Overview
Since 1971, the Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) has dedicated itself to become a national, multidisciplinary scientific and educational organization to provide leadership in matters related to the aging population. As a registered Canadian charity, the 50-year mark is something to celebrate! And what better way to celebrate than to create a fully refreshed visual identity to accompany the brand-new publication celebrating five decades of member accomplishments, milestones, and history.
The Challenge
This 50-year national brand refresh required a new look and while maintaining an entire institutional story at the same time. As a national Canadian organization, any new identity had to incorporate both English and French (CAG and ACG) without favoring one over the other. The challenge was to refresh the brand’s identity including a new official logo, as well as create a 50-year celebratory logo.
The Solution
CAG wanted to ensure their official logo was a bilingual design to be inclusive of both official languages (English and French). The visual identity I created solved the fundamental bilingual branding challenge. While the English and French acronyms share the exact same three letters, their traditional left-to-right reading order changes from CAG to ACG. The new logo bypasses that conflict through a non-linear, stacked arrangement. By removing a defined top or bottom, the letters adapt to the viewer and read seamlessly in both official languages.
The refreshed colour palette moved away from a flat, dull purple to a rich, deep purple paired with plum and bright magenta accents that gave the brand a lively feel. From there, the logo system was built out so it would look perfect anywhere – whether stacked vertically, stretched horizontally, or placed on light versus dark backgrounds – in English, French, or both languages combined. For the organization’s 50th anniversary, a special, limited-edition version of the logo was created featuring a commemorative flair.
