News

At a time when most banks prefer to close branches and push customers online, ATB Financial seeks to move even closer to its customers. As one more fulfillment of its promise to help customers reach their financial goals, ATB Financial worked with Karo Group to completely reinvent banking at its three newest branches.

The newly revitalized Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) opened its doors last month to high acclaim, thanks in part to its impressive world-class collection of BC, Canadian and international art. A fine example is Roy Arden’s 195-foot long “Big House,” a colossal art installation depicting the stories and history of the workers of BC. The VCC engaged Karo to apply some ‘interactive thinking’ to bring the stories behind the art to life.

Jeff de Boer, a Calgary-based multi-media artist with an international reputation for outstanding work, approached Ned Atkinson, a Lighting Designer here at Karo, to help make his project “Light, the Universe and Everything” a dynamic, ever-changing piece of art.

Karo has recently completed a wayfinding strategy and sign program for the Richmond Olympic Oval, the speed skating venue for the 2010 Winter Games.

Karo is proud to announce that it is part of an exciting project with Canada Place Corporation and the Vancouver Conference and Exhibition Centre. We have been asked to design a wayfinding and signage program and a new Welcome Centre at Canada Place.

Lara Presber, an architectural shining star at Karo in Calgary, has been featured in the National Post’s “40 under 40: Fresh ideas from young Canadian designers.”

Karo's most recent white paper has been getting attention.

The Brand Experience Series white paper for Summer 2008, Would You Like Service With That? was featured last week on Brandchannel.com, a popular online branding exchange.

The paper is an exploration into service design within automotive retailing. It was written by Chris Bedford, President of Karo, and Anson Lee, Director of Customer Experience Strategy.

If you haven't read it yet, you can download it here.

With increasing global focus on clean, renewable energy, British Columbia’s primary energy supplier BC Hydro has undertaken bold initiatives to change how consumers view energy consumption and conservation. These initiatives are part of BC Hydro’s broader strategy to better engage its customers and tell its story through an enlivened brand experience.

Karo will combine the talents and experience of both offices in Calgary and Vancouver to develop and sustain the entire master brand for this bold community project for the anticipated 10 year development phase.

Karo Group was awarded the Hastings Park Master Sign Plan by the City of Vancouver. We will create a comprehensive sign plan to assist visitor wayfinding over the long-term future development of Hastings Park. Our plan will balance a mix of commercial and community uses and maximize green space and fair activities.

Hastings Park, comprising 162 acres (66 hectares), is Vancouver’s second largest.  In its first half-century the park featured green space, fairgrounds, and a horse track. A restoration plan was approved in 1997, and in 2004 Vancouver City directed staff to develop the plan further, and this is where Karo comes in. Our sign plan will be address the site’s many features and intended changes, including the PNE Fairgrounds, Hastings Racecourse, PlayLand, the Pacific Coliseum, the Sanctuary and other park green space.

Karo was featured in a recent “Cool Spaces” segment on City TV. Karo Environments Director, Keith Moe, was the perfect choice to take City TV on an office tour—after all, he designed the office space when Karo moved into the building in 2005.

The Vancouver office of Karo Group is very pleased to announce that it has been awarded the Wayfinding and Signage contract for West Vancouver’s new Community Centre Project. This is Karo Group’s first project with Hughes Condon Marler Architects and their project manager, Basil Davis.

In our proposal and subsequent interview about this project, we stressed that we are wayfinding strategists, not merely sign designers. We also expressed excitement in the many opportunities to create an assured visitor experience. We like to think this made the difference in our proposal, not the fact that we also had Vancouver’s mayor to our offices for tea!

Karo will apparently also get a separate contract for the community centre’s main tenant: The Vancouver Coastal Health Unit. We would like to express our thanks to all who worked hard to make this proposal a success, and look forward to transforming Karo’s design ethic into another exceptional human environment.

Karo is delighted to learn that we have been selected to be the wayfinding consultant for the nine-block private land portion of the South East False Creek Community Development and Olympic Village, a world-class Vancouver waterfront that will define the city’s future.

Calgary based land developers Bordeaux Developments Corporation has selected Karo to assist with their strategic brand positioning and marketing of a proposed new 1,750 acre multi-use development in Springbank.