YWCA

Women of Distinction

Challenge

The first YWCA Saskatoon Women of Distinction (WOD) Awards dinner was held more than 30 years ago. Since then, more than 700 women in all walks of life have been recognized for their accomplishments and achievements as mentors, volunteers, activists, teachers, leaders and researchers.

This event is YWCA Saskatoon’s major fundraising event and proceeds help support their efforts to build a stronger community. The success of this event is dependent on the longstanding commitment of sponsors, volunteers, nominators and, of course, the nominees.

In 2009, the YWCA approached William Joseph to refresh the look of the WOD brand. The goal was to create a stronger, more engaging look and feel and create professional and consistent collateral that better reflected the prestige of the event. 

William Joseph Thinking

William Joseph wanted to elevate the WOD Awards Dinner by developing a new brand that was inspiring and could stand on its own, yet still align strongly with the YWCA Saskatoon’s core brand.

The YWCA distinctive blue palette was used for consistency, with the YWCA logo anchoring below the new WOD Awards logo. This new WOD Awards logo was inspired by the idea of rebirth and reinvention and a butterfly was incorporated into the new wordmark.

Butterflies taking flight created a new sense of energy and refinement. They were used as dramatic design elements on all the collateral such as sponsor packages, nomination brochures, print ads, event program guides and video slides.

Results

William Joseph created a new look and feel for the WOD event and executed consistent branding that was carried out across all touchpoints. The new brand helped generate excitement and awareness about the event and helped elevate the WOD brand to a new level.