SickKids Foundation
SickKids Foundation
A Toronto inspired visual system for a SickKids milestone gala.
A Toronto inspired visual system for a SickKids milestone gala.
After years of taking Toronto around the world, Scrubs brought the party home. For its 25th anniversary, SickKids Foundation’s annual fundraising gala became Scrubs in Our City, turning its attention to the neighbourhoods and creative energy that make Toronto unmistakable. Working alongside another in-house designer, I helped build the campaign and event system across the full guest experience. The identity paired the polish of a black-tie gala with the texture of the city itself, giving a milestone year a look that felt dressed up without losing its edge.
After years of taking Toronto around the world, Scrubs brought the party home. For its 25th anniversary, SickKids Foundation’s annual fundraising gala became Scrubs in Our City, turning its attention to the neighbourhoods and creative energy that make Toronto unmistakable. Working alongside another in-house designer, I helped build the campaign and event system across the full guest experience. The identity paired the polish of a black-tie gala with the texture of the city itself, giving a milestone year a look that felt dressed up without losing its edge.
The existing website and marketing materials lacked consistency and did not fully reflect the organization’s approachable, youth-focused mission. The goal was to create a more engaging and accessible visual experience that could better connect with younger audiences while maintaining credibility within healthcare and educational spaces. As a freelance designer, I supported the refresh through website design, brand development, social content, and supporting marketing materials.
Year:
Tag Here
Tools:
Figma
InDesign
Illustrator
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The existing website and marketing materials lacked consistency and did not fully reflect the organization’s approachable, youth-focused mission. The goal was to create a more engaging and accessible visual experience that could better connect with younger audiences while maintaining credibility within healthcare and educational spaces. As a freelance designer, I supported the refresh through website design, brand development, social content, and supporting marketing materials.
Year:
Tag Here
Tools:
Figma
InDesign
Illustrator
Read More
Branding
Event
Services Provided:
Event Design
Visual Identity
Research & Discovery
Marketing Collateral
Credits:
Event Photography by George Pimentel and Melissa Di Pasquale
Event Photography by George Pimentel and Melissa Di Pasquale
How it was solved
Because Toronto could not be represented by one visual style, the identity was built around contrast. It needed to move between polished gala moments and grittier street-inspired details, while still feeling like one cohesive event system.
Because Toronto could not be represented by one visual style, the identity was built around contrast. It needed to move between polished gala moments and grittier street-inspired details, while still feeling like one cohesive event system.
Visual System
Layered textures, bold typography, graffiti-inspired details, and Toronto-influenced graphics were used to create a visual language that felt energetic without becoming messy. The goal was to avoid the expected skyline approach and instead reflect the city through movement, contrast, and visual depth.
Layered textures, bold typography, graffiti-inspired details, and Toronto-influenced graphics were used to create a visual language that felt energetic without becoming messy. The goal was to avoid the expected skyline approach and instead reflect the city through movement, contrast, and visual depth.
Guest Journey
On-site signage, decals, and environmental graphics helped guests move through the event, from registration to lounges, sponsor activations, and key moments throughout the evening. The goal was to make each area easy to find and understand while keeping the full venue connected to the theme's brand identity.
On-site signage, decals, and environmental graphics helped guests move through the event, from registration to lounges, sponsor activations, and key moments throughout the evening. The goal was to make each area easy to find and understand while keeping the full venue connected to the theme's brand identity.
Sponsor Needs
Some materials needed to flex around sponsor requirements without breaking from the event identity. Rogers signage replaced the established wayfinding system’s blue with red so their logo never appeared on a competitor colour, while Holt Renfrew activations followed their signature pink. These sponsor-specific colour shifts were handled as intentional extensions of the system rather than one-off exceptions.
Some materials needed to flex around sponsor requirements without breaking from the event identity. Rogers signage replaced the established wayfinding system’s blue with red so their logo never appeared on a competitor colour, while Holt Renfrew activations followed their signature pink. These sponsor-specific colour shifts were handled as intentional extensions of the system rather than one-off exceptions.
The Outcome
The final creative helped bring Scrubs in Our City to life as a polished, city-wide celebration of Toronto and 25 years of SickKids impact. The system gave the event a cohesive visual foundation across digital, print, sponsor, and on-site materials, while allowing different parts of the experience to reflect the city's energy and variety.
Together, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and guests raised over $1.44M in one night toward a new CT scanner for SickKids, supporting faster imaging, higher-resolution scans, and more precise diagnoses for patients.
The final creative helped bring Scrubs in Our City to life as a polished, city-wide celebration of Toronto and 25 years of SickKids impact. The system gave the event a cohesive visual foundation across digital, print, sponsor, and on-site materials, while allowing different parts of the experience to reflect the city's energy and variety.
Together, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and guests raised over $1.44M in one night toward a new CT scanner for SickKids, supporting faster imaging, higher-resolution scans, and more precise diagnoses for patients.
