Toronto-based Kramer Design Associates (KDA) recently designed a distinctive brand mark, digital signage and wayfinding program for the expansion and revitalization of the city’s Yonge Eglinton Centre (YEC).
RioCan, which owns and manages YEC, retained KDA in 2011 to begin repositioning the shopping mall’s overall brand image in support of its large-scale redevelopment plan for the site. The two organizations collaborated closely to establish visual designs representing a vibrant, mixed-use, social-gathering atmosphere.
“Our strategy was to deliver a brand experience that would serve as an urban stage for the Yonge-Eglinton community, which is one of Canada’s fastest-growing,” says Jeremy Kramer, principal and creative director for KDA, referring to the many high-rise residential condominium towers that continue to be built in the neighbourhood.
The project entailed integrating a wide-ranging brand platform across a variety of communication media, including identification (ID) signage, environmental graphic design (EGD), wayfinding signs, digital signage and social media.
The digital signage network, in particular, was envisioned as a seamless exterior and interior program, providing a dynamic canvas to promote events, enable retail tenants to communicate with customers and synchronize experiences throughout the facility. By way of example, on-screen content would support live concerts, book readings, food demonstrations, fashion shows and holiday festivities.
In the end, the network comprised more than 140 interior digital displays with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, along with two large exterior screens facing the centre’s public space. And beyond local tenants, third-party advertisers—including movie studios, banks, automotive manufacturers and universities—have also used the screens to promote their products and services.
Wayfinding elements include dimensional presentations of the new brand mark, touch-screen directories and enhanced ID signage for two commercial office towers and public transit connections.
Finally, to recognize the historic significance of the community, KDA developed a permanent rooftop museum installation, with a timeline of photos and insights highlighting key milestones, such as the Battle of Montgomery’s Tavern in 1837 and the opening of the first Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway line in 1954.
