CBC National Indigenous Peoples Day

CBC is committed to Indigenous narrative sovereignty—the freedom to tell our stories from our own point of view.

For National Indigenous Peoples Day and National Indigenous History Month, CBC came to us with a special request: to design our own take on their logo, the “gem”, for their website, social platforms, and TV broadcasts.

The 1974 version of the gem logo reminded our creative team of a drum, an instrument used for storytelling across Turtle Island and Inuit Nunangat. For our rendition, it was essential to capture the full diversity of Indigenous Peoples in Canada: we researched, designed, and illustrated individual drum faces representing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, and a main logo that combines elements of all three.

Since the logo was intended for broadcast, we followed a motion-first approach, storyboarding an animated version and recording drumming audio to accompany it. We also illustrated backplate graphics for use of CBC’s social media and web platforms.

Our illustrated gem ran on CBC’s main channel all month long. Their website and social media used our graphics to share empowering stories from Indigenous youth and Elders, reaching audiences across the country and beyond. With hundreds of likes, positive comments, and even requests for branded swag, our design called people to really listen to Indigenous voices—and they heard loud and clear.