Retree YYC is a campaign my colleauge and I got to art direct. The City had an idea to promote tree planting and growth in the city after the giant snow storm killed/damaged 30-40% of trees in September. The idea behind ReTree was to bring information on how to take care of tree, where to plant them, help their citizens understand the importance of trees in Calgary. Tracy and I had this idea from the client of what they wanted to represent, and how they wanted to represent it. They knew they wanted a mascot, and with the concept Tracy and I came up with the colour palette, the mood, and the overall look and feel for
this campaign. 

 

I came up with the final lumberjack man and the illustration style, which was a big part of ReTree campaign. The client wanted something non-thretening, less tradition, something that would resonate with all age groups. Their idea was a "hipster, lumberjack man", and this is what we came up with. It took a couple of iterations to really narrow down the style, but in the end we chose to go with this one. I've since drawn him in many different poses to fit the different client requests and needs.

 

The ReTree campaign also had a variety of print and digital tactics that went with it. The City held fairs for tree information, group gatherings to promote tree pleanting, they gave out free trees, taught people how to take care of them, etc. This campaign was huge, and it went for 5-6 months. This campaign is still running now, and is continuing to encourage Calgarians to care about their leafy friends.