TORONTO, July 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Experts in creating award-winning strategies for mixed-use, urban developments world-wide, Kramer Design Associates (KDA) has designed a distinctive brand mark and innovative, digital-media signage and wayfinding program for Ice District in Edmonton.
Ice District is a $2.5 billion project and will be the largest mixed-use sports and entertainment district in Canada. It is anchored by a public plaza and Rogers Place - a state-of-the-art sports, event and concert venue and home to the Edmonton Oilers. Ice District also boasts a luxury hotel; two AAA office towers with the City of Edmonton and Stantec as anchor tenants; condominiums and apartments; restaurants and nightlife; the Grand Villa Edmonton casino; a premier Cineplex theatre complex; a Kids and Company child care centre and retail options including boutique shops, a grocery store and a Rexall pharmacy.
By working and consulting with private stakeholders and the community, KDA created an integrated signage program to support the variety of destinations and attractions in the district and designed a brand mark that is authentically Edmonton.
"KDA's overall strategy was to powerfully communicate, through brand, signage and wayfinding, that Ice District will be a vibrant sports and entertainment destination where Edmontonians and visitors from around the world will come to explore, celebrate and feel the heartbeat of a world-class city," said Jeremy Kramer, Principal and Creative Director of KDA.
Kramer continued: "Importantly, Ice District's brand mark has been designed to embrace Edmonton's winter city status, be uniquely memorable and provide the basis for a fantastic, visual experience. To Edmontonians, the word 'ice' is evocative. It sums up their strength of character and sense of pride. It represents what is great and distinct about their city.
"The letterform of Ice District's brand is custom-designed and consists of geometric letters with curves and subtle angles that reinforce the unique architecture of the district. The icon is based on a rotation of abstracted skate blades, that when repeated, form a star within the inner central space – it's a graphic nod to the district's plaza, and fittingly, the five-point star has always been synonymous with heraldry, achievement, stardom and entertainment."
About KDA
Kramer Design Associates (KDA) is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design firm specializing in Visual Identity Programs, Signage and Wayfinding, Media Architecture and Street Furniture for high profile clients across North America and abroad.
KDA has designed many famous Canadian identities including CBC, Fallsview Casino and Resort, Toronto Entertainment District, Cogeco Cable and Vincor. Integrated signage and digital-media strategies for mixed-use entertainment destinations include Maple Leaf Square and Yonge Dundas Square in Toronto, Celebration Square in Mississauga, Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, Ford Centers in New York and Chicago, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, and The Pearl in Doha.
From big picture conceptual planning to intricate design details, KDA's team of brand experts, graphic, industrial, architectural and new technology designers create powerful and intelligent design solutions that are solidly grounded on our clients' business objectives, backed by research, and validated by success.
About Ice District
Ice District will be the largest mixed-use sports and entertainment district in Canada and is already projecting an energy and feeling unlike anything Edmonton has seen before. Ice District will deliver a new era of entertainment in the form of epic concerts, heart-stopping NHL and WHL hockey, blockbuster movies, world-class gaming, boutique shopping, trendy dining and more. A humming public plaza with year-round programming will host events from festivals to public skating. All of this, just steps from sophisticated residences and premium office space.
Rogers Place is being developed by the Oilers Entertainment Group and the City of Edmonton. Ice District Properties, a mixed-use development surrounding Rogers Place and the Winter Garden, is being developed through a joint venture between Katz Group and WAM Development Group. Ice District will become a place for all to gather, create, and share memories that is true to Edmonton's character and unlike anything in North America.
SOURCE Kramer Design Associates
Image with caption: "Ice District Brand Mark and signage (CNW Group/Kramer Design Associates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150713_C7601_PHOTO_EN_443087.jpg
Image with caption: "Ice District Digital-Media Plaza Sign (CNW Group/Kramer Design Associates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150713_C7601_PHOTO_EN_443089.jpg
Image with caption: "Kramer Design Associates Ltd. (CNW Group/Kramer Design Associates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150713_C7601_PHOTO_EN_443091.jpg
Share this article