Innocence Canada: Innocence Canada Living Logo

Credits & Description:

Market: Toronto
Agency: Kbs Canada
Entrant Company: Kbs Canada
Agency Network: Mdc Partners
Holding Company: Mdc Partners
Production Company: Kbs Canada
Advertiser / Brand: Innocence Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Matt Hassell
Executive Creative Director: Laura Kim
Associate Creative Director: Kate Thorneloe
Associate Creative Director: Jess Carter
Producer: Lauren Sharpe
Editor: David Quach
Producer: Nick Hutcheson
Editor: Lauren Horn
Film Director: David Quach
Agency Producer: Nick Hutcheson, Lauren Sharpe
Graphic Design: John Forbes
Strategy:
At a time when Innocence Canada had a backlog of 86 cases and no certain future, our strategy was to design an identity that could: 1. Capture public and government attention, and 2. Galvanize the resolve of staff and clients at a time when hope seemed to be running out.We chose the symbol of the tally because of the hope it represents within prison walls. The tally serves as an ongoing measure of the organization’s success - one that always wills the next victory.By having the exonerees contribute their own hand painted stroke to the logo we aimed to bring a human element, previously missing, to the brand identity. The individual strokes functioned as personal declarations of innocence that will link past and future exonerees to the brand.
Campaign Description:
The process of overturning a wrongful conviction can take up to 10 years of work. Each one is a monumental victory for the wrongly convicted individual and for Innocence Canada. These infrequent victories are the reason the brand exists so we designed a brand identity that could celebrate each and every one.Prison tallies, or hashmarks, are a familiar means of counting time spent in prison. Innocence Canada’s exonerees counted a combined 190 years. Our idea was for exonerees to help us make one last tally – this one would measure freedom. The tally would become a new dynamic logo for Innocence Canada that would bring the individual exonerees to the forefront of the brand’s identity.
Execution:
On October 4, 2016, Wrongful Convictions Day, Innocence Canada’s exonerees gathered at the Ontario Court of Appeal. In front legal professionals, friends and family they made what would become Innocence Canada’s new logo. Each exoneree used a personalized paintbrush (2.5”) to add a black acrylic enamel paint stroke to a growing tally. The 21 stroke tally was photographed, digitally captured, and vectorized to create a logo that will be updated with a new stroke each time an exoneration is achieved. In addition to updating stationary and mugs with the new logo – we created mugs and striking white umbrellas designed to get attention in and around courthouses on dreary days. A series of guerilla posters in downtown Toronto showed the evolving nature of the logo.
Synopsis:
Innocence Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit. Innocence Canada consists of 4 full-time employees, 2 part-time employees, a 13-member board of directors, and 55 pro-bono lawyers. They are Canada’s only full-time innocence organization with national scope and in their 25 year history have helped to overturn convictions of 21 individuals who spent a combined 190 years in prison.In 2016 when Innocence Canada was looking at a backlog of 86 cases and a lack of funding, we were asked to design a new brand identity for them. We were working with a small budget of $
500 CDN.
Outcome:
Three months after the logo was created, the Ontario government committed financial backing for the first time ever to Innocence Canada with three years of support and a total of $900,000. Innocence Canada attributes their newly acquired government support in large part to the public attention they received upon creating the dynamic logo and surrounding brand identity.There are presently 16 cases where the organization is convinced of innocence. So we now trust that new strokes will be added to Innocence Canada’s new logo soon.