Region of Waterloo Museums

Dibaajimowin was created as an exhibit celebrating Indigenous perspectives and contributions to Waterloo’s history.

In 2020, a set of historical murals at Waterloo regional headquarters came under scrutiny: they were meant to commemorate the early inhabitants of the area, so why was their focus entirely on settlers? Where were the stories of the Indigenous people who have lived on the land since time immemorial?

These questions prompted Region of Waterloo Museums to develop Dibaajimowin. DDP designed the exhibit’s branding, graphics, and signage.

Inspired by the colourful shapes and flowing connective lines of Woodlands style painting, the glyphs of our Dibaajimowin wordmark form a balanced whole, with unique ligatures and curved, tapering ascenders and descenders. We extended this theme throughout the exhibit with interconnected imagery of animals and natural landscapes, even reimagining one of the original murals to depict the land as it looked prior to contact.