Poster hoarding example
Rolling Stone

Translating the legacy of a 55+ year old media powerhouse into a prestigious live concert series through naming, identity and rollout.

Gather No Moss Logo

Rolling Stone, the iconic magazine that has chronicled nearly six decades of rock & roll, is expanding into live events with the launch of a national concert series. The idea emerged from shifts in the festival landscape and growing interest in shared, in-person experiences. How can Rolling Stone bring the spirit of its pages to the stage? The result is the Gather No Moss tour.

Artist image treatment
Subway billboard
Social media posts

Visually, we developed an editorial identity rooted in Rolling Stone’s iconic design language. The system draws from the brand’s distinct wordmark, typography, layout principles, and image treatment, translating them into a cohesive, contemporary concert identity.

Stage graphic example
Image treatment
Admat poster example
Souvenir t-shirt
Badge with lanyard
Website example

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
BrandingDigitalMotion

rollingstone.com

This four-city series—Chicago, Denver, Nashville, and New York—celebrates each city’s unique legacy in rock music. It brings together some of the most compelling voices in the industry, combining emerging and established talent with the raw authenticity that defines Rolling Stone’s journalism.

Despite being a new initiative, the first show sold out within its first week, with the remaining dates projected to follow suit. Rolling Stone successfully integrated this live event series into its broader platform and brand ecosystem, while allowing it to evolve as a distinct experience. The project laid the groundwork for engaging a new generation of music fans, all while honouring the legacy of the Rolling Stone name.

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Tracks on Tracks
Invest Brampton
Tangerine
Poster hoarding example
Cumulus Architects

Creating a refreshed brand and website that captures Cumulus Architects’ blue sky thinking and open approach to design.

Image treatment
Souvenir t-shirt
Souvenir t-shirt

The visual identity for Cumulus Architects draws inspiration from the openness and fluidity of the sky. A bright, airy colour palette evokes a sense of clarity and optimism, while the custom wordmark mirrors the soft, rounded forms of cumulus clouds—capturing the studio’s collaborative, evolving approach to design. Together, these elements create a system that feels expansive, thoughtful, and grounded in possibility.

Souvenir t-shirt
Souvenir t-shirt
Image treatment
Admat poster example
Admat poster example
Admat poster example
Souvenir t-shirt
Souvenir t-shirt
Stage graphic example
Stage graphic example

Industry
Architecture

Service
Branding, Digital

cumulusarch.com

Cumulus Architects approached us to help mark their 10 year milestone. With this anniversary came an opportunity to refresh how they present themselves to the world.

We partnered with them to evolve their brand and redesign their website—creating a digital space that better reflects their collaborative values, work, and culture. Inspired by their name and philosophy, we introduced a light, sky-driven visual direction that mirrors their clarity of thought and collective process. The result is a refreshed identity and website that not only showcases their portfolio, but also invites prospective clients and collaborators into their way of thinking.

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Tangerine
Invest Brampton
Herb
Brampton Entrepreneur Centre

A bold brand refresh for BEC, celebrating its role as a vibrant hub for entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey.

The Brampton Entrepreneur Centre (BEC) is a vital resource for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Brampton. Offering everything from one-on-one consultations to grant programs, workshops, and a co-working space, BEC supports founders at every stage of their journey. Whether someone is refining a business idea or scaling an established venture, BEC provides the tools, guidance, and community needed to succeed.

As their offerings and audience continued to evolve, BEC partnered with Puncture to reimagine how their identity could better reflect who they are today—and where they’re headed. With a growing focus on accessibility, youth engagement, and digital communication, they needed a bold visual system that could speak to a wide range of entrepreneurs while feeling cohesive alongside the Invest Brampton brand. The refreshed identity celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit through a bold new colour palette and expressive typography—designed to feel dynamic, inclusive, and empowering.

Admat poster example
Admat poster example
Admat poster example
Stage graphic example
Souvenir t-shirt
Souvenir t-shirt
Stage graphic example

Industry
Corporate

Service
Branding, Digital

The identity comes to life across a range of print and digital touchpoints, from signage and social templates to workshop materials and wayfinding. Built to be both functional and expressive, the system equips BEC with the flexibility to speak to diverse audiences—while maintaining a strong, unified presence across platforms.

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Toronto Biennial of Art
Bentway STREET
The Filmmakers
Shorefast

A brand reposition and visual identity redesign of an organization dedicated to unleashing the power of place.

Since its establishment in 2004, Shorefast has been dedicated to cultivating economic and cultural resilience in Fogo Island, Newfoundland—a 400-year-old outport fishing community deeply affected by the decline of the cod fishery. Notably recognized for the Fogo Island Inn, which reinvests all profits back into the community, Shorefast sought the expertise of Puncture at the close of 2022.

Method & Process
In approaching this project, a comprehensive understanding of Shorefast was imperative. This involved extensive independent research, encompassing a thorough study of internal documents and reports, literature on Fogo Island, and films. Engaging in conversations with founders, staff, locals, and partners, we further immersed ourselves in the culture of Fogo Island during an on-site visit. This process culminated in two workshops—one centered on the brand and another focused on refining website details. The insights gained from these workshops became guiding principles, shaping the direction of our work and receiving approval from the Shorefast team.

Solution
Recognizing that Shorefast required more than a conventional brand, we developed “The Shorefast Way”—a comprehensive communication guideline covering positioning, brand tone, elevator pitch, and beyond. Most importantly, The Shorefast way encourages consistent messaging across channels.

The redesigned Shorefast logo serves as a simple visual metaphor, embodying the notion of holding on while reaching out, expressed through the extending line from the “t.” The brand is complemented by a straightforward typographic system and layouts that mirror the openness, approachability, and consideration inherent in the landscape of Fogo Island and the spirit of its people. The resulting design is simple, bold, user-friendly, and narrative-driven.

The website concept draws inspiration from an organized bookshelf, offering a snapshot of personality, subjects, and themes at a glance, with deeper stories and interactions revealed upon exploration. The website, built on a custom Content Management System, ensures seamless and flexible content updates.

Industry
Non-Profit

Service
BrandingDigital

shorefast.org

This collaboration aimed to address a growing disparity between Shorefast’s identity and its brand communication, particularly as the organization expanded its reach to collaborate with similar communities across Canada. Key challenges included clarifying the connection between Shorefast, Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island Arts, and Fogo Island Fish. Additionally, Shorefast required a cohesive visual system and an enhanced website to effectively convey its message.

The refreshed identity has empowered Shorefast with a more assertive, focused, and thoughtful presence. Internally, streamlined processes for creating reports, workshops, and presentations have shifted the team’s focus from graphic design to content. This transformation has translated into increased speaking engagements and substantial growth in donorship. Equipped with the tools and language provided, every team member and Fogo Islander can now articulate Shorefast’s narrative authentically. Moreover, the simplified and user-friendly website has made content uploading a straightforward and even enjoyable experience for the entire team.

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Choice Eastway and Caledon
Herb
Art Toronto
Canadian Stage

Creating a dynamic and accessible visual identity; leading to sold-out performances and industry acclaim.

Canadian Stage’s mission is to be the leading contemporary performing arts organization in the country. They came to Puncture in 2021 to refresh their master brand; they wanted to move away from being seen as a “contemporary art/intellectual/elitist” organization, towards something that was more accessible, reflecting “the art of today.”

After an in-depth research and discovery phase, the master brand we created for the organization is punctuated by a straight bold line, representing a stage. This line underscores the logo and can be extended to make connections to programming, and can also twist and turn to become more expressive of movement and live performance. A bright yellow that is easily recognizable and welcoming ties the brand together.

Since 2021, we have worked with Canadian Stage annually to create marketing collateral for their seasons, including the season brochure, out-of-home print ads, digital and social ads, video and motion assets, and sub-branding for the Dream in High Park series. For the 2022/23 season we directed and produced a photo and video shoot featuring key actors from the season’s productions, to be featured in all of the marketing collateral.

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
Branding

Canadian Stage is one of Canada’s leading non-profit, contemporary performing arts organizations based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1988, the theatre company has since produced over 300 shows with a focus on multidisciplinary work, text adaptation, programming international contemporary theatre, and developing and producing new Canadian works. Canadian Stage also continues to promote theatre to younger audiences, running a series of artist development and education initiatives, as well as youth and community outreach programs.

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Bentway STREET
Brampton Entrepreneur Centre
Cumulus Architects
Bentway STREET

Designing a visual identity for STREET, inspired by the street itself.

Puncture was engaged in 2022 to help develop the identity and communications for The Bentway’s summer programming season, STREET. STREET was a summer program full of art installations, roaming performances, events and celebrations. The task was to design a striking, bold creative campaign that created excitement around the upcoming season and contributed to building The Bentway brand as one of the top public art producers in North America.

Inspired by the energy of Toronto’s streets and the street signs and symbols we encounter everyday, we created a bold and dynamic season identity. Our work for STREET involved campaign development, creative design, strategy, and execution of all assets needed for media buys and onsite experience.

Industry
Non-Profit

Service
Branding

The Bentway has transformed a vacant and neglected area underneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway into a new gathering place and cultural hub for our city’s growing population.

With STREET, we created an identity that stood out from the crowd and helped The Bentway achieve their audience targets of over 100,000 visitors in summer 2022.

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Invest Brampton
Choice Properties
Tracks on Tracks
Tafelmusik

Helping a world-renowned Baroque orchestra invite new audiences in, with a simple and bold brand identity.

Tafelmusik, a world-renowned Baroque orchestra and choir, tasked Puncture with refreshing their visual identity and communication platform. Their main goals were to increase and diversify their audience and donor base. It was very important that the new brand honored the past while embracing the present—they needed to show they were moving forward without alienating their current audience.

We built a new brand strategy, positioning and communication toolkit. The entire brand is rooted in the idea of sharing beauty, which foregrounds all of Tafelmusik’s performances and is the reason why so many people have dedicated their lives to this music. We landed on “Tafelmusik invites audiences to engage with beauty through evocative live music experiences” as the brand position.

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
Branding

Taking the cue of “sharing beauty,” we developed a succinct visual identity that’s equipped to handle new and changing sub-brands, a rich colour palette and elegant imagery. The identity is informed by the beauty, symmetry and colour found in baroque art and architecture, which is emblematized in the signature diamond wordmark we created. The masterbrand was built with flexibility in mind, it expands to create unique season identities that incorporate new imagery and colours that are inspired by the season’s performances.

We continue to work with Tafelmusik on their marketing and content creation on an ongoing basis. This includes creative direction of season identities, signage, print and digital pieces, email and digital marketing, video series, and a seasonal magazine.

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Rolling Stone
Weston Family Foundation
CAMH Virtual Tour
SafeFest

Creating a highly visible and recognizable brand for a team dedicated to safety at music festivals.

Working with C3 Presents—the force behind top music festivals such as Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza—Puncture was tasked with creating the visual identity for SafeFest; all with the goal of standing out in a crowded and visually dense festival environment.

We developed the SafeFest hand raised in the air—a universal symbol representing a need for help, wanting attention, or having a question. It’s a gesture that is intuitive and can be understood quickly.

The Safest Hand also serves as a mascot for the brand. It takes on a positive and fun persona with its different hand gestures. It’s meant to make asking for help feel more accessible, differentiating itself from EMT or Police.

We paired the hand with a bright neon safety yellow. It’s meant to draw attention from a distance, in the dark, or under impairment. It’s a non-authoritative colour that will encourage festival goers to ask for help and watch out for each other.

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
Branding

SafeFest is a brand new team dedicated to creating a safe space for music festival patrons by providing an additional resource that isn’t medical or security.

Launched in 2023, SafeFest found it’s way to many festivals, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits and will continue to be present at festivals on an ongoing basis. If you need any assistance at an upcoming C3 festival, look for the helping hand or the SafeFest team in yellow T-shirts!

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Herb
Toronto Biennial of Art
Brampton Entrepreneur Centre
Esprit Orchestra

Developing a bold, striking visual identity for an orchestra devoted to cutting-edge contemporary music.

Esprit Orchestra is Canada’s only full-sized, professional orchestra dedicated to performing and promoting new orchestral music. Puncture was tasked with refreshing their visual identity, moving away from a traditional look to one that embodies Esprit’s innovative spirit.

The new identity is dynamic, expanding to create a space that establishes Esprit as a stage for new music and culture. The open wordmark frames the people behind the music—musicians, composers, and soloists—and invites the audience to explore new music with curiosity. With a vibrant colour palette, captivating imagery, and poetic language, this refreshed identity resonates with those seeking a fresh perspective on orchestral music.

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
BrandingDigital

espritorchestra.com

Founded in 1983, Esprit Orchestra’s commitment to delivering thought-provoking and unexpected musical experiences distinguishes it as one of the few organizations of its kind globally. By collaborating with leading composers, premier soloists, and ensembles from Canada and abroad, Esprit showcases Canadian works alongside international premieres each season. With unique, one-time-only performances, every concert is a rare, exclusive event. Esprit also nurtures the next generation of new music professionals and audiences through its mentorship and outreach programs.

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Choice Properties
Scarborough Proud
Tangerine
Dream in High Park

For Canadian Stage’s summer performance series, a visual identity that dreams.

Industry
Arts & Culture

Service
BrandingMotion

A return to the company’s original summer moniker, Dream in High Park is Canadian Stage’s transformed summer programming series. Dream in High Park is one of Canada’s largest and longest running outdoor professional theatre events, taking place at the High Park Amphitheatre, and welcoming over 30,000 audience members to the park each year. The transformed program features a shift from the usual summer Shakespeare fare to a diverse array of events including theatre, dance, comedy, contemporary and baroque music, and so much more. 

Canadian Stage engaged Puncture to design a new visual identity to express this exciting vision, featuring a logo with a dynamic voice and a colour palette that dreams.

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Mosaic
Art Toronto
Yonge-Dundas Square