Stokely Design Associates Inc. assists corporations and organizations in bringing their brands to life. Our mission is to help our clients communicate clearly and effectively, whether we're creating an integrated program or a single piece. Our range is broad. We develop distinctive corporate identities and effective brochures. We design and produce annual reports, catalogues and signage that command attention. We design and art-direct a broad range of publications, marketing materials, email programs and websites. We invite you to explore the samples of our Work in these pages, and see how we've been helping clients communicate clearly since 1996. Then contact us, and let's discuss how SDAI can help you.
Stokely Design Associates Inc.
174 Spadina Avenue
Suite 512
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 2C2
T. 416.703.3717
F. 416.703.3718
info@stokelydesign.com
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Latest Work
Telling the story with impact
Advanced research, innovative technologies, and ground-breaking ways to bring medical advances to market are all part of the important work of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. To help tell this vital story, the OICR turned to Stokely Design Associates Inc. for its most recent annual report. Our approach was to make the OICR’s mission come to life with a powerful series of show-and-tell illustrated stories. Using large, impactful photographs and detailed text, we were able to highlight not only the important work of the Institute, but many of the leading doctors, scientists and technicians who are actually doing the work. The response from all of the Institute's stakeholders has been nothing short of outstanding, all for a very good reason: The report delivers the message.
East meets West in a corporate logo
A corporate visual identity – anchored by the corporate logo or wordmark – should truly express an organization’s character and personality. And that was our goal when Stokely Design Associates was commissioned to develop the logo for HanOcci Group Inc. Established this year, HanOcci Group provides mining resource advisory services and asset management, and is based in Vancouver and Toronto. The company’s name combines the words for the Han Dynasty and the Occident, or western world. So our design for HanOcci’s corporate logo suggests elements of both the East and the West. The colours were carefully chosen for their positive connotations in both Chinese and western society, and the circle with its lines represents both the world of mining and the East and West coming together. For the founders of HanOcci, the final design is an accurate reflection of the company itself – conveying a sense of intelligence, elegance and professionalism.
The elegant evolution of a brand
It was a communications challenge that required an evolution – not a revolution. Over the years, Toronto-based HomesAway had developed a glowing reputation by offering vacationers some of the world’s most luxurious villas, primarily in Europe. The brand was respected, its clients were loyal, and HomesAway could justifiably describe itself as “the gold standard in luxury villa travel since 1990.” But then another company with a similar name acquired the rights to the HomesAway name, and the Canadian company needed to create a new name – while preserving the best qualities of its brand. Our design solution was to maintain the look of the former HomesAway wordmark, including the typography, while adapting it to suit the new Hosted Villas name. The result is an evolved wordmark that still appears familiar to clients, and that works well in all of the company's print and online communications.
Innovative signage for an innovation centre
Stokely Design Associates Inc. created a permanent donor wall for MaRS that is professional and easily updateable, and integrates seamlessly with the building’s architecture. It features high-quality printed material, positioned between sheets of tempered glass, and then fixed to the entrance wall. Now, when new donors are to be recognized, the panels are updated, reprinted, and installed. The entire process is easy and cost-effective, and the signage helps to bring to life the bold and modern brand of MaRS.
Surprise and delight in a new wordmark
Suzan Bianchi is a Toronto-based multi-media content strategist and copywriter, known for her creativity, lively writing style, and playful sense of humour. When she wanted to develop a visual identity for her new company, Wordhouse Communications Inc., she turned to Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI). “Explaining my mission statement was easy,” she says. “So was describing my clients and core strengths.” Her company’s services include copywriting for both online and offline projects, video, podcasts, radio spots, Search Engine Optimization copywriting, and consulting. “But it was hard to nail down the feeling I wanted the Wordhouse identity to convey,” Suzan adds. As a start, she suggested that the primary colour could be silver/blue or gray/blue, and that a secondary colour might be yellow. At SDAI, we accepted Suzan’s challenge to surprise her – and developed the Wordhouse wordmark using bright pink complemented by grey. Not only her reaction but also the comments of her clients confirmed our decision to explore the unexpected.
Adding graphic power to a serious message
Toronto-based Vestacon was encountering a problem in the marketplace: Companies were using outdated information about the costs of leasehold improvements, and they needed to hear the updated reality. To give clarity and strength to its message, Vestacon turned to Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI). “Costs have been going up steadily, and the key for leaseholders is to budget carefully and work closely with their project manager every step of the way,” said Vestacon’s Dan Passera. For SDAI, the project involved researching and designing a “white paper” to set out the facts about the cost of construction today, and then designing a PowerPoint presentation that Vestacon could use to make its case. The SDAI solution included a graphically powerful position paper to carry the detailed facts, including a series of graphs and tables, plus a PowerPoint presentation that would help Vestacon explain the costs of construction today – and how to budget for them. The result? “A great success,” said Vestacon founder Dan Passera.
Classic design for a vital research vehicle
Complex messages are often communicated best through straightforward, classic design. And that’s the approach that Stokely Design Associates Inc. took when we first created Joint Ventures, the Canadian Arthritis Network’s acclaimed newsletter. Some 11 years after its development, Joint Ventures retains its essential design – a testament to the timeless quality of SDAI’s approach. The newsletter is produced as an English/French flip, with eight pages in each language. Among its key features is the typeface Bembo, an elegant and easy-to-read serif font that was first cut in 1495; a modern and fresh colour palette; a flexible three-column grid; and ample white space, which makes it easy for people to download and print PDFs of the newsletter. “While the newsletter’s design hasn’t changed,” says the Canadian Arthritis Network’s Stacey Johnson, “each issue is carefully art-directed. And we especially appreciate the attention to detail that SDAI brings to each issue.”
One design, two ways to connect with employees
To keep Hydro One’s province-wide work force informed about its ongoing efforts to improve customer satisfaction, the company’s Customer Care and Corporate Communications teams worked closely with Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI) to meet its communications objectives. The biannual newsletter that SDAI designed, called Customer Connect, communicates easily whether it’s printed or posted electronically. Its design also aligns with Hydro One’s overall corporate design standards, but is still distinct from the company’s regular employee newsletter, Current.
A true balance of form and function
“At SGH Design Partners, we’re all about balance,” says Monika Sarkisian, Partner-in-Charge of Design and Quality Management. “Balance not only describes how we believe projects should be executed, but it also represents our efforts to create a work/life balance.” And that was the starting point when SGH engaged Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI) to develop its new website. Toronto-based SGH has been transforming office interiors for clients across Canada and the U.S. It was important for the new site to highlight the projects that SGH has completed but the site also had to capture the attention of the first-time visitor (and prospective client) immediately, and truly reflect the firm’s philosophy. To welcome the visitor, SDAI created an impactful home page that features three large photos that rotate, each with a powerful statement reflecting SGH’s work and its philosophy of serving clients. One, for example, reads: “BALANCE, The perfect blend of form and function.” Beyond the home page, SDAI also developed straightforward and intuitive navigation, easy-to-read text, and an easy-to-use section that features SGH’s projects with several photos of each.
Introducing the “rising stars” of cancer research
A key mission of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research is to strengthen the province’s research capabilities – and that includes attracting the “rising stars of the scientific world.” For OICR’s 2009/2010 Annual Report, Stokely Design Associates Inc. created a series of custom illustrations to help convey that message and to highlight “the next generation of cancer researchers.” Visually striking, colourful illustrations were used to unify the report graphically, starting with its front cover. Full-page illustrations were also created for three larger sections of the report: Highlights, Monitoring Results, and The Next Generation. We then designed full-page profiles for 10 of these younger scientists, with a colour photograph of each researcher. The overall result is a pleasing, well-integrated report that helps brings the Institute’s important work to life.
High standards in healthcare communications
SDAI’s extensive experience in healthcare communications provided a solid base for understanding the subject matter and the brochure’s audiences. First, the brochure was to provide key stakeholders with information on Roche Canada’s pharmaceutical and diagnostic successes, and its efforts as a socially responsible company. That meant communicating how Roche brings value to patients and the medical community with new therapies – drugs that actually change the landscape of treatment. SDAI’s design included dramatic full-colour photographs, strong captions, and easy-to-read text. The primary piece of communications is a 32-page brochure, with in-depth information on Roche Canada and its innovations. From this, a 12-page version was also created that provides a high-level overview and is less expensive to produce and distribute. SDAI also created electronic versions (PDFs) with active website links.
Bringing art to the science of medicine
The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research is known internationally – “recognized around the world for its leadership in cancer research,” as it was put by Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation. For its latest Annual Report, the Institute wanted to communicate the concept of “personalized medicine,” and chose Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI) to design and produce the 36-page report.The idea behind “personalized medicine” is that every cancer patient needs to be considered, and treated, in a unique way. As the 2010/2011 Annual Report explains, “cancer is a complex disease that differs even among patients with the same type of tumour.” To express the concept, SDAI selected a Toronto illustrator, Sandra Dionisi, to create dramatic, stylized pieces for the front cover of the report as well as several of the major sections – including “Discoveries, translation, and clinical impact,” “Monitoring results,” and of course “Personalized medicine.” The illustrations include likenesses of people – including patients as well as medical and research personnel – plus drawings of scientific and medical equipment, graphic symbols and maps, all rendered in a sophisticated colour palette.
Making the customers the stars
MCAP is one of Canada’s largest independent mortgage financing companies – and a major reason for its success is its ongoing business with mortgage brokers. So communicating MCAP’s commitment to the brokerage community is a key priority. The ads were to be bilingual, in full colour, and designed for trade publications. And there were some specific challenges. The ads had to transition smoothly from existing branding, without deviating too strongly. SDAI had to work with a theme that had already been developed for the year – which focused on the business goals of the mortgage brokers. Because MCAP’s target audience was primarily “male, action-oriented and high-energy,” the SDAI team highlighted a different sport in each ad, with impactful original art. Each ad dealt with a specific business goal – such as “Enhancing profitability,” “Building the business,” and “Enhancing service.” Strong headlines and copy clearly supported MCAP’s point that the mortgage broker is “the star,” and MCAP’s role is to provide assistance. And to further strengthen the campaign’s impact, each ad was placed during the relevant sport’s season – winter for hockey, spring for golf, and late summer for football.
A fresh look for a promising start-up
For this ground-breaking medical start-up, Stokely Design Associates Inc. (SDAI) was commissioned to design the basic elements of its corporate identity, including its logo, PowerPoint template, and Word letterhead. The design challenge was to communicate the sense of innovation behind BCS, creating a fresh look that embraced both science and a human touch. Bedside Clinical Systems is a new spin-out partnership between The Hospital for Sick Children (commonly called SickKids) and MaRS Innovation, the leading commercialization centre for 14 prominent academic institutions in Toronto. The focus of Toronto’s Bedside Clinical Systems is to translate and then to deploy the paediatric best practices that have been developed over years of research at SickKids and the University of Toronto. It's an exciting mission – and BCS looks to be off to a promising start.