Associated Engineering – Indigenous report graphics

Associated Engineering (AE) was needing a graphic and template package to highlight their commitments to First Nation communities and projects throughout Canada.

The initial hope of the project was to show the visual diversity of Indigenous communities found throughout the country. The issue with this type of request is that ‘no one image’ could possibly showcase every community and nation found within our borders – and the distinct possibility of displaying pan-Indigeneity was always problematic to us.

The solution was to develop a visual database of iconography used in the various cultures and then interpret them into distinct and consistent graphic icons. These icons were then combined to develop an intertwined mosaic that celebrated each referred culture together. The individual icons were laid out symmetrically and referred to the four directions. Individual icons were also extracted and used to form separate patterns – feathers that represented the four directions were all placed together in one pattern, while the other icons were used in a rectangular pattern.

The report was then built through the development of a robust typographic grid system and paired with a variety of typestyles to encourage a playful use of the assets. Colour was incorporated through the use of AE’s corporate palette and extended with complimentary swatches.