Experiential Design Archives

When Covid struck, the experiential design work we had lined up or in progress was shelved and we had to start thinking about how we could adapt our business to this new environment. We really wanted to demonstrate that we could still create something impactful and engaging, even if it was behind glass. We also felt compelled to do something that would spread some positivity and hold personal meaning for us. What if we could just create an opportunity for ourselves to work with a dream client on something inspiring? And so, we did!

We’re big fans of Irish-born, Brooklyn based acclaimed artist and bestselling author Oliver Jeffers. When we discovered he had a new release coming out this fall, What We’ll Build: Plans For Our Together Future, we immediately began envisioning how we could be part of that. We pitched HarperCollinsCanada on our idea for a one-of-a-kind street front window installation that would offer a spectacular glimpse into the world of the book. They quickly came on board and secured a blessing and assistance from the Jeffers UK team on the project.

With technical lighting and magic from the amazing team at wondeMakr, a Toronto based creative technology studio, we created an immersive window experience in our street front Leslieville studio called What We’ll Build – A Visual Experience.

In addition to celebrating the book’s release in an unexpected and captivating way, we added the ability to purchase the book on the spot from a fellow Leslieville business, Queen Books, via QR code (#supportlocal). Plus, a contesting element courtesy of HarperCollinsCanada where passersby could win a copy of the book signed by Oliver Jeffers by sharing a photo of the installation on social.

This book’s message of love and hope perfectly conveys the kind of positivity and good we want to reflect in our work. And watching the reactions from inside our studio as kids and adults alike discovered the world of this enchanting story through our work, it felt like we succeeded.

Huge thanks to @harpercollinsca for being amazing collaborators and to our friends at @wondermakr and @cameron_advertising for their help in bringing this to life.

If you’re in the neighbourhood, be sure to pop by and check it out!

Published by admin in Experiential Design

Same awesome team. More incredible ideas. Spiffy new look!

When we launched CITIZENS AND COLLABORATORS in 2015, our goal was to build a company where the spirit of collaboration & the desire to create incredible things were at the forefront of everything we did. Happily, we succeeded. Five years later we are immensely proud of our wide-ranging portfolio of projects, the clients we’ve had the pleasure of working with and the amazing community of creatives we’ve been lucky enough to surround ourselves with. Flash forward to 2020 and things are, well, different… and these strange times have compelled us to examine who we are as a company, what matters most and where we want to go.

We challenged ourselves to think & dream completely outside our box. But oftentimes we’d cast aside really cool ideas by reminding ourselves, “nah, that’s not what we do." Until we realized a simple yet obvious truth, it’s not what we don’t do – it’s what we haven’t done yet. And that was the beginning of a bold new direction, igniting within us a renewed passion for our work and the freedom to try new things

So, what does that mean? Our core services remain – from graphics & branding, to interior spaces & experiential design – we are still your trusted partner in the creation of amazing spaces, identities and experiences. But we’re also going to challenge ourselves to act on other ideas that we may have previously dismissed. Projects that excite us creatively, feel true to who we are, provide opportunities to work with people we admire, or just give us the opportunity to put something good into the world.

Along with that new objective, we felt we needed to change up our name to reflect who we are now and what we want our company to symbolize. Something fresher, lighter, suggesting big ideas, innovation and energy while keeping alive the essence of CITIZENS AND COLLABORATORS. In the spirit of evolution, we opted for something that, for us, is an ethos, a place, an inspiration and a reminder to keep answering in the affirmative when we find ourselves asking, “wouldn’t it be cool if we could…”.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. We are Coolab. And we can’t wait to collaborate with you!

Published by admin in Experiential Design

“What We’ll Build – A Visual Experience” In Celebration of Oliver Jeffers’ Latest Book Release

CITIZENS AND COLLABORATORS Is Now Coolab