to support custom logo font

Merging classic with contemporary

At the outset of the project, Forge worked with Fitzrovia to understand the desired feeling of the brand, ensuring this essence translated seamlessly to the name and visual interpretation of the development’s identity. The selected name, The Mews, reflects the European-style pedestrian pathways once lined with carriage houses or stables.

Stationery and promotional material design

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Winterberry Family Medicine

winterberrymedical.ca
Services Deliverables
  • Logo
  • Brand Guide
  • Illustration
  • Social Media
  • Signage
  • Stationery
  • Website
  • Marketing Materials
  • Motion Graphics
  • Placemaking

A fresh take on personal, caring family medicine

Winterberry is a dynamic, family-oriented medical clinic offering a wide variety of services through trusted in-person and virtual consultations. The Winterberry team approached Forge to revitalize and reposition their brand and website. The existing brand did not accurately represent the personalized care provided by the vibrant family practice team.

Logo design inspired by “berries”
An image showing the safe space around the Winterberry logo
Colour palette for Winterberry brand: Teal, light teal, orange, yellow, cherry, lime, blue.
Our brand standards defined everything including use of clear space and a bright colour palette supports the family style medical practice
A letterform of the letter A for the font IBM Plex Sans Condensed.
A letterform of the letter A for the font IBM Plex Sans.
A letterform of the letter A for the font Libre Baskerville in italics.
Clean and modern typography to convey the messages to all audiences

Redefining the healthcare experience

Forge met with Winterberry stakeholders to determine the existing brand’s pain points and developed a strategy to make the most of the reimagined brand. Playful illustration expresses the brand’s personality and allows the clinic to stand out from their competitors.

Custom illustration were created to liven up the brand
A matching icon set supports all brand visuals

Timely information for a thriving social network

Communicating with existing patients through social media allows the Winterberry team to share frequent updates on current and immediate information regarding statistics, scheduling, healthcare tips, and more. A comprehensive social media production guide was created for the internal marketing team to easily create content in a consistent tone and voice.

Social media production guide for use by in-house team
Social media graphics samples

A sense of trust and approachability

Ensuring the brand could be applied to various touchpoints and deliverables was crucial, as well as creating a welcoming environment that evokes the feeling of dependability and trust in all patients.

Window clings announced the new brand to the neighbourhood
ID Badges for their team and stationery including colourful business cards

Shaping the online experience

Content strategy sessions were held with the goal of optimizing information and ensuring users are presented with the most appropriate content with minimal effort. Before establishing a visual language, website architecture was established in order to improve communications and create a frictionless browsing experience.

Sitemap for the new website
Hand sketched wireframes

Modern, progressive patient care

An overhauled website was created that is fully responsive, and ensures accessibility compliance for all user types. The brand’s vibrance is showcased throughout the website experience, representing the best of modern and progressive patient care.

Features

WordPress CMS
User account portal
Online appointment booking
Monthly newsletter
Google analytics
Custom icons

Device agnostic website design and development
  • 400% anticipated growth in patients over next 5 years
  • 10K+ current number of patients
Working with the Forge team quickly became one of the best parts of my week. The entire team made the process incredibly easy, stress-free and to be honest, fun. Their creativity and innovative ideas brought our vision to life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Sharon Ricci, Communications Director

More case studies