Canadian Women in Design
Branding
- Logo design
- Visual identity guidelines
- Brand applications
- Stationery packages
- Signage/wayfinding
- Copywriting & editing
- Art direction
Illustration
- Brand, campaign, and corporate illustration
- Animation
- Educational illustration
- Infographics
- Exhibition graphics
- Event graphics
Branding
Your relationships with your most important people depend on their first impression of your brand (and every impression thereafter). Our client-centric and illustration-based approach infuses your brand with unmistakable humanity—an important thing for those of us who work in the Human business.
Graphic Design
Good design is the product of hundreds of tiny decisions, and effective design happens when all those decisions serve the client’s goals. At Curio, every project begins with getting to know our client, their brand, and their intentions, then working with them to make all the right decisions along the way.
Illustration
Sometimes you need JUST the right image—one that’s timeless, inclusive, unique, and a perfect fit for your brand and your project. Our team of classically-trained illustrators work in a diverse range of styles, and we work directly with our clients to make sure their illustration checks off every box on their list.
FAQs
Curio offers strategic, custom creative services that we deliver with an “illustrator-led design” perspective. Our artistic-yet-practical aesthetic, with a fanatical eye for quality output, informs all our work in print and digital design; animation; branding; product packaging; copywriting; creative strategy, and much more.
Some of our favourite specialty design products include:
- Social media graphics and templates
- Animated explainer videos
- Printed materials (annual reports, brochures, and fact sheets)
- Event marketing and tradeshow displays
- Storytelling using comics
See some of our latest and greatest on our portfolio page!
Art and design are both forms of visual communication, but design is more practical and strategic, where art can be more fluid and emotional.
We at Curio are at the intersection of the two: Our designers are also classically-trained illustrators, so our designs are artful, and our art is design-ready. This allows us to keep our work exciting and organic, but also purposeful and practical.
We Curios are ‘people’ people—we consider our client relationships to be the best and most important part of our work. Because we’ve been at this awhile, we have the luxury of being selective about who we work with. Given the choice, we’d prefer to work with Canadian clients who:
- Are kind and capable;
- Have taste and take risks; and
- Know the value of presenting well.
Lately, we’ve been enjoying working with:
- NGOs/Mission-driven institutions;
- Post-secondary/education; and
- Applied science organizations
… Oh, and where possible, we prefer to work with those who share our values (see below)
We are most inspired when our work is making the world a better place. Some of our pet causes include:
- Climate change
- Economic justice
- Mental health
- Animal welfare
- Online safety
It depends, of course, but if you’d like, we can provide you a free estimate based on your specific design goals and how we believe they can best be achieved.
Our estimates are a function of the amount of time we reckon it will take to complete the project (based on our 20-some years’ experience) multiplied by our extremely competitive shop rate.
We keep our costs simple and transparent, because frankly, we would rather be making art.
All right, here we go:
- Once your contract is signed, we work with you to get everything we need to inform our creative process.
- Our illustrator-designers sketch out several ideas, share with the team, then refine the best concepts into a polished first draft.
- We present the first draft design for your consideration and feedback.
- Your feedback is incorporated into the final design, based on best practices and your stated goals for the design.
- Once you’ve approved the final design, we send you all the files you’ll need to successfully deploy your project.
And, if you ever hit a snag, need an update, or have a question, we will be available to help—just call or email us anytime!
We’ve been in the branding game for over 20 years, and we fancy ourselves pretty handy with logos (and every other application of a brand, like brand illustrations, colour schemes, stationery & signage concepts, and so forth).
If you need a brand designed, we can do that. If you have a brand and you need it expanded or deployed, we can do that too, all the while ensuring the standards and integrity of your brand are maintained to the utmost.
The truth is, if you’re not asking your designer for input on how to make the most of their efforts, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
A good designer with a lot of experience has seen how similar clients have used similar projects; they’ve seen what works and what does not. They’ll use this knowledge to inform every little decision they make in your design.
Inputs determine outputs, so if you want to set yourself up for success, let us buy you a cup of coffee and we’ll chat about how to get the best return for your design dollar.
We thought about it once upon a time, but then we figured web design is best left to the pros.
That said, if you’ve got a web design project coming up, chances are we can help—We’re friends with a lot of talented experts (photographers, web developers, animators, videographers, et al), and we can manage and art-direct your project to meet your deadlines, accomplish your goals, and exceed your expectations.
Just put your lips together and whistle! If that doesn’t work, try us at hello@curiostudio.ca or 780.809.2221. We will be DELIGHTED to hear from you!
Work with us
Curious as to what we can do for you?
Get in touch with us anytime!