Spotlighting Canadian musicians

with SOCAN Foundation

What we did

  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Development
  • Print Design
  • Event Design
  • Digital Media
  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Development
  • Print Design
  • Event Design
  • Digital Media
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE

What they needed

Music is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. It connects us, inspires us, moves us. No one knows this better than the SOCAN Foundation, who works to support and encourage emerging Canadian musicians. They brought us in to remix their print and web designs and also help spin up new brands for their special programs and events.

A cover and internal spread for the SOCAN Foundation Black Music Awards Proposal. The cover features a black person singing passionately into a microphone with a blue overlay, and includes the SOCAN and Sirius XM logos. The internal spread reads "notices" and includes imagery of someone looking at their violin, and another peron facing to the left with their hand in their hair.
A macbook mockup of the SOCAN Foundation website. The site features the "Fostering Canadian Music Creation" landing page, which includes sections for grants, awards, and programs.
An iPhone mockup of the SOCAN foundation website. The site features two ongoing programs, the SOCAN Foundation MUSCAN award of excellence, and the Screen music Laboratory for Emerging Composers.
An iPhone mockup of the SOCAN Foundation website. The site features the Programs section, where there is the Creative Entrepreneur summit, the TD incubator for creative entrepreneurship, and the Equity X Production Development program listed with their dates and times.
An i-Phone mockup of an Instagram post by the SOCAN Foundation. The app is in dark mode, and the image features a stage setup with a blue overlay, and reads "SOCAN Foundation Launches Relief Fund" with a white, diagonal bottom separator with the SOCAN Foundation logo in the bottom right corner.

How we helped

We orchestrated their full rebrand, from sponsorship packages to brochures and stage banners. Their new website spotlights their grants and programs effectively, making it easy for up-and-coming musicians to join in. We also helped harmonize their main brand with some of their other programs, including a music incubator, mentorship, and the HER Music Awards.

An interior spread of the SOCAN annual report. The left page features a colourful background with an image of someone making a heart with their hands in a crowd, and reads "About SOCAN Foundation", with their mission and vision. The right page reads "A message from the president", Charlie Wall-Andrews.
A macbook mockup of a powerpoint. The image features the 2019 TD Indigenous Songwriter Award Recipient Anachnid, including a portrait of her. The background has a blue overlay with geometric sound waves, music notes, and assorted instruments in the bottom centre of the image.
An i-Pad mockup for Master Class Monday, sponsored by Yamaha. The mockup features several images in a collage with a blue overlay. The images include someone playing a handheld drum, someone performing on stage, and someone playing a guitar.
The cover for the SOCAN Foundation book. The book features a title reading RBC Travel Assistance Grants, sponsored by RBC. The cover features a collage of several images, including a person performing on stage, several people holding guitars, and someone playing a cello, all with a blue overlay.
Three standing signs for the SOCAN Foundation. The signs feature a blue geometric diamond pattern in varying shades of blue with music notes, microphones, and volume level bars surrounding it. In the top section separated by a blue bar, the SOCAN foundation logo can be seen.

Award-winning results

Now, the SOCAN Foundation’s materials serve as a beautiful backing track in their efforts to promote Canadian musicians. The branding and custom trophy we created for the HER Music Awards hit a high note at the ceremony (and ended up winning a 2020 award of its own). Other brands like their Incubator program continue to have a timeless and modern look year after year, helping attract the next wave of up-and-coming talent.

A SOCAN Foundation Awards for Emerging Screen Composers 2020 certificate. The certificate is blue with a curved line on the left side separating an image of a crowd enjoying music. The certificate reads "Congratulations to Spencer Creaghan - Dog Cried Wolf in the category Best Original Theme - 1st prize"

Nurturing musical talent

We designed the brand and site for the TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship. This program helps emerging music creators grow their talent into a sustainable career. Our design features a box-like incubator that pulses with a sound wave, which symbolizes the songwriter growing their skills and making waves.

The Incubator for creative entrepreneurship logo. The entire logo is in a purple to pink to orange gradient, and features two outlined squares layered on top of each other with a sound wave running through the top square. The word Incubator is in purple, and "for creative entrepreneurship" is in a deep reddish orange.
An interior spread of the TD Incubator for creative entrepreneurship final report. The spread features "the who" and "the what" sections of the report, with icons representing statistics and the following information about who is applying to the program, and what they are doing.
The cover for the TD Incubator for creative entrepreneurship 2020 final report. The cover features geometric wavy patterning with an overlayed image of two people working on laptops, and features the TD Incubator logo, title, and the "Powered by the SOCAN Foundation and TD Bank" logos.
A macbook mockup of the SOCAN TD Incubator website. The image is of the landing page for the site, and features a wavy, geometric background with orange, yellow, purple, and pink gradients throughout, with the TD Incubator for creative entrepreneurship logo and text, as well as the SOCAN and TD logos. Just below those is a white oval button that reads apply today.
An i-Mac mockup of the SOCAN TD incubator website. The site features the Benefits section, stating that there is a $3000 start up grant and Mentorship opportunities.
An iPhone mockup of the SOCAN TD Incubator website. The top and bottom sections of the site feature a purple to pink to orange gradient, and the white section of the site reads "Mentorship: Access to a Professional in the industry to provide mentorship" as well as "Webinars: Access to webinar series, led by industry leaders in Canada". In the bottom colourful section, the site delves further into the Webinar section.
An iPhone mockup of an Instagram post by the SOCAN Foundation. The app is in dark mode, and the image features a colourful geometric background with purple, orange, and pink details. The image reads "TD Creative Entrepreneur Incubator" in french and english, as well as "Powered by" with the SOCAN Foundation and TD Bank logos. At the bottom of the image there is a purple button with a white outline that reads "Apply Today".

Celebrating female creators

The HER Music Awards celebrate female-identified Canadian artists who are on the verge of stepping up their musical careers. We created a feminine brand for the event, plus stunning award trophies from concept to fabrication. Overall, the awards were a huge hit, with branding and graphics that helped the artists shine. Oh, and our branding won an award of its own.

The Her Music Awards logo and wordmark. The logo is a one line illustration of the side profile of a womans face, leading down into a musical note that also appears as a microphone. The logo is in a light orange to medium purple gradient, as is the text that reads "Her Music Awards" in french and english.
The Her Music Awards logo. The logo is a one line illustration of the side profile of a womans face, leading down into a musical note that also appears as a microphone. The logo is in a light orange to medium purple gradient.
The Her Music Award. There are three awards shown. The top half of the awards is a purple and silver swirl that appears to be a resin detail with the HMA logo on it in a light orange to pastel purple gradient. The bottom half of the awards is wood and reads "Her Music Awards" in both french and english in the same gradient as the logo.
Three standing signs for the Her Music Awards. The leftmost sign features a portrait of Leela Gilday standing in front of a lake with her guitar in her right hand. The sign also features the Her Music Awards logo on a purple swirly background as well as powered by SOCAN and sponsored by Re Sound. The centre sign features the Her Music Awards logo in the centre, the SOCAN Foundation logo on the top, and the Re Sound logo on the bottom. The rightmost sign features an image of Haviah Mighty crouched down and staring into the distance, with the same logos as the leftmost sign.
An interior spread of the Her Music Awards 2020 Final Report. The spread features recipient testimonials from Leela Gilday and Haviah Mighty, the 2020 award recipients.
The cover of the SOCAN Foundation Her Music Awards 2020 Final Report. The cover features a deep purple, swirly background, and reads "Her Music Awards: 2020 Final Report" in French and English. There is a wavy, light orange to light purple gradient line separating the bottom third of the cover with the bottom image of a crowd enjoying the music. The bottom section reads "Powered by: SOCAN Foundation" and "Sponsored by Re Sound".
An i-Phone mockup of an Instagram post by the SOCAN Foundation. The post features two Leela Gilday and Haviah Mighty, the two winners of the SOCAN Foundation Her Music Awards, standing together and posing with their awards.
A pamphlet for the Her Music Awards. The pamphlet details the Agenda on the front, and has information about the award winners inside.

Boosting women producers

Most hit songs are produced by men. A report on the top 100 Billboard songs showed that only 2% of producers were women. That’s why the SOCAN Foundation started the Equity X program, to help boost women and gender diverse producers with mentorship and training. And we were happy to play our part, by creating a brand and assets that help connect women to musical opportunities.

An internal spread of the SOCAN Equity X Annual Report. The spread is mainly purple with an image of an indigenous person smiling softly. The title reads "How does your donation contribute to the success of local artists"

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