Perrier Design

Custom book design in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Surrey Foundation – SurreyCares

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Life has been rich and wonderful in so many ways, but something that was missing for me was a way to volunteer, a way to give back to the community.

I met Erin Anne Beirne of Kiangle Communications through a book project I was working on and she asked me whether I’d be interested in helping with graphic design for the Surrey Foundation (which has transitioned into the new name “SurreyCares”). Erin Anne and her husband Jeff Hector have been dedicated board members for quite a few years with the foundation. I knew nothing about foundations or how they worked, but Erin Anne explained it to me and I will attempt to explain it to you.

SurreyCares draws service agencies together to form a community of non-profit organizations and societies for the exchange of ideas, support, energy, and encouragement. They also collect donations to grant out to qualified agencies in Surrey. As the foundation is run by volunteers, at least 98% of the funds raised through SurreyCares are granted back out to the community; SurreyCares does separate fundraising for its costs of operations.

Design Volunteers and Our Work through 2012

I help SurreyCares by doing design as well as heading a team of volunteers who work in the graphic design field. Our design work will supports SurreyCares and their fund raising goals.

Last year, after discussion with the Surrey Foundation board and committees, our team had multiple meetings and passed back and forth different concepts as to how we could rebrand the Surrey Foundation to the new name SurreyCares.

The previous logo the foundation was using was dated and we decided that we needed to go to a more modern, professional look.

Below is the new, redesigned logo for SurreyCares.

SurreyCaresMaster_Livetext_OL

There was a lot of thought that went into creating this logo. I liked the idea of a ring as it conveys the concept of giving to make a better community, but also how that giving will come back to us through creating a healthier society. People who are helped through difficult times can in turn help others.

The colour scheme we used for the logos was based on colours that are being used for the “Smart & Caring Communities” initiative that is going on. The size and colour of the balls in the ring convey the variety of people and needs that are in Surrey, no matter your colour, big or small, we all count for something and can make a difference. We also added the tagline “The Foundation of our Community” because that’s how we see the Surrey Foundation: as something that is for but also supports the community of Surrey.

The input and ideas of the team were invaluable and I would like to acknowledge them for their time and effort: Anna Key, Emma Beaty, Fenella Jacquet, Jacqueline Harvey, Sarah Flynn, Kate Quan, Katelynn Bailey, Ksenia Makagonova, Lillian Lee and Paul Beja.

I would like to especially thank Jacqueline Harvey, Sarah Flynn, Lillian Lee, Kate Quan and Katelynn Bailey for being there with all their enthusiasm, great ideas and assistance.

Our team will continue to help the foundation this year by working on the website, creating print materials to help them meet their fund raising goals.

Create Your Own Grant

Do you sometimes feel that want to give money directly to a people that have achieved certain goals and to help create a better society? I know that I have, so the possibility to that through SurreyCares is something that I really love. If you have $1000 you can start a fund in your name or anyone person or group’s name. Once that fund reaches a total of $10,000, you can start granting the interest out of the fund yearly in the form of bursaries.

As an example, I could start the Perrier Design fund and over a few years my fund has grown to $10,000 dollars. If the interest on that was 3.5% per year, I could begin granting a bursary of $350 per year to a certain college and for whatever purpose I deemed worthy. Possibly I could give the grant to the student with the greatest improvement over the year, but that choice is up to the person or group setting up the fund. If I continued to add to the fund, the amount I could give out would continue to grow.

This could be a legacy project for you or a group and once you have raised the money, SurreyCares will manage it for you, ensuring that the funds will always be there and it will be directed to the people you feel need it most.

In Closing…

Volunteering through SurreyCares is a meaningful part of my life and helps me feel more connected to my community. Please contact them if you’re interested in be a part of this worthy cause.

Man Turned to Stone: T’xwelátse

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Man Turned to Stone: T’xwelátse brings to life a remarkable story of loss and repatriation. At its heart is a message of collaboration and cooperation between cultures and communities.

In the spring of 2011, the Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford in collaboration with the Stó:lo Research & Resource Management Centre, artists David Campion and Sandra Shields created this exhibition that told the story of Stone T’xwelátse.

T'xwelátse book cover

Their was a strong desire on the part of this team to get the information and images from the exhibition out to the public. Through grants provided by Heritage Canada, The Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council, there were funds to produce a book about the exhibit. My first role in this project was to help in the designing & printing of the book. It is a 11″ x 14″ paperback (ISBN 978-0-9879661-0-0) and gives you the history behind T’xwelátse and his message which is still pertinent today “We must all learn to live together in a good way”.

T'xwelátse website to match book

After the book was published, we moved onto designing a website that was basically a mirror image of the book but worked like a virtual book that can be updated as times change and more information becomes available. I have built ebooks, but this is the first time that I’ve turned a book into a website and it was a valuable experience. Aside from the text and images included in the book, you’ll also be able to view the film “T’xwelátse Is Finally Home” and more videos that help to convey the history and meaning of T’xwelátse’s story. You can download a free copy of the printed book by clicking on this link (25 mb file).

There was one more thing to be done to complete the project and that was to do some advertising to let people know about the exhibit, book and the virtual book website. To that end we created a press release, with the writing skills of the talented Naomi Pauls of Papertrail Publishing (who also did the editing on the book). The press release was sent out on August 2, 2012 to the lower mainland BC media as well as aboriginal media across Canada. We also designed and published ads on websites that we thought would give the best exposure to the project.

I get such pleasure from the interesting people I meet through my work. I’ve been fortunate in working on quite a few projects revolving around the rich history of our aboriginal people and always feel so lucky to be a part of passing their history on… this project was no exception. Many history books in the past were written from a European point of view, so it’s wonderful to see the history of the people who have been here from time immemorial being shared with the general public. Here is a quote from the book and website that explains T’xwelátse’s transformation:

“T’xwelátse and his wife were on the riverbank arguing when Xá:ls happened upon them. Xá:ls, the great Transformer being given the responsibility by Chíchelh Siy:ám for making things right as he travelled through our lands, asked this man and woman if they would consider not arguing and that there were better ways of resolving conflict and resolving problems. As a result of his intervention Xá:ls and T’xwelátse, who was a shaman, decided to have a contest. They tried to transform each other into various things—a salmon, a mink, a twig. Finally, Xá:ls was successful in transforming T’xwelátse into stone. Xá:ls then gave the responsibility of caring for Stone T’xwelátse to T’xwelátse’s wife. Stone T’xwelátse was to be brought home and placed in front of their house as a reminder to all of the family that we have to learn to live together in a good way. And the family’s responsibility from that point in time was caring for Stone T’xwelátse—given to one of the women of our family. They were to be the caretaker of Stone T’xwelátse throughout their lifetime and would pass it on to one of their daughters or granddaughters, who would then be responsible for caring for Stone T’xwelátse for that generation.”

—As told by T’xwelátse (Herb Joe), 2003

I encourage you to visit the website, to read about “Man Turned to Stone: T’xwelátse” and watch the videos. I can’t think of anywhere else where you could read the story of a man turned to stone, but who is still considered to be a living being. It’s an unique opportunity to learn and explore this fascinating story.

The Value of Design

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I liked this article on the difference good design can make.

Think how swiftly and strongly a design experience shapes our opinion of that brand, company or store, for good or bad. For instance, we know quickly when a website is bad. And we associate that feeling of frustration, or worse, disappointment with that brand. Design-oriented organizations invest in thinking this stuff through.

They put design at the heart of their company to guide innovation and to continually improve products, service and marketing. They recognize that a great design leads to differentiation, customer loyalty and higher profits.

Great design is the key to succeeding with your final product.

Welcome to the Era of Design

Allowances, Dollars & Sense

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I had  the pleasure of designing this book cover, interior and ebook for Paul Lermitte. It was a great project as it involved illustration as well as design. We spent a bit of time going back and forth with ideas for the cover illustration and I think we came up with a good concept in the end.We decided to use a piggy bank as it’s an easily recognizable tool for saving money and something all ages can relate to.
_books_12allowances1A _books_12allowances2

Paul Lermitte has created this first in a series of four books titled the  “Family Finance” series. Allowances, Dollars & Sense is full of practical advice about raising your children to learn how to save money and achieve their goals. For more information about the books go to:

http://www.paullermitte.com/books/book-one-allowances-dollars-and-sense

The book is available as a paperback or epub.

UPDATE 2017: Paul has now added two new books to this series, Dreams, Dollars and Sense for helping teens manage their finances and Decisions, Dollars and Sense, targeted at the young adult market. These books can be purchased on Amazon or through Paul’s website.