Our global headquarters | 222 Bay Street, Toronto

Branding elements to
remind us of our purpose

Brand touchpoints to strengthen our role as commercial real estate advisors.
OUR PHILOSOPHY

By using elements of our brand, we created a distinctive and consistent identity within our physical workspace, one that is a testament to Avison Young’s commitment to having a positive impact on people, communities, the environment and economies across the world.

With Project Unity, our office branding efforts had to be reflective of three important overarching concepts:

Our Powered by people culture

Our Canadian roots

Our global reach

Local touches humanize our space, while brand touchpoints underscore the value that we can bring to the communities that our people inhabit. Our Canadian roots are proudly on display throughout the space. In addition to our community zones named after Toronto neighbourhoods, our meeting rooms are named after Canadian landmarks, and we have carefully curated a beautiful collection of photography of local and national landmarks  throughout the office.

As a place that’s powered by people to make a difference for people, our people-first culture had to be a clear focus of our space. We created The Gallery Wall Initiative, a hallway of quotes from global employees explaining what it means to them to work for Avison Young, and what our Canadian roots mean to them. This was one of the many ways we highlight our people within our headquarters, and celebrate our collective successes and achievements as a global firm.

To physically represent our global presence within the space, our hallway is adorned with a gigantic map of our global offices. Other brand elements include our purpose statement placed prominently in one of our common areas as a constant reminder of our role in the community. Our brand colours are thoughtfully woven throughout the space – including an elegant gradient of our brand colours installed between wood slats – re-enforcing our strong brand identity. 

We also named spaces after two incredible legacy members of our firm, founder Ted Avison, and Toronto team member Sean Faught, Avison Young leaders who strongly represented our values of trust, transparency, and collaboration.

“With this project, we had an opportunity to build a strong, cohesive brand identity within our global headquarters and to enhance the overall experience for our people, and the people we do business with.”

- David Major-Lapierre, Global Art Director,
Avison Young

Engaging our people in the branding process


For Avison Young, a project like this could only successfully come to life with people at the heart of all considerations: before, during and after the delivery of our new offices.

While our global headquarters serve as a window onto our people, involving them in the process was an important part of our branding plan. Beyond keeping them informed and soliciting their feedback every step of the way, we asked for their participation in some of the space's most impactful branding initiatives, including:

  • Participating in the development of custom graphics for the space, by telling us which local landmarks they feel best represent their city and would like to see included in our space.
  • Brainstorming on ideation and concepts to create a nomenclature system for the conference, flex and meeting rooms in our space, one that would be representative of their hometown of Toronto.
  • Telling us what our Canadian roots mean to them, and what makes working at Avison Young so special. The answers we collected were converted into a stunning gallery wall, installed in one of our hallways (The Gallery Wall Initiative).

Avison Young’s commitment to having a positive impact on people, communities, the environment and economies is a powerful message and, consequently, it is the first thing that we wanted to see mirrored in our spaces. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, so our spaces must shine a light on our employees and the impactful work they deliver and the places they create around the world, while paying tribute to our roots and our growth.

Putting people in space: branding for impact

Avison Young’s Global Art Director, David Major-Lapierre knows a thing or two about the importance and impact of branding in the workplace. Drawing on his 12-year tenure with Avison Young and lifelong passion for design, he is responsible for bringing the creative vision of the brand to life globally, not only through innovative brand campaigns, but also through the workspaces the firm occupies around the world.

read our impact report

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