Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

OVATION Awards Winning Entry
Communication Creative
Other Graphic Design/3D
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Entrant’s Name: Jeff Smalley, Corporate Graphic Designer
Organization’s Name: Town of Oakville
Division/Category: Division 3/Category 18
Title of Entry: Oakville Canopy Club
Time Period of Project: March‐Nov 2011
Brief Description: Town of Oakville launched the Oakville Canopy Club, an innovative community outreach
program that encourages residents to save Oakville’s tree canopy from the threat of an invasive insect, the
Emerald Ash Borer. The branding of the Oakville Canopy Club had to be inviting, unique, exciting, positive and
capture the club’s essence.
Project Summary:
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a native insect to Asia, migrated to North America in 2002 infesting and
destroying over 20 million indigenous ash trees in Canada and the United States. EAB’s presence in
Oakville was first confirmed in 2008 and is a direct threat to more than 180,000 ash trees within the
town. As a primary tree killer, this insect can kill a healthy tree in two to three years. The town's goal is
to protect 75 per cent of the ash canopy cover on the public road allowance and active parks from EAB.
However, a staggering 80 per cent of Oakville’s treatable ash trees are located on private property. Ash
trees which are structurally sound and healthy can be saved if residents know about them and choose to
treat them.
This was a huge opportunity for the Town of Oakville to educate residents and encourage treatment. In
response, the Town of Oakville developed and subsequently launched the Oakville Canopy Club an
innovative community outreach program that encourages residents to save Oakville’s tree canopy from
the threat of EAB. The goal of the Oakville Canopy Club is to inspire residents to join the cause. Whether
you have an ash tree or not, residents can become a canopy club champion by treating their ash trees,
removing dead or dying trees and disposing of them properly, replanting a new species of tree, but most
importantly, tell anyone who will listen to do their part.
In order to maximize exposure, the brand identifier for the Oakville Canopy Club had to look and feel
exciting, but still abide by the Town of Oakville’s visual identity standards. Having the correct balance of
graphic elements and emotive qualities to the branding would help support the goal of spreading
awareness of EAB, and ultimately have residents take action on EAB prevention that not only affects
them, but their entire community.
Intended Audiences:
The primary target of the Canopy Club was the residents of Oakville, though the EAB infestation was not
limited to a local phenomenon. The intended target included any range of age, gender, race, income
level, etc., as the EAB issue affects all residents. Homeowner or no homeowner, ash tree or no ash tree,
the potential canopy depletion would affect the look and feel of the town overall, and thus the message
of the Oakville Canopy Club was simple: tell anyone who will listen about the EAB threat.