Canadian National Railway

Allan Fleming & James Valkus

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CN Logo

NOW Magazine

Troy Beyer

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Love Your Body Issue

Love Jules Leather

Joshua Blodans

Julia Vagelatos

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Lil’ Fringed-Out Hightop Mocs

Summer Artsign

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Winaca Intern Report

Mark Daye

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Community Street Sign

Stelco Inc.

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Stelco Electrod Box

Chelsy Anne

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Ruf Ring

Nicholls Brothers Ltd Boat Designers & Builders

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Nicholls Brothers Boat Designers Postcard

The Public Assembly

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WWF’s Freshwater Health Assessment

Kanuk

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Kanuk Logo

Iain Baxter

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Inflatable Ampersand

Imagine Canada

Shanti Hadioetomo

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Chief Economist Discussion Papers

Richard Jarvis

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Arm Chair AC-03 with Ottoman

Cappellini and Walt Disney

Oki Sato

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Mickey’s Ribbon Stool Ltd Edition

Department of Lands and Forests

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Summary of the Ontario Fishing Regulations Booklet

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Columbus Goofed Ad

Robert Larin

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Brutalist Ring

Nicoles

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St Louis Collection Pony Shoes

Canada Post

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Post Office – Red Deer, Alberta

Lowney's

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Lowney’s Logo

City Slang Records

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Caribou’s ‘Swim’ Album Art

St-Ely

Hubert Pelletier

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Ear Sofa

Skull Skates

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Skull Skates ketchup Skateboard

Steezle

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Steezle Shopping App

Bookhou

John Booth

Arounna Khounnoraj

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Wooden Spoons

![Tilting-sign.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Tilting-sign.jpg)
Hand-painted signs. Love ’em. Here’s one. I spotted this at the sports field in little Tilting, on Fogo Island, Newfoundland.
Tilting is a very interesting community beautifully documented by architect Robert Mellin in his book Tilting: House Launching, Slide Hauling, Potato Trenching and Other Tales from a Newfoundland Fishing Village (Princeton Architectural Press).
– Gerry L’Orange


Tilting, Newfoundland Sign

[!newfoundland-lp.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/newfoundland-lp.jpg)


Oh! That Newfoundland Screech Album Art

Newfoundland Print Campaign

![nfld](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/nfld.jpg)


Newfoundland Hotel Luggage Decal

![e010744755-v8](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/e010744755-v8.jpg)


Joey Smallwood Political Poster

![The international transit lounge at Gander Airport has retained its mid-century Robin Bush seating and Mondrianesque terrazzo floor](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-international-transit-lounge-at-Gander-Airport-has-retained-its-mid-century-Robin-Bush-seating-and-Mondrianesque-terrazzo-floor.jpg)


International Transit Lounge, Gander Airport

Newfoundland ho!

Patrick Pittman

Sans titre and Le couple painted sculptures

Made out of crystal clear resin layered around a silicone mold of Simon Vermeulen’s demi-pointed foot, these two shoes are each separated in equal halves closing onto each other. They originated from the desire to portray the dark side and imprisonment of Cinderella’s magnificent glass slippers, 2013.These Glass Shoes are featured in the major independent film ‘Der Untermensch’: Staged against minimalist backdrops and accompanied by a hypnotic original score, this highly cinematic contemporary dance film abstractly depicts the persecution of homosexuals at the hands of the Third Reich.It was nominated for Best Canadian Short Film at Toronto International Film Festival’s 2013 edition and was screened in many festivals around the world, including Cannes.

Glass Shoes 

These simple little smiley faces are the work of Nicenothings, an artist who prefers to remain anonymous and let his work speak for itself. "I just focus on facial features," he says. "I don't know why. I think there's something super interesting about that."

Nice Nothings

IC Blacklight 1

Colour Fade Dishes

For the Culture Days 2020, participants were invited to watch the Pflag Halton + Arts Milton mural being painted onsite by artist JR Marr. The mural contributes to the beautification of Downtown Milton and offers a message of pride, inclusivity, and diversity – values central to Pflag and the work they do as an LGBTQ2S support organization. According to Marr, “In much of my work I am drawn to colour, but the colours in this work are representative of pride.” Passersby are encouraged to take a photo of themselves with the work and use the hashtag #MiltonForAll.

Pflag + Arts Milton Mural

A series of light shows appears nightly on the eight storey façade of 137 Yonge Street, south of Richmond Street, in Toronto. Digitized images of the artist’s own paintings are used to create multi-coloured waterfalls cascading down the 6,500 square foot Colour Kinetics LED display after dark.


Waterfall Light Show

Pencil Wall – How Do You Work? Exhibit – Toronto, Ontario

![thinkbigger-01](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/thinkbigger-01.png)


Think Bigger

ONTARIO Postcard

I Become a Delight

The Canada Council 17th Annual Report

Christian Frederiksen is a Georgian artist born in 1989 who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. He loves to experiment with new ways of creating imagery by collaborating with digital intelligence, exploring both digital and analog techniques, and delving into the unfamiliar subject matter. He often paints landscapes and studies the human form.&nbsp;He studied illustration at Alberta University of the Arts, formerly Alberta College of Art and Design where he earned his BDes. He has also worked in illustration and published comics. Christian's latest project, "Take Me Home", found him traveling around Azerbaijan and collaborating with artists there to create a group exhibition.

Medusa

Grey and Orange Tumbler

Bad Ombres

joel derksen

![SCAN0008](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SCAN0008-e1393687449771.jpg)


Mushroom Collecting for Beginners Brochure

[!mushroom-collecting.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/mushroom-collecting.jpg)
I laughed when I found this…the idea of government inspired materials being produced to help beginners collect mushrooms, seems odd to say the least. The activity and content aside, this cover’s use of trippy text, organic colours and album art graphics reek of early seventies.
The habit of most federal government design is typically stiff and grid like (which I love) but some departments, who commissioned work that was outside the canon, avoided this. The more digging around I do, it seems that the agriculture department led the revolt in not using the Swiss rulebook. There are some great off the wall work that came from here and I will try to dig up some other great examples.
-Todd Falkowsky


Mushroom Collecting Pamphlet

![mushaboom.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/mushaboom.jpg)
What other place in Canada could produce such a sign? I found these signs posted in most parks in Vancouver and surrounding area, warning against the eating of mushrooms (all kinds). I thought that it was funny for a few reasons, but mostly that it is a caution rather than a strict forebidding. The group I was with wanted to steal them and transplant them to High Park and other green spots in Toronto for a gag. Dope, mushrooms and fleece, what a fantasy land, remind me again why we live in Toronto!


Mushroom Picking Sign

Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of Canada Cover

Studio Pottery Mushrooms

Montreal graphic designer Ernst Roch rendered these four mushrooms in stylized gouache paintings . Canada Post, 1989

Mushroom Stamp

Fungal fantasies

The Marathon C-300 is a true standout – as the only commercial electric car developed in Canada between 1915 and the 1990s. Despite the C-300’s unusual appearance and lack of rear seats, more than 600 were sold in 1978. The end of the Energy Crisis and a drop in gas prices put the nail in the coffin for Marathon’s three-year attempt at the car market.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/electric-vehicles-canada_vehicules-electriques/gallery/the-marathon-c-300-1978/">https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/electric-vehicles-canada_vehicules-electriques/gallery/the-marathon-c-300-1978/</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/31411679@N08/27912045397">https://www.flickr.com/photos/31411679@N08/27912045397</a>

The Marathon C-300

Enbridge Water Tank – Regina, Saskatchewan

A 1910 newspaper ad for that year’s McLaughlin-Buicks, directed at farmers.

McLaughlin-Buick Ad

[!garbage-gobbler-canadian.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/garbage-gobbler-canadian.jpg)
Here in the Resource, we’ve collected some nice examples of government-sponsored modernism (see the [“Canada” wordmark](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=528), [Canadian flag](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=399), [Government signage](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=2357), [Parks Canada logo](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=486), [Canada Post](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=430), etc.), but here is an effective bit of government-sponsored kitsch. Created in the late 1950’s, the Garbage Gobbler – basically a bug-eyed green garbage can cover with huge teeth painted on the push-in door (missing here) – was the heart of a BC Government campaign to raise awareness about littering and make trash cans fun. The popular Gobblers were installed throughout the Province and [‘Junior Garbage Gobbler’ car trash bags](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/?p=2462) were distributed to motorists to discourage roadside litter.
Over time, the Garbage Gobbler was replaced with more practical designs (most notably, the bear-proof variety) and today, only a few still exist. The example shown here was recently restored and installed in Veterans Park, Langford, BC. The plaque at the base reads:
> “Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Garbage Gobbler was a popular landmark at British Columbia’s Provincial Parks and Information Points, for garbage disposal. A local product manufactured in Langford, the Gobbler was designed and created in the 1950s, by Len Shaw, for the BC Parks Branch. Originally made from concrete, and later with fiberglas, the Gobbler was fabricated in the Parks Branch workshop which was located on the present site of Veterans Park.
> 
> 
> Local residents, Marilyn (nee Shaw) Fuller initiated the project, and Ian McKenzie and Ken Fuller, volunteered their time to refurbish this sample of the original Garbage Gobbler. “
> 
> 
Sources: [BC150 Applied Arts Project](http://bc150.eciad.ca/)  
Commorative plaque, Veterans Park, Langford, BC.


Garbage Gobbler

[!terry-fox.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/terry-fox.jpg)
“It was by no means unique. A total of 111,764 of them were built; 16,833 were bought in Canada. Yet one of them has an attachment to Canadians like no other. The 1980 Ford Econoline that slowly crawled behind Terry Fox for 143 days and 5,373 kilometres during his Marathon of Hope is being overhauled and refurbished.
Rob Reid, a Victoria runner and the driving force behind the successful campaign to build a statue of Terry Fox for Mile Zero on the Trans Canada Highway, said it would be great for Canadians to be able to see and touch the van. He said it could be driven anywhere in Canada and used in conjunction with the annual run that bears his name. “This van is like a historical site. It’s crucial to the story of Terry,” he said.
Author Douglas Coupland, who compiled a book on Terry Fox, was told about the van’s existence at a party in 2006. Mr. Coupland informed Darrell Fox and the hunt to locate the van started. For the past six months, more than 1,000 man-hours were dedicated to restoring the vehicle. Most of the original nuts and bolts would be put back on, but not all of the frame could be saved. Ford in the U.S. has a heritage department, but not even the auto giant had all the parts necessary. An exact make and model was located in Virginia, and was sacrificed for the restoration.
Despite the exterior alterations, Mr. Stoneley said, the interior has not changed, adding to the mystique of the van. “This amazing presence is still there,” he said.”
-Murray Langdon


Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Van

Collection of the Canadian Automotive MuseumFrom Motor Magazine, May 1914. By the 1910s, many electric car manufacturers, Tate included, had begun marketing small, light electric runabouts, or sports cars, to a male clientele. Although these were often faster and had better range than larger, heavier electrics, they were still nowhere nearly as powerful as their gasoline competitors.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/electric-vehicles-canada_vehicules-electriques/gallery/tate-electric-cars-1914/">https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/electric-vehicles-canada_vehicules-electriques/gallery/tate-electric-cars-1914/</a>

Tate Electric Cars Advertisement

North Star Alberta Highway Map

[!jasper-70-sign.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/jasper-70-sign.jpg)![](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/wolf.jpg "wolf")![](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/deer-70-sign.jpg "deer 70 sign")  
Photo: David Fisher
Thanks to David Fisher from Edmonton who sent us this picture of a highway sign outside of Jasper. The sign is part of Parks Canada’s, “Drivers for Wildlife” campaign, which also includes bumper stickers, information pamphlets and larger reduced speed zones. The campaign is intended to reduce the incidents of collisions between vehicles and wildlife in the park. According to Parks Canada, [“In the last 25 years, drivers in Jasper have killed 13 caribou (a species at risk), 19 goats, 30 wolves, 93 bears, 178 moose, 399 sheep, 782 elk and 795 deer. The actual death toll is probably higher because many injured animals crawl away from the road and die undetected. Countless other smaller mammals, birds, amphibians and insects also die on the road each year.”](http://www.g8legacy.gc.ca/canada/pn-tfn/itm2-/2004/2004-09-06_e.asp)
While some have questioned the effectiveness of the campaign itself, the design of these highway signs is just beautiful. The mix of bold sign graphics with larger than life photographic imagery (depicting the wildlife species that commonly use the area) is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on the road.


“Drivers for Wildlife” Highway Sign

[![](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Colborne-Ontario.-.jpg)](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/urban/big-apple/attachment/colborne-ontario/)
Colborne is the home of the “Big Apple”, a tourist attraction located near Highway 401. With a height of 10.7 metres and diameter of 11.6 metres, the Big Apple is billed as the largest apple in the world. There is an observation deck on top of the apple, a restaurant and other amenities on the premises.
[Via](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramahe,_Ontario)


Big Apple Fruit Stand – Colborne, Ontario

British Columbia Canada Map

One of my favorite road trips in Alberta is the Crowsnest Pass. The iconic black crow signage always accompanies Highway #3 in the progressive change from eastern prairie landscape to the stunning mountain scenery of the west. Crowsnest Pass connects a variety of outdoorsy types to our activities of choice year round.
-John Greg Ball


Crowsnest Pass Traffic Signs

Tunneling Technology

Trans-Canada Highway

Dip me in maple syrup and throw me to the lesbians: Exploring the still-smoldering embers of unrealized queer revolutions.

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