What they needed
For more than 35 years, DAWN Canada has worked to end the poverty, isolation, discrimination, and violence experienced by women with disabilities and Deaf women. To help address key issues faced by this community, DAWN engages with all levels of government, the wider disability and women’s sectors, and other groups.
Problem is, their previous logo didn’t encompass the broad diversity of women and non-binary people that they advocate for. And they were paying an ongoing fee to use the likeness of an Egyptian fertility statue on display in a British Museum.
About the logo
As the embodiment of the sun, the hummingbird radiates with the warmth of dawn. Its wings are rays of sunlight, cascading out from the core and representing a new day full of hope and strength. The hummingbird looks toward the bright future ahead.

Previous Logo


How we helped
Right away, we spotted that they would benefit from moving towards a more inclusive brand that did not idealize an able-bodied female figure. Instead, we explored visual symbols that would better resonate with the disabled and Deaf communities, ideally with the theme of overcoming challenges.
Our search led us straight to a legendary tale by Wangari Maathai. It tells of a tiny hummingbird carrying small drops of water in her beak to help put out a raging forest fire. The task seemed hopeless, yet she persisted. When the other, larger animals asked her why she thought she could put out the fire despite her size, she replied, “I am doing the best I can.”
Across many cultures, hummingbirds are a spiritual symbol of resilience. To First Nations on the Pacific Coast of Canada, the hummingbird is a messenger of joy that symbolizes beauty, intelligence, and love. The Aztecs believed that fallen warriors were reincarnated as hummingbirds. Their god of war, Huitzilopochtli, is even named after one (huitzilin).


Making a difference
Now, DAWN Canada has a brand that speaks to the hearts and minds of the broad community they serve. They use our brand guide as a helpful template for ongoing projects, which keeps things quick and consistent. And their brand elements are carefully crafted to help their messages connect with people who have a wide range of visual and learning abilities. The future is bright indeed.
“The brand guide has been used as a basis for many of our upcoming and on-going projects. It’s easy for us to choose between the already selected fonts [and graphics] that are associated with DAWN Canada from the hundreds of options, saving us time on major design projects.“
-Mackenzie Casalino, Communications Coordinator, DAWN Canada



“The range of colours was enough to play around with the design elements, while not overwhelming the design.“
-Mackenzie Casalino, Communications Coordinator, DAWN Canada

