Keeping First Nations safe

with Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation

What we did

  • Brand development
  • Illustration
  • Digital Media
  • Video
  • Motion Graphics
  • Print Design
  • Brand development
  • Illustration
  • Digital Media
  • Video
  • Motion Graphics
  • Print Design
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE

What they needed

The OFNTSC are on a mission to help First Nations in Ontario build technical self-reliance and self-sufficiency. To that end, they advise more than 133 groups on many types of services, such as housing, electricity, water, and safety. Now, they wanted to rebuild their own brand to connect even more closely with their communities and share important information quickly.

An interior spread of the OFNTSC brand guide. The spread features a page titled "Your brand's story" and "OFNTSC horizontal logo" and proceeds to show different versions of the horizontal logo.
The cover of the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation Brand manual. The cover is half orange, half white, separated by deep purple, wavy lines that contain sections of orange and blue within them. The top reads "Brand Manual" and the bottom reads "Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation" with their logo to the left of the text.
An illustration of three feathers. The main, largest feather is purple with a red tip, the rightmost feather is grey with a blue tip, and the leftmost feather is light orange with a bright orange tip.

How we helped

Together, we created a new brand guide and assets that could reach across all the ways they communicate, from their social feeds to their presentations to the decals on their vehicles. Their colourful new brand represents diverse Indigenous culture and aligns to their top message—safety. 

To help them spread the word about fire safety, we created infographic cards and animated videos with tips for avoiding fires in homes. And we designed it all with languages beyond English in mind, including Nehinawewin in Cree and Anishinaabemowin in Anishinaabe.

A brochure for First Nations people by the OFNTSC. The brochure features the OFNTSC Service life cycle and shows a flow chart of how the OFNTSC can help.

Putting safety first

The videos and illustrations have helped share important safety messages with a wide audience of First Nations in Ontario. Because we tailored the assets to Indigenous culture and language, with added audio and video components, OFNTSC were able to reach more people. Our new brand guide and templates have helped them become more self-reliant themselves, with assets that are easy to create and keep consistent across the many areas they support.

Technical Services Video

An icon in a service series. The icon features a white piece of paper that has been folded into thirds. The title on the paper reads "Funding", and the bottom right hand corner of the paper features a white checkmark in a purple circle.
An icon in a service series. The icon features blueprints of a home. One of the blueprints is rolled up and coloured blue, and the spread out page behind it features the blueprints themselves on a white piece of paper.
An icon in a service series. The icon features a pale yellow, illustrated construction hat, with a white clipboard behind it. The clipboard has all items checked off.
An icon in a service series. The icon features a pipe with a handle to turn the water on and off. Layered on top of this pipe is a wrench with a red handle.
An icon in a service series. The icon features a white piece of paper with black outlines, with a flow chart on it. On top of part of the paper, there is an illustrated mobile phone with an orange screen that features a warning symbol on it. The warning symbol is a white triangle with an exclamation mark inside.

“The Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation engaged Design de Plume to work with us on creating a brand identity, and marketing materials for our key audiences. The team at Design de Plume created a beautiful brand guide and graphic elements that we now use daily. Their team is professional, courteous, efficient, and easy to work with. Highly recommended!”

–Chelsey Johnson, Communications Manager, OFNTSC

An illustration of a large purple feather. The inside of the feather features a blue tip, and two orange dots below that. The feather itself is entirely purple, outlined with an even deeper purple.
A mockup of a company truck for OFNTSC. Pictured is the drivers side view of the truck. The truck features the OFNTSC logo on the door, on a white background. The back of the truck is orange, in a diagonal reaching to the bottom of the back door. Separating the two sections is one curved line, and two pointed ovals featuring colour blocks of yellow, orange, red, and deep purple in one, and deep purple and blue in the other, separated into sections by black lines.
An OFNTSC contact sheet and greeting letter. The pages are oriented as if laying on a surface diagonally, pointed towards the viewer. The first sheet reads "OFNTSC Services Contact Sheet" and features all pertinent contact information. The logo is present in the top left of the page, as well as a colourful illustration of three feathers in the top right. The page has a deep purple bottom section that leads the reader to their website. The second sheet reads Hello in several native languages, followed by english, with the same details in the top section. This letter has a soft yellow bottom section leading the reader to the OFNTSC social media channels.
A Mac mockup of a presentation deck. The deck features an orange and white background, with the two colours separated by a wavy black line with colourful dots surrounding it. In the top orange section there is spaces for the presentation title, subtitle, and date, and in the bottom white section the OFNTSC logo is present in the centre.

Fire Safety Campaign

An icon in a fire safety series. The icon features an orange sky background and deep purple ground with 3 illustrated logs stacked neatly.
An icon in a fire safety series. The icon features a blue door on a purple wall with a heater in front of it, blocking the door.
An icon in a fire safety series. The icon features a black wire that is frayed and nearly broken, with two lightning symbols coming from the frayed section to denote electricity.
An icon in a fire safety series. The icon features an illustrated battery on a beige background with an arrow going counter clockwise behind it in deep purple.
An icon in a fire safety series. The icon features a nondescript illustration of a person running out of a beige house and towards a deep purple tree with orange leaves.
An i-Phone mockup of an OFNTSC instagram post. The page is in dark mode, and the post featured is about fire safety. Inside a dark orange fire pattern reads "Fire Safety Tip #4". On a lighter orange background there is the body text on the left, and an electrical outlet with a cord plugged into it on the right. The bottom of the post has a purple bar with further information.
A heating fire safety info sheet. The sheet is titled "Heating Fire Safety" with the title area having a black background. The rest of the sheet has an orange background, featuring several icons with text bubbles below them.

Social Media Guide

The cover of the OFNTSC Social Media Guide. The cover is half purple, half white, with two lines bisecting the purple and white sections. The lines include small sections that look reminiscient of beads in orange and blue. The top, purple section reads "Social Media Guide", and the bottom white section includes the OFNTSC logo and pertinent information below such as the address, email, phone number, and website, written in orange.
An i-Phone mockup on an OFNTSC Instagram post. The page is in dark mode, and the post featured is one that reads "Now hiring" and "hub manager". The post is part photo, part illustrative elements, with a trio of men who are constructing a frame in the top third. The remaining two thirds have abstract circles on a deep purple background in shades of orange. In the abstract circles are the text. The caption below the post reads "We are looking for a manager for our HUB program! Are you an experienced leader with knowledge of asset management and industrial maintenance programs..." featuring a grey "more" button after the text.
An i-Phone mockup of an OFNTSC Instagram post. The page is in dark mode, and the post featured has a blue background with wavy shapes filled with assorted colours on the bottom third of the image. The top two thirds reads "Free Training for Water Operators" posted by the OFNTSC account. The caption reads "Upcoming courses include ground water wells, occupational health and safety, acts & regulations, water systems effluent regulations and more! For info on..." after the text is a grey "more" button to continue reading.
A macbook mockup of the OFNTSC Facebook page. The page features a standard Facebook layout, and the post visible reads "Fire Safety Tip #4"

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