A B-Side BY Armin

Musée de la Civilisation

About: (Est. 1984) The Les Musées de la civilisation à Québec (Museum of Civilization of Quebec) is a museum located in Quebec City, Canada. “The Musée de la civilisation links the past, the present and the future. While remaining strongly rooted in the reality of Québec, it projects a new, attentive and dynamic outlook on all of human experience in its whole, and on civilizations from the world over.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Charlie Brown called, he wants his sweater stripe back. Kidding aside, decent evolution. Bigger view of the logo and sub-brands as well as introduction video below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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Opinion BY Armin

Blackletter by the Bay

Established in 1670 — making it North America’s “longest continually operated company” — Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) is the parent company of one of Canada’s most recognizable and visited department stores, Hudson’s Bay, with 90 locations across the country, known and identified simply as The Bay since 1965. In 2008, HBC was acquired by U.S. private equity firm, NRDC Equity Partners, owner of department store Lord & Taylor. Although the new wordmark for Hudson’s Bay has been circulating since late last year, last week HBC officially announced that the department store would change its name from The Bay (La Baie in French) to Hudson’s Bay (La Baie d’Hudson) and confirmed the new wordmark designed by New York-based Lipman as well as a revival of its original coat of arms drawn by Canadian scratchboard artist Mark Summers.

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Space Channel

About: (Est. 1997) “Space is a Canadian Category A specialty channel owned and operated by Bell Media. It features science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming including films, documentaries, scripted television series and more. SPACE originally used the subtitle The Imagination Station following its name; it is still sometimes used informally by fans today.” (Source: Wikipedia).

Design by: Bell Media Agency.

Ed.’s Notes: I don’t think the old logo was good (it wasn’t) but this new version is as dry as certain parts of earth. A brief montage of new shows shown below (or after the jump) hints at some potential though. A few more clips are available here

Relevant links: Long story on Marketing Magazine. Bell Media press release.

Select quote: “Space’s new logo reflects the channel’s more earthly focus, losing the previous galactic swirl in favour of all lowercase letters inside a sphere. In promo spots, the logo is placed on real-life items that relate to specific shows. For example, for Being Human, there’s a blood splatter with the Space logo on it.”

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Opinion BY Armin

Pork Served Three Ways

Established in 1961 and based in Ange-Gardien, Canada, F. Menard (in summary) produces pork and poultry products. (In length) it has three distinct operations within the industry: (1) F. Ménard proper, dedicated to the breeding of hogs; (2) Agromex, the “processing” unit (i.e., slaughtering, to the tune of 21,500 pigs per week); and (3) Boucherie 235, a retail butcher shop for consumers in Ange-Gardien. Tying all three operations together, F. Ménard recently introduced a new identity designed by Montréal-based lg2.

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Government of Saskatchewan

About: “Saskatchewan became a province of Canada on September 1, 1905. Located between Alberta to the west and Manitoba to the east, its boundaries extend from the US border along the 49th parallel to the border with the Northwest Territories along the 60th parallel. Saskatchewan covers 6.5% of Canada, an area of 651,036 square kilometres. Of this, 591,670 square kilometres are land and 59,366 square kilometres are covered by water.” [Way more…].

Design by: Brace yourselves, “The newer logo was developed and tweaked by a number of agencies and organizations over the years, including Regina’s H.J. Linnen and the Phoenix Group, and government agency Enterprise Saskatchewan. The most recent adjustments were made by Saskatoon-based Kinetic design agency.”

Ed.’s Notes: This logo has sparked a controversy because (A) people seem to really really like the wheat sheaf icon; (B) it’s not just a new logo, but it’s a third logo that is used along with a seal and the wheat sheaf icon and there is a bunch of rules about which one is used where; and (C ) “The New Democrats are criticizing the provincial government’s new logo because it uses the Saskatchewan Party’s green-and-yellow colour scheme,” calling it sneaky and inappropriate. I’ll simplify things for all ya’ll Saskatchewans: the logo sucks, that’s why it’s controversial.

Relevant links: Design Edge story. CBC story. Huffington Post story.

Thanks to Aylwin Lo for first tip.

Friday Likes BY Armin

Friday Likes 30

The first Friday Likes of the year come from Canada, The Netherlands, and Mexico and provide a good mix of lighthearted and serious and hand-made and computer-made.

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Air Canada Rouge

About: (Est. 2012) Rouge is “Air Canada’s new leisure airline with stylishly affordable service to holiday spots in Europe and the Caribbean. Benefit from Air Canada’s extensive network for smooth connections to flights departing daily from Toronto and Montreal. Service begins July 1, 2013. It’s time to go more. “

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Wow. That is bad. I would excuse how bad it was if at least they would have actually taken the time to hand-letter it instead of just using a font — or if they did hand-letter it (because I really have no idea what font that is, I’m just assuming) then they should have made different letterforms for the repeating characters in “Rouge” and “go more”. Terrible. Livery and logo-on-balloons images below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Meet Air Canada Rouge.

Select quote: “Air Canada rouge embodies the best of Air Canada including reliability, trustworthiness, top safety standards and a name and iconic brand that represents ‘Canada. The name was tested in major Canadian cities. Canadians said the name and colors spoke to the color Canada is known for: red, a color they link to warmth, fun and excitement. Air Canada rouge also represents Canada’s two official languages.”

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Rexall

About: (Est. 1904, Canada) “Katz Group Canada Ltd. is a leading drugstore operator with a dynamic history of innovation and growth. Our flagship chain, Rexall, is among the most trusted names in pharmacy with a heritage of serving the health care needs of the community through patient and medication services and quality health products since 1904. Katz Group Canada Ltd. is proudly Canadian owned and operated with more than 400 convenient Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus locations across Central and Western Canada and more than 8,500 employees.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: No press release and no change on their site yet, but their store in the renovated First Canadian Place in Toronto shows the new logo (below or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

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Opinion BY Armin

TVA Embraces Gradients

Established in 1971, TVA is a communications company with two main businesses: (1) television, where it operates the most viewed network in Quebec that includes the namesake channel as well as eight other specialty channels, and (2) publishing, where they produce over 75 magazines, making it the largest publisher of French-language magazines in Quebec. Last week TVA introduced a new logo for its parent company, TVA Groupe, its television channel, and it will continue into the rest of its properties in the coming months. The identity was designed by global agency Sid Lee.

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Opinion BY Armin

Shaw and Awe

Established in 1971, Shaw Communications is a Canadian communications and media company that provides broadband cable television, Internet, home phone, telecommunications services, and satellite direct-to-home services to over 3.4 million customers combined. They also operate 18 specialty networks, including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY and Showcase. As I think I understand it, Shaw ranks fourth in the telecom business in Canada behind giants Bell, Rogers, and Telus, all of whom have very strong presence so Shaw needs any help it can get to get chosen by customers. Yesterday, they introduced a refreshed logo, a new tagline — “You won’t miss a thing.” — new national TV commercial by Vancouver-based Rethink, and a couple of new mascots, Bit and Bud.

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Jos. Louis

About: Jos. Louis is a popular and long-standing snack in Canada produced by Vachon. It is officially described as “Delicious sponge cake with vanilla-flavoured creme filling coated in a chocolatey layer.”

Design by: 123Klan.

Ed.’s Notes: Old and new boxes below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: 123Klan project page.

Select Quote: As for the new Jos Louis logo, it’s inspired by the actual cake: it features a creamy fat dark brown outline (chocolate icing), a second outline of a lighter brown (sponge cake), white letters (cream). The crown is a reference to Jos Louis’ status as the best-known/most sold snack cake in Canada.

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Opinion BY Armin

Pixelated Education

Established in 1955 in Victoria, BC, Canada, Royal Roads University (RRU) is a small, public university with about 2,500 students who study through a blend of on-site and online education to gain doctorate, graduate and undergraduate degrees. Perhaps RRU’s biggest claim to fame is its photogenic Hatley Castle, which doubled as Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in two X-Men films. Back in June, RRU introduced a new identity designed by Canadian marketing agency Cossette.

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HGTV Canada

Launched in 1997, HGTV (short for Home & Garden Television) is a Canadian (and American) channel that is described by itself as “the hottest address for the most compelling and entertaining stories about the connections people have with the places they call home.” Hottest. Yeah! Basically you just watch it to see if you paid too much for your house or if you are the only tool (as in dumbass not the physical thing in a shed or box) that gets screwed (no pun intended) by their contractors. The Canadian version redesigned its logo in July to match the American version and also introduced a new on-air graphics package designed by Toronto-based Tendril. On-air video below (or after the jump). For an in-depth look at the typography see this Fonts In Use post.

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OLN

Launched in 1997, OLN (originally Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian television channel owned by Rogers Media “offering viewers a one-stop destination for adrenaline pumping action and adventure entertainment” with original reality, adventure, and travel series, and sporting events. A new logo was introduced recently. No design credit given and no press release issued.

Thanks to Shawn for the tip.

In Brief BY Armin

In Brief: Know Canada

In the latest installment of the now popular Studio360 Redesigns series — past subjects include “Teachers” and Valentine’s Day — the radio show hosted by Kurt Andersen has looked North for inspiration: Redesign Canada. They tasked Bruce Mau Design with the brief to “fix the image problem Canada has here in the United States,” who instead of responding with a new identity decided the problem wasn’t with their country but with the United States: “Canada doesn’t need a redesign,” BMD explains in this thorough PDF, “America needs an education.” Their proposal, Know Canada, uses the very recognizable red bars of the Canadian flag as a frame for everything from twenty-first-century icons to inventions to actual places and people. The solution is simple, smart, and highly expandable — plus, there is not a maple leaf in sight. A few highlights of the work included in this post.

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Bravo (Canada)

Launched in 1995, Bravo in Canada is a cable channel owned by Bell Media, who licensed the name from NBCUniversal. Bravo shows a range of programs from other channels like TNT and USA, along with some minor original content. A new logo was introduced recently. If the type were any tighter the letters would need to get a room.

Thanks to Shawn for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Saint Paul University

Established in 1965, Saint Paul University (Université Saint-Paul in French) is a Catholic and bilingual (French/English) institution in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with less than 1,000 students. A new logo was introduced recently. Promo campaign video below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

TFO Rules

Originally launched in 1985 as La Chaîne Française, TFO (Télé-Française d’Ontario), as it was renamed in 1995, is a Canadian French-language educational and cultural public service television channel owned by the Government of Ontario. TFO has a dual focus on children programming as well as documentaries and other cultural programming for adults. The channel is now one component of the larger Groupe Média TFO, which produces web series and content for other partners. This February, TFO introduced a new identity designed by Toronto-based Lowe Roche.

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SOCAN

Established in 1990, SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) represents and works with more than 100,000 Canadian composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers “to protect, preserve and promote the performing rights of music creators.” At the end of January SOCAN introduced a new logo. Story here.

Opinion BY Armin

Western University: Less Pixelated, More Boring

Established in 1878 in London, Ontario Canada, The University of Western Ontario is one of the largest universities in Canada with over 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students combined and more than 1,300 faculty. Last week they announced a change to their brand name, to Western University, and introduced a new identity designed by Toronto-based Hahn Smith Design and execution of the crest and typography by local type craftsman Ian Brignell.

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