Describing Design
I’ve always been a writer first.
My team will tell you that I am definitely not a designer. In my head, I can see all kinds of beautiful images and designs. I think that’s why my writing style tends to be very visual-heavy. I’m always trying to describe something I can see. But goodness gracious am I ever bad at the actual art part.
When the City of Edmonton decided to pursue hosting the 2030 Gay Games, we partnered with Explore Edmonton to develop a logo and visual identity system for the city’s bid package.
It was one of our first “design-first” projects. We’d only recently hired our Art Director, Andrea, full time. She was mostly working on supporting content projects that were already in our shop. But here was an opportunity we’d been dreaming about—a chance to build our design portfolio.
Things moved very fast. We had less than a week to turn around a finished brand identity. We needed an idea quickly, and it had to be good.
Here at Adverb, we believe that collaboration isn’t an optional part of creativity. It’s necessary to the process. We believe that no matter how good our ideas are, if we work together with the people around us, we can make it better. Even by just one percent.
It takes all kinds of courage, vulnerability and patience to put your ideas out there. We work on it all the time. It’s important to us.
So, one Monday evening, with a looming deadline at the end of the week, Andrea and I sat on the phone for hours trying to come up with the right idea. It was summer time, and I spent the call pacing in circles in my back yard, trying to find the idea.
I’ve never been good at describing design. To be honest, I find it pretty intimidating. I can second guess my words and stumble over how to share what I’m imagining. But when you have the right collaborative space, you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to try.
So I pitched something: a map of the city, bisected by a rainbow flag inspired by the shape of North Saskatchewan River, which runs through the heart of Edmonton. A symbol that is instantly recognizable—both for the city and the 2SLGBTQIA+ movement.
And Andrea picked up on it. We started to get excited. Building on each other’s ideas. The idea turned into a sketch. Then into a logo. And finally, into a brand system. Together, we made something that I think is very, very special.
Two years later, this project has been recognized at the local and national levels. We won our first-ever design award, an Award of Excellence for Graphic Design at the IABC Edmonton Capital Awards. Then, we won an Award of Merit for Graphic Design at the IABC Canada Silver Leaf Awards.
When we collaborate with honesty, trust and respect for each other, we can create things we could never make alone.
There’s nothing better.