Case Study, Design, Illustration

Case Study: Huntington Society Of Canada (HSC)

The Huntington Society of Canada (HSC) is a not-for-profit charitable organization that raises funds and supports individuals and families facing Huntington disease (HD).

We began work for HSC in early 2022 after they caught wind of Ruth Ann‘s Annual Report for the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance (GHFFA), where she was able to seamlessly blend design, illustration and photography to create an informative and visually compelling document.

We started this project trying to set a mood; 50 years of experience and education that began with a road trip in 1973. A triad of blues paired with a warm orange and gold came to mind; a cream coloured base and we had our 6 colours; light, mid and dark covered.

A key support element was the circa 1970 VW Bus that rolled across North America meeting folks, educating (and being educated) on what was a relatively unknown disease (at the time). Ruth Ann ran through some studies: front, side & back.

An icon/symbol and typography study on the core message: “ROUTE 50: Driving Hope Forward” and illustration of a Canadian road sign, American road sign & Ontario license plate helped to establish a “look” and “feel” that can connect everything together in a printed document.

From their, signage, people, places & things found on road trips became the core of what would carry across cover(s) and spreads as the document began to take shape.

The primary spread with van and graphic bands of colour took centre stage. Trees, clouds, birds and organic forms contrast the geometric bands of colour.

We’ve finally got our “look” and “feel”!

We EVEN made a sticker set inspired by road signs (simplified to match the overall aesthetic) as well as illustrations of the Huntington Society of Canada’s official plant (Amaryllis) and animal (Dragonfly).

Once the assets were generated and the document content was received from the client, we were off to the races.

Again, the focus was on movement from page to page to show the progress made over a half century of experience, education, etc.

To see the full document in all of its glory, please visit Chatham Creative Company‘s Huntington Society of Canada (HSC) project page.

We’re incredibly pleased with both the process and results; good work for good people and HSC‘s review below speaks for itself. Thank you and godspeed to The Huntington Society of Canada (HSC) turning 50 this year. In the words of Co-Founder Ariel Walker “So please, get involved. Surround yourself with the community. It will help and it truly inspires hope.”

★★★★★ 

“Ruth Ann and Michael are that rare combination of exceptional talent and exemplary service. They were quick to realize our vision and exceed our expectations with amazing creative that had our whole community buzzing. A pure delight – I would never go anywhere else.”

~ Huntington Society of Canada