Takt Ventures Inc.

VO has always believed that its love for Opera and, to a stronger extent, the arts community, is the principle around which its entire brand philosophy should pivot. Takt helped VO take place in a digital-first world.

As such, in 2017 VO made the bold move to change its seasonal programming to a four-week Opera Festival, and needed a compelling way to spread the news.

Transformational Stories

Operas are visceral and emotive; a careful blend of storytelling, melody and explosive vocals that pull you from your world into something entirely new.

Naturally, VO’s 2017/2018 season needed imagery that communicated the power and complexity of these performances. Takt art directed and photographed creative assets for the new season to be used across all digital and physical touch-points.

Each photo hints at the broader story of the opera it represents, enticing the viewer to dive deeper.

Digital-First Design

Through exploration and iteration, Takt established a design system rooted in stories and elegance. Takt’s design was simple, but significant, with bold typography, stunning imagery and plenty of white space, acting as a canvas for the Operas it represents.

Encouraging User Discovery

The intuitive experience Takt crafted is simple, yet comes alive to the tune of an ever-changing, curious Vancouver Opera.

Each season its new, evocative performances take front and centre, enticing opera enthusiasts and inspiring the opera fans of tomorrow.

A custom-built WordPress CMS allows Vancouver Opera to scale and manage content internally without the help of a third party.

ICCLR (International Centre for Criminal Law Reform) co-operated with Takt for redesigning their website. Takt’s services for ICCLR include creative direction, user experience, website design and development.

The International Centre for Criminal Law Reform (ICCLR) is an independent UN-affiliated international research institute based in Vancouver, Canada, that promotes the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and good governance in criminal law and the administration of criminal justice all around the world.

Despite being recognized as a world leader in criminal law reform policy, ICCLR’s online presence failed to capture the power of its collaborative work. Heading into its 2019 AGM, it tasked Takt with the job of re-imagining its web presence and telling its story in a meaningful way.

Clarity & Purpose

The ultimate role of ICCLR is to provide objective research and information that informs policy on criminal law reform and human rights throughout the world.
To communicate this visually, Takt found inspiration in the idea of a jigsaw puzzle; a complete picture that begins to take shape over time. Stunning imagery with tiled gradient overlays communicate this idea of achieving increased clarity.

White space was utilized throughout Takt’s designs to move users through the site’s content, allowing ICCLR’s projects to breathe.

Keeping Policy Makers in the Loop

There are few organizations that can boast the level of experience and expertise ICCLR offers its partners. Its work has been at the forefront of some of the world’s most progressive policies and international initiatives, like the creation of the International Criminal Court.

As such, projects completed even decades ago are still frequently referenced by policymakers across the world, researching solutions to challenges facing their own countries.

To serve them, Takt needed to provide them with a way to quickly and efficiently search through ICCLR’s library of work. The solution is a robust resources library that allows users the ability to search for content in a variety of ways.

The Result

Takt also partnered with Vancouver-based photographer, Chris Nefs, of 9 Yards Photography, to capture new photos of ICCLR Associates, Board and Staff for the new website.

The end result is a stunning digital canvas that clearly and effectively communicates ICCLR’s experience and expertise in a compelling way.

Takt has made a partnership with world-renowned Futurist, Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman to revive Transcend, a health longevity brand.

Upon launching their two bestselling books on health and longevity, renowned Futurist Ray Kurzweil & Terry Grossman, M.D., a leading authority in the field of anti-aging medicine and preventive medicine, created “Ray and Terry’s Longevity Products” – a supplement company offering custom formulas that promote health and longevity.

While Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman’s fame and recognition grew exponentially since launching the company in 2004, the brand itself had become stale and out-dated. The site no longer reflected the progressive and disruptive ethos Kurzweil and Grossman represent. There was clearly a disconnect that needed to be bridged.

Services

• Brand Identity
• Brand Strategy
• Customer Acquisition Strategy
• Digital Advertising
• Market Positioning
• Packaging Design
• Shopify
• Social Media Marketing
• Website Design + Development

Back to its Roots

Solidifying a Brand

Thanks to Kurzweil’s work with Google on artificial intelligence and Terry Grossman’s prominence in the longevity space, both Founders enjoyed a large and loyal following of fans. That said, the Ray and Terry brand and website were failing to attract and retain new customers.

Interviews with customers confirmed a clear disconnect between the forward-thinking reputations Kurzweil and Grossman had built, and that of Ray and Terry’s brand.

Approach

From Ailment, to Optimization

This new iteration of the company needed to accurately represent the values and beliefs these men have dedicated their lives too. We landed on the new brand name, TRANSCEND, based on Kurzweil and Grossman’s second (bestselling) book, “Transcend: 9 Steps to Living Well Forever”.

Rather than focus on supplements and longevity from a reactive state, the newly-named TRANSCEND would approach supplementation and self-care from a place of overall wellness and human optimization.

Personalization

From Healthcare to Selfcare

The old Magento website contained an in-depth health questionnaire that recommended a personalized daily supplement packets. Additionally, the quiz results provided lifestyle recommendations following the 9 steps of TRANSCEND, as outlined in Kurzweil and Grossman’s second book, “Transcend: 9 Steps to Living Well Forever.”

Once logged in, users have the ability to revise their answers if needed, or to change the frequency of their subscription.

Design Architecture

Structured Flexibility

TRANSCEND’s packaging strategy needed to be both flexible and consistent. It had to account for hundreds of products, varying in category, shape, and messaging requirements.

A series of label templates were create, each allowing for a different mix of categories, data and messaging. Though different, each label-type adheres to a holistic design system consisting of colour, shape, iconography, typefaces, etc.

A campaign in partnership with the Alberta provincial government and Peace Regional Victim Services to combat stigmas attached to opioids.

Background

Takt and Peace Region Victim Service tackle the stigmas attached to opioid misuse in Northern Alberta. Being situated in the heart of Gastown on Vancouver’s downtown eastside means Takt has seen the affects of opioid misuse on a daily––sometimes hourly––basis. It’s something they spend a considerable amount of time talking about, and as a result, it has become an issue to be cared deeply about.

Perhaps not surprisingly, when Alberta’s Peace Regional Victim Services approached them to help promote a series of discussions to address opioid misuse in northern Alberta, the agency was eager to lend their talents.

In close partnership with the Alberta Provincial Government, Alberta Health Services, the RCMP, and other local organizations, this series of talks aims to tackle the many misconceptions surrounding opioid misuse and to increase awareness of the support available to those closest to it.

Takt helped out for the copywriting, creative direction, build their social media strategy and their website design.

A Disease of Despair

The Many Faces of Opioid Misuse

Like all projects, success for this campaign meant rolling up the sleeves and speaking to those involved on the ground.

Takt has spoke to the RCMP, members of the Peace Regional Victim Services, and people with lived experience dealing with the opioid crisis. Throughout their conversations, a few things became clear:

Opioid misuse affects everyone. Ethnicity, age, gender, age, religion and economic status… this is a crisis that spans all members of society. This campaign needed to speak to the breadth of those affected by opioids.

A disease of despair. Opioid addiction is isolating, both for the users themselves and for those that love them. Takt needed to address this sense of isolation in a compelling, relatable way.

Lack of knowledge of resources. While the impact of opioid misuse is far-reaching, very few people are aware of the help available to them.

Creative Direction

The Far-Reaching Effects of Opioids

Compassion. Resources. Community. These are the weapons with which you attack a disease intent on dividing and isolating. Massice has knew their creative needed to represent the many faces of this problem, allowing its audience to see themselves, regardless of age, sex, race or income. Opioid misuse isn’t a ‘them’ problem. It affects everyone.

In contrast, the lone hiker represents the isolating nature of the problem, speaking to the mental and psychological toll addiction takes on those involved.

Three primary colours were introduced to further communicate the complexity of the issue, and to hint at the idea that we, as humans exist on a spectrum.

Bridging the Divide

And What Follows

Information surrounding the presentations was kept short and concise. Key statistics were paired with contextual imagery to split the page’s content.

Finally, a Local Resources section was created, with a CTA encouraging people to reach out for help.

In addition to the landing page, Takt was responsible for setting up the campaign’s social channels and creating posters and flyers to promote the events.

Takt launched Vancouver’s newest, most innovative real estate brokerage, Stilhavn.

Takt’s project to Stilhavn included brand naming, visual identity, website design and development, a creative photoshoot, social media engagement, advertising, and a custom-built MLS plugin provides a seamless house-hunting experience.

Stilhavn is a new, exclusive brokerage comprised of the top performing real estate agents in the city. They describe themselves as relationship-driven, results-focused and strategy-led. Stilhavn’s agents are selected based on a strict performance and personality criterion, unlike the most brokerages.

According to these criterions, Takt works on the basis of their codes and created a simple yet powerful brand identity and website design. To follow their strategy, they developed a website that covers the client’s needs and describes them properly in their market. They also offer a blog to get the latest news from Stilhavn and read the newest articles from the real estate market.

One of the other best result-focused thing in the project is their creative photoshoot. With their unique photos and the visual design strenghtens up and we can clearly see the client’s workspace to know more about them. The user experience allows to see more about them with a clear and proper design.

When Team Clarke approached Takt in early 2018, it’s obvious that they need a new branding solution. Despite being North Vancouver’s top selling real estate team year after year, its brand and digital presence were stuck in the past.

It needed a new brand and website overhaul that reflected the evolution of Team Clarke, while building on the reputation and carrying on the legacy its late Founder, Shirley Clarke, had spent her life creating.

The Importance of Legacy

The story behind the project for Team Clarke is, they didn’t have to search very hard to uncover the ‘ethos’ of its Founder, Shirley. Her legacy lives on today through the charity drives, community events and campaigns she facilitated throughout her life.

Beyond her reputation as a stellar REALTOR, she was known as a community builder; a connecter and facilitator; someone who intentionally created events and environments where newcomers and long-standing residents of North Vancouver could connect and form meaningful relationships. For Shirley Clarke, real estate was a chance to help people find a home, but more importantly, a vehicle to foster and create a resilient communities.

This new brand needed to be fresh and versatile, but real success meant capturing Shirley’s heart for community above all and carrying it across every brand touchpoint.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

North Vancouver attracts home buyers from across the world with its stunning scenery and quality of life. Adding value in creative direction for Team Clarke, capturing the benefits of life in North Vancouver with compelling imagery was non negotiable.

Over a day-long photoshoot, the agency photographed a number of scenes across North Vancouver. Because many of Team Clarke’s customers have families, they kept the photos family-focused, carefully crafting scenes that show meaningful connections occurring against a backdrop of beautiful real estate.

These images were then edited in post, and rolled out across Team Clarke’s new website, social channels and print material.

Prioritizing the User’s Needs

Beauty Meets Utility: The new site features a custom-built map search that integrates with MLS and incorporates convenient features like “search by dragging the map” and toggles between viewing styles. Takt also connected the site to Yelp so users could search nearby restaurants, cafes, parks, and other attractions.

Because Takt knows that people factor a listing’s surroundings into their decision-making process, each listing details page pulls in local attractions. Similarly, on attraction detail pages, listings are displayed below.

Consistency Across Every Touchpoint

The end result looks like a flexible and a comprehensive brand that was implemented across every physical and digital touchpoint in a client’s customer journey. From print collateral like listing brochures, folders and print ads to social media branding and email templates, each interaction with Team Clarke places community at the forefront, with compelling copywriting and community-centric photography.

Testimonial about Takt’s case study, Laura, Rob and Brooke – Team Clarke Real Estate Group all commented,

“Thank you! From start to finish, you guys have been amazing. You have given us a product greater than we had dreamed. We are so proud to stand behind our brand and website.”

“We feel so fortunate to have found you. Thank you for all of your hard work – it is truly appreciated.”