King Street Pilot

I am honoured that three of my designs were selected for the King Street Pilot Project, an ambitious transit program by the City of Toronto that will change the way we move across Canada's largest city.

From my proposal:

King Street is one of the most historic corridors of Toronto, dating back to 1793 in the original ground plans of the Town of York. It has had many transformations in its 224 years, but has always served as a vital artery, moving masses East and West across the Canada’s capital.
As Toronto continues to grow and change, it is important to remember this rich history. Inspired by colourized vintage postcards, my design for the King Street Pilot Study brings the past into the present by incorporating historic photographs from the Toronto Archives. With the use of directional shape and colour, these photos are brought to life for a contemporary setting. The barriers become colourful windows into the past.
This design can be applied to the corridor more broadly. The concept is highly flexible and scalable, and could easily be extrapolated for other uses. This bright, bold design will add energy and dynamism during the King Street Pilot project, while reminding passersby of the Toronto’s long history of as a leader for growth and change.

Below are the three final designs for the concrete barriers. Be sure to check out the King Street Pilot in action from Jarvis to Bathurst, snap some photos, and send them my way!

Area 1: Bathurst to Simcoe


Area 2: Simcoe to Yonge


Area 3: Yonge to Jarvis


Many thanks to Bruce, Karina, and everyone at the City of Toronto for this incredible opportunity to improve the way we move in Toronto.

More information on the City of Toronto website.
CBC article here.

Lettered TTC

Lettered TTC, now available for purchase, wholesale, and on Etsy.

Line 1 Yonge–University
Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
Line 3 Sheppard
Line 4 Scarborough
All Lines

These 12” x 16” prints were hand-lettered using brush and ink and printed in Toronto on Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Ultrawhite 120lb matte fine art paper, using an HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press.

More photos below.

Paris 2013 – Métropolitain

I was completely enamoured by the Paris Métro system. Every time I saw a subway station, I was transported to another era.

There were two main types of entrances. The one pictured above was designed by Hector Guimard, and was heavily influenced by the popular Art Nouveau style at the turn of the 20th century. Part of their beauty is the high contrast between the heavy cast iron construction and the weightlessness of growing plants and organic forms. Guimard designed two variations of this entrance, with and without glass roofs (a roofed example here). 141 entrances were constructed between 1900 and 1912, of which 86 still exist.

The second type of Métro entrance is marked by red masts / totems, which came about in the 1920s. These signposts vary in the amount of decorative embellishment; the Val d'Osne variant (pictured below) consists of a globe-shaped lamp above a "Métro" sign, surrounded by an ornate cast-iron frieze.

Hector Guimard is also responsible for all of the beautiful features, including these stunning iron railings found at most stations. No detail was overlooked.

Underground, there is great variation from station - you can ready more about the historical styles here. Most are vaulted and tiled (like the one below). Almost all stations feature huge permanent poster frames, built into the arched walls.

Rocket by time

Loving this infographic by James Rosselet, which shows times between TTC stops. Neat-o!
(via BlogTO)

Type around T.O: TTC edition

Logo lust

GO Transit has got it figured out with this great modular logo.

Also awesome (via their website):

"GO runs 185 train trips and 2,045 bus trips daily, carrying about 217,000 passengers on a typical weekday — 180,000 on the trains and 37,000 by bus."