The Challenge
The Juno Awards have gathered and celebrated the nation’s best music, arts, and culture annually since 1970. But Vancouver has only hosted the awards show a handful of times despite being one of the biggest cities in the country.
So when they announced it was coming back to Vancouver, it was a big deal. We were approached to develop the awards ceremony’s unique branding — and we knew we had to inject some West Coast flare. Not only was it an opportunity to refresh the brand, but it was a special chance to remind the country what makes this coastal city so illustrious.
The TWYST
What gives Vancouver its TWYST? Some might say the food, and others might say the mild seasons. But what’s most widely renowned is how Vancouver is where the mountains meet the sea. That’s why we chose this spectacular scene to set the stage at the Junos.
The Solution
We developed a strong, West Coast-inspired brand by first carefully curating photography. Knowing that we’d apply the brand to a variety of mediums, we sought out images that showcased Vancouver’s natural beauty, but also had a generous amount of whitespace to make it possible to double as a design canvas.
Since the gala was happening in the evening, we layered creative treatments onto the photos to give the visual identity the feeling of watching a serene sunset. We filled the sky with stars to bring through the existing brand’s essence, subtly symbolizing the awards’ glitz.
Finally, we strategically introduced triangles as a foundational element of the brand suite. Within the overall concept, we crafted them into mountains by superimposing photos onto them as a snowcap. Across other deliverables, the triangles framed photos, textures, and copy.
By purposefully adapting each design element for every medium — print materials, videos, signage, and beyond — the Juno Awards were revitalized and welcomed to Vancouver with a cohesive, coastal brand.
