A few months later after my trip to Toronto, I’ve decided to write a new post and share some thoughts about three things that impressed me in Canadian design.  

1. Road Signs

The St. Edward’s Crown is one of the symbols of the British monarchy.  Its two-dimensional representation has come to be utilized throughout all the Commonwealth realms as an indication of each country’s respective royal authority, thus appearing on coats of arms, badges for military and police units.

All primary highways in Ontario were re-designated as “The King’s Highways” in 1930s. A standard road sign design consists of a black route number placed on a white shield and topped with a crown. It’s not very well known, but early Ontario highway signs were made out of a porcelain enamel.

After living in the U.S. for many years, I felt like I’m in Europe again…

2. The Federal Identity Program (FIP)

Established in 1980, the Canada wordmark is essentially a logo for the government of Canada. It consists of the word “Canada” written in a serif font (a modified version of Baskerville), with a Canadian flag over the final “a”. Use of the “Canada” wordmark on promotional items (pens, pins, t-shirts, mugs, etc.) is discretionary, since these items are not covered by FIP policy. That’s why you will never see any goods with the Canada wordmark in local souvenir stores.

I would love to see the U.S. identity program. I think it could be an interesting project…

3. Canada Post Mailboxes

In 2010, Canada Post mailboxes have gotten a makeover and the new look. Now boxes patterned with Canadian postal codes. Canada Post’s kaleidoscope pattern on mailboxes is meant to eliminate them as a canvas for graffiti artists. It comes on an adhesive coating that can be peeled off for easy removal of graffiti.

When will we see new USPS mailboxes?