StoryWalk at MacEwan University
Public Early Literacy Program
Art Direction, Identity, Information & Experience Design
StoryWalk at MacEwan University is an experiential early literacy program that invites kids, families, and school groups to the university environment to explore early-reader storybooks. Launched by the Department of Human Services and Early Learning, this program publicly presents children's books in a fun, easy-to-follow narrative pathway that celebrates literature, languages, and learning in the University's environment.
CLD's identity, information and experience design for this program demonstrates the intersections of research, community, and inclusive design for social-purpose we believe in. Kids and families are invited to the University to share space and ideas, imagining themselves one day studying, teaching or leading in a University community.
Art Director & Designer, Identity, Information, Accessible & Inclusive Design
Services: Art direction and creative illustration, experience, accessibility and information design.
Project leaders: Dr. Ozlem Cankaya, Department of Human Services and Early Learning. Lindsey Whitson, MacEwan Librarian
Student research and conceptual exploration by Danielle McDow-York. Map configuration and design support by Adam Houston.
Community: MacEwan University. Downtown Edmonton, AB.
Starting at the University's landmark clocktower, StoryWalk at MacEwan University displays featured children's books along a pathway that weaves through east-campus buildings in the heart of Downtown Edmonton.
Our display interface design includes maps for navigation, program content, text for accessibility, pages from each book, and QR connectivity to follow the program's evolution on their website.
Information display selections from StoryWalk at MacEwan. (Map layout by Adam Houston)
Display with accessible information and layout design (Installation detail). Display is powder coated aluminum and optically clear acrylic.
Some kids and families may not feel universities are spaces for them now or in the future. StoryWalk at MacEwan University breaks this barrier by actively engaging community leagues, childcare centres, and parent groups—inviting them to walk through MacEwan's downtown campus to explore ideas and community together.
Human Services & Early Learning teamed up with MacEwan Libraries to assemble a committee dedicated to diversity, representation and reconciliation—thoughtfully selecting children's books from Indigenous authors and illustrators, including diverse languages, illustrations and ideas.
CLD designed the identity and information to launch the program, and also volunteers advice and design support, helping to ensure a future for the identity and presentation of the program.
Typography, Information Design, Indigenous Languages & Syllabics
CLD chose Noto Sans for display and text accessibility and to contrast the playful hand-lettered logo. Noto is a humanist sans-serif and the world's most complete multi-lingual, open-source variable font collection available.
Noto is a global communication typeface (developed by Google et al) that supports more than 1,000 languages and over 150 writing systems, including many indigenous Syllabics.
This allows StoryWalk at MacEwan to include indigenous languages in both Roman Orthography and many indigenous Syllabic writing systems as currently possible for print and web.
Geographic distribution of the three major Syllabics orthographic / typographic traditions: the Algonquian Syllabics, Inuktut Syllabics, and Dene Syllabics. This content is owned by Google and is licensed under Creative Commons: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Canadian Syllabics (referred to simply as the “Syllabics”) is a writing system used by many different Indigenous language communities throughout Canada and parts of the United States.
The Syllabics are unique in how they represent written language, and many communities have local requirements and preferences in how their Syllabics should appear and function as text.
Art Direction & Identity Design
CLD's StoryWalk visual identity is hand-drawn with a spontaneous, youthful and gestural look, celebrating movement and connection. The logo is not a font—it's a hand-drawn image.
A youthful hand-lettered wordmark expresses sincerity, creativity, and inclusion for younger audiences. All elements have rounded, soft, and circular terminals and open humanist counters. The directional cues are cyclical and express an ecology of ideas and evolving content.
