Robazzo's 2019 Year in Review
It’s hard to believe 2019 is already over, and what a whirlwind of creativity and opportunity it was! From designing brand identities for a number of local companies to building two large-scale permanent installations, overhauling our website & messaging, and getting shortlisted for the international Lexus Design Award, it’s safe to say it’s been a busy year.
READ ON FOR MORE ABOUT THIS EXCITING YEAR:
Chapter 1: be well
The year started off with a series of projects in the health & wellness space, an industry we’re serving more and more as time goes on. From packaging for a customized vitamin company and branding for a new women’s clinic to a textbook for an online herbalism course, we worked on a variety of projects aimed at holistic health.
ditto vitamin packaging & CREATIVE Direction
Ditto is a fresh Victoria-based tech company with a unique offering. Every three months, customers use a simple at-home blood sample kit to receive a customized daily vitamin for their specific body and its deficiencies. We were tasked with designing the packaging & complete unboxing experience for this novel product, in keeping with the Ditto brand identity. We also acted as creative directors for a fun lifestyle photo shoot (shot by Trevor Ball) to boost the brand image.
Pacific Rim College Online Course Book
Pacific Rim College is an esteemed school of holistic medicine and sustainable living located in Market Square, downtown Victoria. After developing a relationship with the school several years ago, through the design & fabrication of a custom trade show booth and outreach booth, we were approached for another project in 2019. In preparation for the launch of their online education component, we took on the design of the 1000-page course book for the first program in herbalism. We laid out a number of templates for the various types of content in the book, as well as a suite of icons and a collection of illustrations to give the program a distinct brand identity.
WomenMD clinic Branding
Dr. Virginia Gooderham came to us seeking a brand identity and online presence for her new women’s clinic in Fairfield, Victoria. We got to work designing a soft, feminine brand that, with the help of watercolour accents, encompasses both the professional offering of the clinic as well as the holistic approach that Dr. Gooderham takes. The branding suite included many aspects: logo, business cards, promotional posters, prescription pad, outdoor signage, and website.
Chapter 2: Building an Experience Part I
It’s no secret that between our algorithmic design skills and digital fabrication capabilities, the Robazzo team is capable of creating otherworldly experiences in physical reality. The first half of 2019 brought two such experiential projects: one for a local restaurant and the other for a charity fundraising organization.
CERA Korean restaurant
In 2019, the owners of the popular Nubo Japanese Tapas and E:Ne Sake Bar opened up a new traditional Korean restaurant called CERA in the recently-renovated Janion building next to the Johnson St. Bridge. We came on board to help define the physical experience of the new establishment with a custom installation inspired by a bamboo forest. Using almost 100 unique wooden fins, we were able to transform the once-drab hallway into a memorable and instagram-able experience for CERA’s customers.
Canuck Place pop-up Booth
Canuck Place is a Vancouver-based nonprofit organization providing paediatric palliative care to families in BC. We were asked to conceptualize, design and fabricate an engaging booth that could be set up in shopping malls and other public spaces to raise awareness of and inspire donations to the charity. We created a kid-sized fun house that would attract children while their parents have a chance to chat with the Canuck Place representatives and learn more about this great cause.
Chapter 3: Community
We had a lot to celebrate in May, as the Studio turned four years old. To mark this achievement, we gave our space a facelift, had new team photos taken (thanks, Bud Webmeister), and hosted a sweet party. To top it all off, we designed and fabricated a light-up installation called Obelisk for the Vancouver Island regional Burning Man event, Otherworld. There’s nothing we love more than creating beautiful things and celebrating with our community!
Studio Facelift
In preparation for the 4-year celebration, we took some time to give our space a little facelift. We re-arranged the office layout, painted some walls, and created a cozy meeting lounge at the back of the Studio, perfect for meeting and creative thinking. Thank you to Kim Jay for taking our studio portraits!
Robazzo is 4
As is annual tradition, in late May we hosted a gathering of friends, family, clients and collaborators to celebrate four years in business. We were lucky to have DJ legends Hristo and Frivolous keeping the beat while we networked, socialized, and ate a delicious cake custom-made by Danielle Lavoie.
Obelisk
Every year in June, Robazzo founders Tinka and Andrew take a week off from official Studio duties to take part in Otherworld, Vancouver Island’s regional Burning Man event. It’s obviously a lot of fun, as well as being the perfect opportunity to experiment with new creative ideas. In 2019, we conceptualized and fabricated an 8’ tall glowing Obelisk, created from painted plexiglass that was engraved with a parametric pattern.
Soon thereafter, we were approached by the Burnaby Arts Council to include Obelisk in the 2020 Luminescence festival, taking place in March, 2020. If you’re in the Vancouver area, we hope you’ll check it out!
Chapter 4: Building an Experience Part II
Gelatinous Cube
2019 brought with it one of our most outlandish project requests ever: a life-sized monster from Dungeons & Dragons called the Gelatinous Cube for local company Codename Entertainment. We brainstormed and innovated our way through the process of heat-molding acrylic sheets onto CNC-routed forms to create the irregular geometry, followed by a lengthy process of gooping up the cube with tinted liquid rubber. The final piece was featured at the PAX West Convention in Seattle, where it received an enthusiastic response from D&D fans.
A cosplayer in the Gelatinous Cube, PAX West 2019
Reflexology Partition Screen
Around the same time that we were wrapping up the Gelatinous Cube, we started work on our next big build project: a set of symmetrical partition screens for a new clinic in Cook St. Village called The Reflexology Experience. As well as emphasizing the verticality of the otherwise low ceiling, the parametric screens were designed to invoke the form and texture of fabric curtains hanging from above and leading customers towards the treatment areas at the back of the space.
Chapter 5: Sounds Good
In the second half of 2019, we were fortunate to create complete branding packages for two different tech companies focussed on sound: YogiTunes, a ‘spiritual spotify’, and HeardThat, a revolutionary app that helps those with hearing impairment get back in the conversation.
YogiTunes Rebrand
Our friends at YogiTunes approached Robazzo seeking a sleek new brand identity for their yoga & meditation music streaming service. Using the organic shapes created by cymatic vibrations as a base, we created a mandala-esque logo for the refreshed brand. We also took on the creative direction and photography for their new identity, pulling colours from the photo shoot into the brand guidelines. Finally, we put it all together into a clean and cohesive website, yet to be launched.
HeardThat Branding
HeardThat, which was debuted at CES 2020, is an exciting new tech company based out of Vancouver, BC. Their propriety software, which uses deep learning algorithms, pairs with any modern hearing aid and serves to isolate the voice(s) of those that are in conversation with one another, blocking out all other external and ambient sounds. This is a revolutionary technology for those with hearing impairment, who usually have a hard time staying in the conversation in crowded or otherwise noisy environments. We designed a complete branding package for HeardThat, from logo, brand standards, business cards and trade show booth to photoshoot creative direction and website build-out.
Chapter 6: inward focus
As the decade came to a close, we chose to focus inward at our own identity and innovative ideas. We started with an overhaul of our website, showcasing the various services we offer under one umbrella of creating a cohesive brand experience: on screen, on paper, and in real life. We also submitted to (and were shortlisted for) the Lexus Design Award with our concept for a click-together office partition system, called SCREEN.
Website Refresh
Since we’ve grown so much as a business in the last few years, we thought our website should be updated to reflect that. The fresh new look is representative of our multidisciplinary offerings, with a focus on the complete brand experience instead of highlighting each individual discipline we offer as a separate service.
If you’re reading this, then you’re already here! Click around to check out the rest of the site.
SCREEN & the Lexus Design Award
In October, we caught wind of the Lexus Design Awards, which serve to showcase innovative ideas from around the world. SCREEN is an idea we’ve been working on for a while, and we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share the concept. We submitted a proposal for a versatile click-together office partition system, and were shortlisted among thousands of entries. While we didn’t get selected as a finalist, we are proud of the idea and grateful to have made it on the shortlist! Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting product line, we haven’t give up just yet. ;)
That about sums it up
What a year!
Not a year goes by where we don’t look back with awe at all that has transpired and changed in the Robazzo world. 2019 was no exception; we accomplished a lot in the last 12 months and are super grateful for all those that have contributed to and helped shape the current iteration of our creative business. Big shout outs to our 2019 team: Alejandro Rojas & Rory McDonald! We couldn’t have made it through without you.
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