Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Calgary: ‘Cloudy’ with chance of clearing

Published on July 14, 2010 in Clients, Design, Print and The City of Calgary by Ian Regier.

With the height of the great recession behind us, The City of Calgary was ‘Moving Forward’ in 2009 and I was assigned with the task of developing creative to represent this theme … and to accentuate the online presence of their 2009 Corporate Annual Report. The solution was to develop a bold, optimistic composition reminiscent of a digital tag cloud.
The document is literally stacked with keywords, images and graphics from the year’s big projects, events and achievements. The major accomplishments are unveiled using expanding four-page spreads — a tangible pop-up window. Full details that are only hinted to in the printed version are available in the interactive website.

The creative for the 2008 Corporate Annual Report was much more subdued to suit the times. Calgary was somewhat sheltered from the economic turmoil in 2008, but The City needed to ensure they portrayed prudent fiscal management at all levels.
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125 years: 12.5 months in the making

Published on July 7, 2010 in Calgary Fire Department, Clients, Design and Print by Ian Regier.
Over a year of solid work on a single project may see like a lot in my line of work … but pales in comparison to the dedication of the men and women in uniform.
Yours For Life: 125 Years of Courage, Compassion and Service from the Calgary Fire Department, a joint labour researched and written by Judy Monchuk and designed by yours truly, was released this summer to help celebrate the Calgary Fire Department’s (CFD) 125th Anniversary. The 112 pages of stories, photographs, personal accounts and a handful of other articles and ephemera not only chronicle the major events in the CFD history, but also tell the story of the growth of the city of Calgary and the world events that impacted it’s citizens.

Historical integrity was essential to the success of the design — the book needed to look as authentic as the stories themselves. Hundreds of hours were required to get everything in place, but also to ensure the colours, textures, photographs and subtle elements were perfected for reproduction.

The initial challenge was to establish a structure, format and style that would ensure the proper flow and progression, but would also allow for opportunities to break the mould. The book spans six generations of fashions, fads and trends, so a stagnant presentation would not give the depth such a rich history deserves. A constant search was required to find authentic textures and design elements so each story, time and place was given it’s own personality.
The book can be purchased from the Firefighters Museum of Calgary for $35 with all proceeds going directly to the Firefighters Museum.
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(Arts and) Craft Beer

Published on July 7, 2010 in Design and Screen by Ian Regier.


Two out of five ain’t so bad! The first batch of I.R. Brew Co.’s Crawling Bird Brown Ale didn’t taste, smell or sound(??) all that good, but boy she sure looked the part … and felt great going down. Custom screen printed labels, stock tags, coasters, posters and even promotional t-shirts were produced to help commemorate the release.

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I ♥ NY

Published on July 5, 2010 in Photography by Ian Regier.

It may be cliché, but it’s certainly well put — I ♥ NY! It’s a city of a million things at once all the time … so filling 5 days without any pre-planning was an easy task. Check out a few select photos from our recent excursion to the Big Apple.

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This is not a blog, it just looks like it

Published on July 4, 2010 in News & Updates and Photography by Ian Regier.

Welcome to Design.ca — the new online presence of I.R. DESIGN. Although it may look a lot like a blog, I assure you it is not. Think of it as an empty shell that will come to life from the content within (rather than the other way around). It’ll be easy, intuitive … and finally up-to-date.
The site will feature my current design projects, installations, photographs and other creations. I’ll throw in the occasional link to local interests … and will do my best to limit my rants and raves.
My old website will still be alive and kicking (think of it as a chicken with it’s head cut off), but so much has changed in the last year or so, that I think it’s best to just let it die.
Make sure to come back often as I have a lot of catching up to do.
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