Canadian firm should have rebranded National Gallery, designers say | CBC News

The new logo and strategic plan, developed in consultation with four local Algonquin elders, Indigenous artists, staff and other cultural institutions, was created by design firm Area 17, which has offices in New York and Paris.

Mark Rutledge, president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, said the gallery should have chosen a company in Canada, especially due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

“It dismays me that the National Gallery of Canada would’ve gone outside our borders to seek the talent when we have it right here,” said Rutledge, who is also Ojibway from Little Grand Rapids First Nation.

“Why are we, as taxpayers, paying essentially an American studio to re-brand this Canadian organization, regardless of the fact they have Canadians working abroad.”

Watch: Designer disappointed in National Gallery of Canada:

Mark Rutledge, president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, says it’s disappointing that the National Gallery of Canada hired an international design firm rather than a Canadian one. 1:02

Lead designer is Canadian, gallery says

Rosemary Thompson, the gallery’s vice-president of corporate, public affairs and marketing, said six firms — four Canadian and two U.S.-based — were invited to participate in the year-long process of developing the strategic plan and logo.

Thompson pointed out two of three partners at Area 17 are Canadian and one of them, Kemp Attwood, was the lead designer on the logo project, which cost a total of $250,000.

“They came out on top because they had deep Canadian experience, they were fluently bilingual and they had experience in the museum sector not only in the United States but around the world,” Thompson said.

Attwood, who is originally from North Bay, Ont., worked in Vancouver and won design awards for his work with CBC Radio 3 before moving on to work internationally.

In a statement, Attwood said he was personally invested in the project “to help one of Canada’s most pre-eminent institutions truly represent all of Canada on the world stage.”

“I think it’s important that we recognize that Canadians can do well in Canada and they can do well around the world,” Thompson said.

Rutledge, who worked in Ottawa for a decade and is now based in Whitehorse, said Indigenous designers in Canada would have added both cultural and professional expertise.

He said he’s still waiting to hear directly from the gallery about his questions about the selection process.