Learning to Lead with Love and designing for good.
Apparel Design
Award-Winning
Client: NiGiNan Housing Ventures
Scope: Apparel Design Campaign
Awards: 2025 RGD Branding Award
Additional Credits: Printing by Black & Whyte Screen Printing
As part of our charitable initiative The Branded Good, we designed a collection for NiGiNan Housing Ventures, an Indigenous-led organization supporting individuals with complex medical and social needs. The collection raises funds for housing programs and cultural support services for Indigenous communities in Edmonton, with 100% of net profits donated to the charity.
NiGiNan Housing Ventures empowers individuals affected by intergenerational trauma through Indigenous-led, holistic programs that prioritize strength and wellness. Supporting their work means investing in meaningful growth within the Indigenous community.
Description
Problem:
Our collaboration with NiGiNan Housing began through our charitable initiative, The Branded Good, as a way to support their programs and services. The challenge was that the organization had no established brand identity — we had only their logo and a clear set of strong organizational values to guide our work.
Process
Our research into NiGiNan’s organization, values, and culture revealed that love is a core principle guiding their programs and services—central to their mission and their connection with residents. We designed an illustrated map featuring the phrase “Lead with Love” alongside four symbolic building structures, representing NiGiNan’s four housing projects in Edmonton. The design was produced on three crewneck sweater colors, two t-shirt colors, and a hat.
Solution:
The collection was well received when we first launched in the fall of 2024. The apparel is currently still selling through the client, on www.thebrandedgood.com, and in stores with our retailers. Our work with NiGiNan Housing has been integral to supporting initiatives that foster positive development and growth within the indigenous community.
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With no existing brand identity, our goal was to create a visual that was engaging, values-driven, and storytelling-focused.
We designed an illustrated map featuring the phrase “Lead with Love” alongside four symbolic building structures, representing NiGiNan Housing’s four projects in Edmonton. This design was applied across a small apparel collection, including three crewneck sweater colors, two t-shirt colors, and a hat.
The collection was printed by Black and Whyte Screen Printing and launched through a social media campaign to raise funds and awareness for the organization, blending meaningful design with purpose-driven impact.
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We submitted the design for an RGD Branding award, and to our surprise, we won. While accepting the national award on Truth and Reconciliation Day was such an honour, the deeper privilege was the opportunity to listen, to learn, and to help tell NiGiNan’s story through design. The award solidified that design can be more than beautiful. It can be a vessel for truth. A way of carrying culture, memory, and meaning forward.