IATP wins international design award
Unique brand has helped build pride among airport workforce
I am a mover of mountains, a commander of giants – and now a design icon, too.
What’s happening: I Am Toronto Pearson has been named a winner in the 365: AIGA Year in Design Awards for its bold new brand identity. The global competition celebrates the best of creative design in its many forms, from animation to corporate communications. It received more than 500 entries and the international jury of design experts selected IATP as the winner in the Brand and Identity Systems category.
Why we won: “Brand design is by far the largest category and this year’s results reaffirm the extent to which typography is playing such a defining role in building strong brands,” said Abbott Miller, the contest’s chairperson.
Typography – or how words are displayed – is key to the IATP visual identity. The brand features a striking custom font that uses dots to create letters, which was inspired by some of the signage in Terminal 1. This font is used in statements like “I Am a Maker of Memories” and “I Am a Champion of the Skies” that are at the heart of IATP’s identity.
The backstory: The new look was introduced in the wake of the pandemic, in which aviation had been both hugely disrupted and had proved itself to be crucial link in healthcare supply chains. The brand is the work of Toronto-based creative agency Made By Emblem, which conceived it to reflect the status of airport workers as resilient heroes.
“We believed that by making airport employees the focus of IATP’s brand identity, Pearson could tap into the pride already felt among workers,” said Joshua Duchesne, Associate Creative Director at Made By Emblem. “The idea was that IATP could celebrate its employee community by capturing joy in the workplace while elevating jobs through metaphors.”
Other wins: This isn’t the first time IATP has been recognized for its stylish looks. This summer it took second place in the outdoor/billboards category of the PRINT Awards and was shortlisted in the Communication Arts Design Competition.
