Design de Plume Inc.

DAWN Canada is an intersectional feminist human rights organization that advocates for disabled Canadian women and gender-diverse people. We worked with them in 2020 to fully rebrand the organization. This year, we took on their website redesign and launched their new brand identity to the world. The existing website was built on a CMS that prevented the DAWN team from uploading, organizing and showcasing their work effectively and accessibly. After thoroughly reviewing their existing site and content, we designed a site architecture that puts their valuable resources front and centre. Projects, publications, and news now use consistent layouts and fields to keep these valuable resources organized. We also thought about how the content and design would impact DAWN's primary audience of women with disabilities, a vast community with a diverse range of needs. Beyond optimizing the new site for folks with visual disabilities, we also addressed often-overlooked audiences with motor, vestibular, neurological, and intellectual disabilities. Our website integrates lots of accessibility tools: perceivable content using text alternatives, legible type, adequate contrast, clear markup, employing motion subtly and sparingly, simplifying language, chunking content, and providing clear, streamlined menus and navigation alternatives. DAWN's branding evokes the sun rising over a new day, with purple-red-gold gradients and sun rays. We incorporated this imagery throughout the site's design to give it a distinctly warm and friendly character. The site's interactive elements (the main menu, carousel buttons and search bar) feature subtle microanimations that reflect the same rising metaphor in their gentle upwards motion.

This January 4th, we're celebrating the 3rd annual #NationalRibbonSkirtDay (NRSD) in Canada. NRSD originates with the story of Isabella Kulak, a member of Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan, who was shamed for wearing her handmade ribbon skirt rather than a "store-bought outfit" to her school's formal wear day in 2021. The massive show of support for Kulak led to the creation of NRSD, which is now observed annually in Canada. Ribbon skirts are a centuries-old symbol of identity, adaptation, and survival for Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people. They are traditionally worn for special events. We're so proud of Isabella for shining a spotlight on ribbon skirts—this important piece of clothing is a source of great pride in many Indigenous communities. Pictured here is Julia, sister of DDP's Co-CEO Jenn, who is modeling a beautiful ribbon skirt. Along with their mom Deb, they create ribbon skirts, wearable art, and other handmade goods. See more of their work here: https://lnkd.in/g3SeSYUP

AI technology is lacking when it comes to representing diverse perspectives. Commonly-used AI tools don't necessarily represent communities and cultures correctly, which can contribute to cultural erosion and leave Indigenous people feeling misrepresented or left out entirely. Indigenous communities must be allowed to determine how they will (or won't) participate in AI, digital media, language software modules, etc. A lengthy cycle of exclusion leads to mistrust, and some communities may not want to be represented as it may cause even more damage. We all play a role in making our environments and communities more accessible – at home, school, work, and all points in between. Whether it’s creating better colour contrast in a presentation, adding alt text to an image, or petitioning Adobe to add Indigenous languages to Acrobat, there’s an endless list of little things we can all do to make our world more accessible for everyone. The takeaway: Sometimes, you have to be willing to break down and dismantle a system in order to pave the way for true inclusion.

As 2024 draws to a close, we're reflecting on our achievements from the past year. We're so proud of the projects we completed, which included: - Celebrating DDP's 15th anniversary - Completely overhauling the DDP brand and launching our new website - Attending events and conferences like the Reservation Economic Summit (RES), the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Conference, NCORE, the Indigenous History & Heritage Gathering (IHHG), WordCamp Canada, Go for the Greens Foundation Inc. Conference, the Spark Conferences Healthcare Communications Conference, Cause Camp, and more - Giving talks and facilitating sessions about accessibility - Completing some incredible design and branding projects for the CBC Olympic Games, Université de Sudbury, and many more! We're looking forward to seeing more new places and friendly faces in 2025. Have a happy and safe New Year! ✨

2024 was quite the year for the Design de Plume team! This photo of our Co-CEOs was taken at the EY Gala, where Meggan and Jenn marked one of our last events of the year. ✨ Our team members attended many events this year, including conferences, talks, workshops, and more. This was one of our busiest travel years, but making those in-person connections with our peers and colleagues was incredibly valuable. It helps us understand the needs of the community and how we can serve them, and we're always grateful for the opportunity to learn.

Global Furniture Group has been one of the world's leading manufacturers of office furniture solutions since 1966. This Canadian-based company works with a network of suppliers, manufacturers and distributors to bring well-made, affordable office furniture products to market around the world. Global's 2024 Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan was created in response to the Trust and Reconciliation Report (TRC) Call to Action #92, which calls upon Canada's corporate sector to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply [it] to coporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. We worked with Global to create the Action Plan logo, branding, and report layout, as well as the accompanying land acknowledgement posters and social media templates. The report will be a living strategy that will evolve from year to year as Global continues to create and nurture sustainable, respectful, and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous groups in the areas in which the company operates. We used the Global's original logo as inspiration when creating this secondary version, which incorporates Indigenous symbols. The logo is comprised of three recognizable symbols to represent Indigenous groups: - The Métis sash is a recognizable Métis symbol. It illustrates resilience, pride, and tradition - The feather often represents First Nations peoples. It is a powerful symbol of connection, trust, and strength - The qulliq, or kudlik, is a traditional seal oil lamp used by Inuit Peoples. It symbolizes strength, care, and warmth Other symbols seen throughout the action plan include an ulu, a drum, a flower, and the infinity symbol. We did lots of research during the development phase to ensure that every symbol reflects Global's values, like care, trust, and resilience. We're proud to support Global as they carry out this reconciliation journey.

The Design de Plume office is closing up for the holidays! Our entire team is off to enjoy some much-needed rest and rejuvenation before we come back for a fresh start in 2025. Our office is closed as of December 24 and will reopen on January 2, 2025. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season from the Design de Plume team! ❄️☃️🎄 Thank you to Beck Legault, our placement student from the Graphic Design program at Cambrian College, who designed and animated this graphic. We really enjoyed working together and really appreciate the creative contributions they brought to the team!

2024 marked Design de Plume's 15th anniversary. Co-CEOs Jenn and Meggan recently took a moment to reflect on the past 15 years. This is a special milestone for us that we're very proud to celebrate.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples | Congrès des peuples autochtones (CAP) represents the interests of Indigenous people living in urban or rural areas across Canada. Their Reconciliation Toolkit for Business Leaders is a valuable resource to help small- and medium-sized businesses develop practical, actionable plans to advance reconciliation in their business thinking, planning and practices. Design de Plume created a video to help promote this toolkit and explain the four content pillars: - Reflection & Learning - Leading Transformation - Inclusive Workplaces - Outreach & Engagement Our graphics were inspired by the woodland-style illustrations that feature in the toolkit. Our partners at Double Barrel animated the illustrations to bring our vision to life. The toolkit is free to download on the CAP website. For more information, visit https://lnkd.in/gJGX9Hms

We recently sat down to chat with Jenn Taback, who is a member of Shawanaga First Nation and Co-CEO at Design de Plume. She shared some great insights about the diverse and complex landscape of Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. One question she hears from clients is: How can we find commonalities and points of connection between so many different groups? The DDP team spends a lot of time thinking about the history of communication in Indigenous cultures—what languages were/are spoken then and now, how symbols are used, the significance of different colours and shapes, and so on. From this, we can start to understand the nuances that inform communication for First Nation, Inuit, and Métis across Canada. When we understand the nuances, we can distill some commonalities and craft messaging that reach a broader audience while still feeling culturally appropriate for the intended audience. Wondering how to create design projects that resonate with your audience? Get in touch to learn more about Design de Plume’s strategic approach to creating culturally-informed design solutions.