These independently designed Canadian sesquicentennial logos are way better than the real ones
These independently designed Canadian sesquicentennial logos are way better than the real ones
About two weeks ago, five proposed logos for Canada’s 2017 sesquicentennial (that is, the 150th anniversary of confederation) began circulating online. Although the designs were just preliminary sketches that Canadian Heritage was using in focus-group sessions, they caused a lot of alarm in the media, because, well, they were all pretty terrible—especially in comparison to the iconic 1967 centennial logo, designed by Stuart Ash. Now the internet has interceded, in the best possible way.
Ibraheem Youssef, a Canadian graphic designer currently based in Boston, set up a website, where he’s showcasing sesquicentennial logo designs done pro bono by professional designers. The results, while not sanctioned by the feds, are so much better than those official preliminary designs that there’s practically no comparison. If the sesquicentennial’s organizers won’t hire one of these artists to create the logo, we hope they’ll at least crib some ideas.
Here, six of the best of the indie logos. The rest—many of which are also very good—are here.
See all 6 logos »
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.mstrpln.com/">Stefan Dukaczewski</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> This logo is elegantly minimalist in approach, but it still manages to convey an instant sense of what the sesquicentennial is all about
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.asterdesign.ca/">Megan Hunt</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> It's a beaver in a party hat, for chrissake
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.johnst.com/">Jonathan Mutch</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> It's hard to do fireworks in a logo and not have the whole thing look like an ad for Disneyland. This one pulls it off
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.geometry.com/">Greg Mühlböck</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> The way this logo manages to cram so much Canadian imagery into such a small space is almost magical
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.algonquincollege.com/">David Bromley</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> This logo cleverly references the 1967 centennial logo, but without straight-up ripping it off
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- <strong>Designed By:</strong> <a href="http://www.richardmarazzidesign.com/">Richard Marazzi</a><br /><br /><br /> <strong>What We Like:</strong> This one is basic, but it's also very stately and refined
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![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/culture/independently-designed-canadian-sesquicentennial-logos-way-better-real-ones/&title=These independently designed Canadian sesquicentennial logos are way better than the real ones&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/sesquicentennial-logo-intro1-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_251601" align="alignnone" width="656"] (Image: Megan Hunt, Aster Design)[/caption]
About two weeks ago, five proposed logos for Canada's 2017 sesquicentennial (that is, the 150th anniversary of confederation) began circulating online. Although the designs were just preliminary sketches that Canadian Heritage was using in focus-group sessions, they caused a lot of alarm in the media, because, well, they were all pretty terrible—especially in comparison to the iconic 1967 centennial logo, designed by Stuart Ash. Now the internet has interceded, in the best possible way.
Ibraheem Youssef, a Canadian graphic designer currently based in Boston, set up a website, where he's showcasing sesquicentennial logo designs done pro bono by professional designers. The results, while not sanctioned by the feds, are so much better than those official preliminary designs that there's practically no comparison. If the sesquicentennial's organizers won't hire one of these artists to create the logo, we hope they'll at least crib some ideas.
Here, six of the best of the indie logos. The rest—many of which are also very good—are here.
See all 6 logos »
[gallery columns="6" ids="251605,251606,251607,251608,251609,251610"]){kind=link}
This is Ibraheem, can you please correct the link of the website to http://www.The150Logo.ca .. the current link you have is temporary. Thanks.
Done. Thanks for pointing that out.
The beaver with the party hat is kitschy. No one is going to want that commemorating our 150th. Greg Mühlböck’s is the best; it’s traditional and modern. IMHO, of course.
Thank you for featuring our project!
At first blush I thought the party hat was a dunce cap—squarely pointed at the Department of Canadian Heritage.
These are all great. We suggest it go to a vote :)