CLIENT
Government of Ontario
SERVICES
Print Design
Campaign Design
Digital Media
Illustration
Helping First Nations develop a strong economy with the Government of Ontario.
Those who are working to build a strong economy for First Nations often have limited time for their own professional development. As a starting point, the Ontario government had gathered helpful training and resources into a development guide. But the guide was struggling to gain traction with its intended audience, as it used generic clip art and unwieldy layouts that were hard to navigate.
![strenght-numbers-backcover-mockup A back cover mockup of the Strength in numbers report.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/strenght-numbers-backcover-mockup.jpeg)
How we helped
We redesigned the 50-page development booklet and related website to make the content engaging and accessible, with custom colours and illustrations inspired by First Nations culture and geometry. Our focus was on clarifying the visual hierarchy, so that readers can flip to important information and browse helpful stories and resources.
![MIRR-Icons-01-400×296 An icon of a deep purple and yellow scarf. The scarf has yellow tassels on the left side, and features a yellow diamond pattern within the deep purple main body of the scarf.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR-Icons-01-400x296-1.png)
![MIRR-Icons-02-400×317 An icon in a yellow diamond. The icon features a piece of paper with lines to symbolize writing, and a deep purple seal in the bottom centre. Surrounding the icon are several diamond shapes.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR-Icons-02-400x317-1.png)
![MIRR-Icons-03-400×314 An icon in a golden yellow circle. The icon features a geometric diamond shape with a circle in each corner. Coming off of the circle are yellow lines that look similar to stairs in the top left, bottom left, top right, and bottom right of the circle. On each side of the circle, there are four diamonds.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR-Icons-03-400x314-1.png)
![MIRR-Icons-04-400×349 An icon featuring a hammer and a feather intersected in an X shape. The hammer head is deep purple, with a grey handle, and the feather is outlined in deep purple, with off-white, baby blue, grey, and golden yellow sections within it. Surrounding the two items are several diamond shapes in yellow and deep purple.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR-Icons-04-400x349-1.png)
Making a difference
The redesigned guide has become a go-to resource for busy professionals on the go. It’s been well received by government officials and First Nations communities alike, with many requests from officers as to where they can get their copy.
![economic-guide-mockup4-1200×801 The cover of the First Nations Community Economic Development Guide for Ontario. The cover features a light grey background with geometric feathers in a diagonal pattern, with one main, large feather on the right hand side. The title is in a deep purple box, and the bottom of the cover features the Government of Ontario logo.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/economic-guide-mockup4-1200x801-1.png)
![economic-guide-mockup2 An interior spread of an Economic Guide book. The spread features an introduction, and the right page reads "Case Studies". The case studies page has a yellow background with geometric feathers in a diagonal pattern, with one main feather present on the right side.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/economic-guide-mockup2.png)
![economic-guide-mockup1 An interior spread of a Government of Ontario Economic Guide book. The spread features an introduction, and the right page reads "Chapter 1: Planning for economic development". The title sections are separated from the white page with a light grey triangular shape, and the bottom of the page features a spread of diamond shapes leading towards a geometric yellow bird.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/economic-guide-mockup1.png)
In the spirit of reconciliation
Over the last 10 years, the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation had made many inroads. And they wanted to share more about their work in a dynamic, colourful report. The curved, water-inspired graphics helped the information flow and guided readers through more than a decade of stories.
![MIRR_cover1 The cover of the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation's First 10 Years book. The MIRR logo is in the top left corner in a white circle. The logo reads MIRR 10 years, and features a colourful series of lines in a radial arrangement encircling the word years. The background of the cover is a wavy rainbow, starting with teal on the left, transitioning to orange, and then to a purple-red. In a semi circle at the bottom of the page it reads 'In the spirit of reconciliation: The Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation's First 10 years' The government of Ontario logo is in the bottom right corner.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR_cover1.png)
![MIRR-report3](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MIRR-report3.png)
Spotting the signs
Anyone can recognize the signs of human trafficking. To help educate Indigenous youth on what to watch for, we partnered with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services on a campaign called Know Human Trafficking. We sat down with focus groups, researchers, and survivors to create a series of print and digital materials—all designed to encourage kids to report potential trafficking.
![mockup-postcard-mcss A mockup of a postcard with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services on a campaign called Know Human Trafficking.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mockup-postcard-mcss.jpeg)
Strength in numbers
Data is effective only if people can glean insights from it. To help the Ontario government convey a deluge of facts and figures about Indigenous communities in the area, we designed a simple, visual research report. Its crystal-clear layout, intentional infographics, and meaningful colours helped highlight both positive and negative changes in demographic data about First Nation, Inuit, and Métis groups over time.
![strenght-numbers-4 A mockup of an Government of Ontario book titled Strength in Numbers. The spread theme is blue and features a Health and Wellness section. The spread features Population level statistics, graphs, and icons all matching the blue theme of the pages.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/strenght-numbers-4.png)
![strenght-numbers-3 A mockup of an Government of Ontario book titled Strength in Numbers. The spread features an employment page, with red and purple graphs. The right page features a 'program level' title with icons representing statistics.](https://deplume.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/strenght-numbers-3.png)