When we set out to design the Canada at 150 logo, our goal was to communicate the conference’s non-partisan nature, openness, forward looking agenda and the broader consultative process which it represents. In light of this, the logo reflects the following:

• Canada’s diversity and the complexity of the issues we face (represented by 5 smaller arrows)
• The consultative and inclusive nature of the conference (the multicoloured arrows feeding into a single, larger arrow)
• The forward-looking agenda (represented by the bright colours and the orientation of the arrows)

The inspiration for the colours was taken directly from the City of Montreal. The host-city enjoys a national and international reputation as a vibrant city. For this reason, the creative team sought to honour this great Canadian city by using colours and shapes familiar to Montrealers.

Concrete examples of this inspiration include: the Metro, the Palais des congrès and Expo ’67 (pictured below).

In addition, purple, blue, green, orange and yellow arrows represent and brand each of the challenges which will be addressed at the conference. These arrows point to the future, and feed into a larger red arrow (inspired by the official Liberal red – PMS 485C) which represents the consultative process which makes possible the coming together of ideas and opinions towards a common, future-oriented goal.

The themes and colours are organized as follows:

Purple – Jobs today and tomorrow

Blue – A strong presence in the world of 2017

Green – Energy, environment, economy

Orange – Real life issues for Canadian families

Yellow – The Creative and competitive economy

The final product is made up of six brightly-coloured arrows combined with stylized and refined text. The arrows intermingle to create a unique shape which gains forward momentum from the participants which will take part in this national discussion. This combination creates a positive and optimistic image for Canada in 2017.