News

On February 13, 2008, Karo Group won an IDI GOLD Award of Excellence at the annual Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia Awards for its work on the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition.

Trev Deeley Motorcycles (“TDM”) wanted to integrate its priceless collection of motorcycles into its dealership.  After consulting with the former director of Public Programs at the Royal B.C. Museum, TDM hired Karo to create an experiential visitor environment for its new, 10,000 sq.ft. Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition.

Karo’s design showcased TDM’s new identity as well as exhibit graphics, display millwork and feature areas. It allows TDM to construct themed exhibits from its extensive and expanding gallery of motorcycles and one-of-a kind objects from around the world.

Most importantly, Karo’s design allows maximum flexibility for revolving exhibitions while supporting a strong permanent brand and presence for the Exhibition venue itself. Flexibility is crucial as the collection is rotated not only annually, but also daily for different events hosted in the space for groups large and small. Karo answered the design challenge with a fun, interactive space that is easy to maintain. Compared to TDM’s former Richmond location there has been a significant increase in both interest and visitation—leading to a benefit for TDM’s sales, showroom and service areas.

“Not only has Karo’s exhibition design supported the dealership and allowed the Harley aficionado to engage with the legacy of the brand, it allows both diehard fans and newbies to be drawn into the power of the Harley-Davidson experience. It has also become a tourist destination attraction in itself with a visitor increase of 800%.” Brent Cooke, Exhibition Manger, Harley-Davidson Canada

 Karo’s design for the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition also placed in the category of "Institutional and Educational" projects, defined as "places of assembly occupancy such as schools, universities, daycare centres, museums, theatres, public art galleries, public auditoriums, airports, places of worship, courthouses, correctional and recreational facilities." Karo’s entry was judged against several other public institutions for this award, including schools, a library and a film centre. That Karo stood out among myriad others in this category was indeed an honour.     

 

Hockey fans everywhere - but especially in Edmonton - watched with great interest in February 2008 as billionaire Daryl Katz was finally able to fulfill his dream of buying his local team.

Let’s face it, we all love a great story, which is why we flock to buy books, watch movies, and attend theatre. We love to hear stories of great personal achievements, companies, and brands. Storytelling is perhaps the oldest form of communication and cultural identification. The same cornerstones of a brilliant story are found in brilliant design, which is why design as a creative process is ideally suited to link brand stories in a unifying way. Chris Bedford will explore how organizations can use design thinking to uncover their story and learn how to tell it in a compelling manner through all consumer touch points.

Conference details: http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/conference/europe08/conference.htm

 

Father Time, a figure usually associated with ushering out the old year, is given a new job in this year’s First Calgary Savings RSP advertising campaign and his new job is aging people. TV, radio, print, online banner ads, in-branch posters, and direct mail all poke fun at the common signs of aging, like getting wrinkles or losing hair.

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 people of Karo Group have come together to make a difference in the lives of children in developing countries. We have participated in the “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) initiative to provide school-age children with laptop computers.

This holiday season Karo decided to bring a little magic to children who will be in the hospital during the Christmas season.

This holiday season Karo once again experienced the thrill of giving—2,000+ cans of food to the Calgary Food Bank. Staff members in the Calgary office joined forces to build an 8-foot Christmas tree out of carefully stacked cans

The merit of running ads for needy causes has never been questioned. But when Calgary-based Homefront (a support agency for those affected by domestic violence), chose to run an outdoor campaign, they knew they were courting controversy.

Freshwater fishing licences have long been sold in paper format from outdoor shops. The BC Ministry of Environment, Fish & Wildlife decided it was time to make these licences more accessible. Karo was asked to develop a system that allowed fishing enthusiasts to buy their licences online.

Karo devised a user-friendly, simple system where a licence could be ordered, paid for and printed from the user’s personal computer. The system provides a digital copy of the licence to avoid having to repurchase a lost licence. Once the angler’s account is set up, licence renewals are quick and easy and the angler can also add family members under their account. As well, the angler’s personal info can be easily accessed by a ranger via a QR barcode that is generated electronically when the licence is issued. The long-term benefits for the client entail an ability to learn more about angler preferences (now that this information is gathered electronically) and an increased impact on fishing tourism in BC.

With the “soft launch” of the web site at the start of September 2007, and without much media coverage surrounding the system, the numbers were surprising–over 1,000 anglers registered and over $11,000 of purchases took place by the end of September. Most anglers appeared to be from outside BC. Many European purchases took place from as far away as Romania and Rome.