TORONTO—When Transcontinental Media purchased custom magazine publisher Redwood Communications in the fall of 2008, it had two years to change Redwood’s name. Design Edge spoke with company creative director Peter Grimaldi recently about the design behind the new moniker and company website.



Design Edge Canada: What was the inspiration behind the new logo?

Peter Grimaldi: As always when working with a logo design you’re trying to balance the notion of being contemporary and design relevant but also stand the test of time and not look too trendy. We looked at a few graphic elements but ended up with [just] the word mark. The reason was that it has a signature feel. We added the cut through on the M which adds the notion of totems and creation. We tried to make something that is unlike anything that has been done before, which is always difficult as a designer. [We tried to] keep it fresh, which is a big part of our mandate.

What font was used for the logo?

PG: It is an interpretation of Frutiger, starting with a modern font and then making it a bit more signature and notable.

DEC: What colours are used on the Totem branding and website?

PG: We chose the CMYK colour palette [because we] thought that was an interesting play, making reference to the traditional print colours. When you look at most of the communication pieces, they play with the solid colours.

DEC: What was the process behind the design of the website?

PG: The design of the website was a long process. One of the exciting things was trying to create something different. A lot of the conversation was around what the best practices are for a website. We ended up wanting to build an experience.

We thought about what it is to tell stories and wanted the website to be a sense of discovery. It is a pretty non-traditional site. A lot of layering and entry points on the homepage.

In terms of design on the site, we tried to be true to the palette, layering on top of it. One of the things we found exciting is that when you click through different pages you go through different colour palettes within the main five colours. There is a lot of transition when you go through different pages. Contact: Totembrandstories.com