Our Work

Our Brand Work

Brands aren’t invented. They’re revealed. The strongest brands don’t begin with a logo. They begin with understanding.

We help organizations discover what makes them distinctive, then create the brand and communication systems that bring that story to life.

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Our Publication Work

The strongest books communicate through every detail – format and materials to pacing, typography, structure and physical interaction.

We create editorial experiences where content and form are inseparable. The result is a book that invites curiosity, encourages deeper engagement and stays with the reader long after the final page.

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Our Latest Work

Forest First Colombia website on a laptop screen with a person among tree trunks
Hand holding the Forest First Colombia sustainability report with a teal and green cover
Hands holding the Forest First Colombia sustainability report open to a spread that reads We believe growing more trees
Forest First Colombia website on a desktop monitor over a field of planted trees
Forest First Colombia logo with four tree icons labelled Living, Breathing, Growing and Learning
Hands holding two El Tequileño brand books, one open to a tequila bottle spread and one with a black cover
Hands holding the open El Tequileño story book at a spread that reads Since 1959, we have followed one path
Hands holding the El Tequileño story book open to a wide spread of the tequila lineup
El Tequileño two-bottle gift pack seen from the front
El Tequileño black gift box with a bottle of tequila inside
Side of the El Tequileño two-bottle gift pack in cream and black
Cream invitation card and black folder from the El Tequileño Casa event invitation
El Tequileño event invitation with a black cord and a cream card beside a black folder
Opened El Tequileño invitation with a black cord and a printed history card
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue with a cover showing a hand and fabric
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue open to a red page with a small doll portrait
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue open to a wooden figure beside a red patterned page
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue open to a spread with a wooden mannequin figure
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue open to a spread with an antique wooden doll
Hands holding the Care + Wear catalogue open to a spread with a porcelain doll
Close view of a Care + Wear catalogue spread with a wooden figure and a red patterned page
BOSS Lubricants brochures and printed pieces fanned out on a table
Cover of the BOSS Lubricants catalogue with the headline When performance matters
BOSS Lubricants website on a desktop monitor with the logo over a prairie highway
Three BOSS Lubricants product photos with oil bottles set against mountain scenery
Three BOSS Lubricants product photos with lubricant bottles in winter and mountain scenes
Lineup of five BOSS Lubricants oil bottles with different coloured labels
CDR Systems website homepage on a monitor with the line Everything we create is a system of solutions
CDR Systems website on a desktop monitor with a radiology equipment photo and a headline
Hands holding the CDR Systems product catalogue with radiology equipment on the cover
Hands holding the CDR Systems catalogue open to a spread headed When strong is light
CDR Systems logo beside a list of its product names including Freedomx and Procline
CULTIVATED exhibition billboard in bright multicoloured letters against a blue sky
Person installing the multicoloured CULTIVATED title lettering on a gallery wall
CULTIVATED, The MHC Alumni Show title graphic in multicoloured letters
Gallery wall of exhibited design work at the CULTIVATED exhibition
Visitors in the gallery beside the CULTIVATED title wall
Three cans of Marda Loop Brewing Company beer with custom label designs
Rows of Marda Loop Brewing Company beer cans on a refrigerator shelf
Five framed Beer Story Posters hanging on a wall for Marda Loop Brewing Company
Hands holding the cover of the Over and Under and Over and Under catalogue, printed with fine vertical lines
Hands holding the Over and Under catalogue open to a red woven pattern page
Hands holding the Over and Under catalogue open to colourful tapestry artworks
Hands holding the Over and Under catalogue open to a spread of text and artwork images
Hands holding Vault Photo Magazine with a page folded back to reveal a photo mosaic
Hands holding Vault Photo Magazine with a clear acetate page over a mosaic of photographs
Hands holding Vault Photo Magazine open to a spread with a landscape photograph
Hands holding Vault Photo Magazine open to a blue seascape photograph
Vault Photo Magazine feature spread with a column of text and a photograph of a building facade
Vault Photo Magazine spread with two black and white portraits and a yellow to orange gradient
Vault Photo Magazine business card with the reversed VAULT masthead and contact details
Vault Photo Magazine type treatment spelling the words Vision, Steps, Courage and Spirit
Hands holding the blue cover of Road Trips and Other Diversions, a David Thauberger catalogue
Hands holding the Road Trips catalogue open to a pale pink spread titled Cabbage Rolls and Perogies for Hedgehogs
Hands holding the Road Trips catalogue open to a painting of a white two-storey house
Hands holding the Road Trips catalogue open to a painting of a green grain elevator
Hands holding the Road Trips catalogue open to a red painting of a building beside a white page
Prophets of Music website on a monitor with black and white photography and yellow accents
Two black and yellow Prophets of Music posters hung on a wall
Prophets of Music pull-up banner standing in a bright room
Four people wearing black Prophets of Music t-shirts, shown from the front and back
Hoffman Institute Canada website on a monitor with a smiling woman and coloured circles
Hoffman Institute Canada website homepage with a grid of portrait photos among coloured circles
Hoffman Institute Canada website Upcoming Events page with a table of dates
Hoffman Institute logo in coral with three small blue, coral and yellow squares
Hoffman Institute stationery set with letterhead, envelopes and cards in yellow and coral
Folded Hoffman Institute brochure opened to show portraits and orange circle patterns
+ Recognition >>
Montage of photographs from art direction work, including portraits and food and drink images

Art Direction

Defining the Visual Language

How a brand is verbalized and how it is visualized.

We translate a brand strategy and a verbal narrative into a concrete and cohesive visual language. This is done by crafting imagery, tone, typography, and styling in to a unified system across every application – from packaging to ad campaigns to digital experiences.

We have done this for large editorial projects to comprehensive advertising campaigns and to small boutique businesses. Size doesn’t matter. Consistency does.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS HAVE TO SAY!

“Kelly Hartman (Hartman Design Studio Inc) was instrumental in strategically rebranding Hoffman Institute Canada. She was able to clarify who we were, what made us unique, and how we could tell our story in a clear, informative and meaningful way. The brand was repositioned so all elements not only resonated with our past clients but helped open the door to many new clients. It was approachable, accessible and very appropriate.”

>> Darren Weeks, Owner, Hoffman Institute Canada

Hands holding two cards printed with the words FISH and TEN

PARTNERSHIPS + COLLABORATIONS

FISHTEN was a collaboration between Kelly Hartman and Giles Woodward. Its design objective was to push the boundaries of corporate and contemporary design. FISHTEN incorporated strong thinking in its creative ideas to explore what a book, catalogue, website and identity could be. The solutions are eye-catching, thought provoking and often multi-dimensional.

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