Centennial Symbol

Stuart Ash

After a failed design competition to create the Centennial logo, the Canadian government approached typesetting and design firm of Cooper & Beatty, where Ash worked, to create a logo. The government chose Ash’s maple leaf constructed from eleven equilateral triangles — one of the first times the maple leaf had been officially chosen to represent the country.

Images of Centennial Symbol

  1. Image 1 — Aae69d37e956cf95f5ce1611c9e2026e (Centennial Symbol)

    Stuart Ash, Canada (1974)

    Stuart Ash is a Canadian graphic designer best known for his design of the country's Centennial Symbol. As a founder and principal of Gottschalk+Ash, his work has been instrumental to...

    Read full biography
    https://a-g-i.s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/stuartash/_1600xAUTO_crop_center-center_75_none/aae69d37e956cf95f5ce1611c9e2026e.jpg
    1/1
    • Centennial Symbol, 1967

      1 items,

    • Close

    After a failed design competition to create the Centennial logo, the Canadian government approached typesetting and design firm of Cooper & Beatty, where Ash worked, to create a logo. The government chose Ash’s maple leaf constructed from eleven equilateral triangles — one of the first times the maple leaf had been officially chosen to represent the country.

    • Countries:

    Stuart Ash, Canada (1974)

    Stuart Ash is a Canadian graphic designer best known for his design of the country's Centennial Symbol. As a founder and principal of Gottschalk+Ash, his work has been instrumental to the development of a Canadian design aesthetic.

    Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1942, Stuart shares, “I grew up with typical Canadian values and evolved through the association of a number of early, mostly European mentors, to appreciate timeless international design and philosophy.”

    This paved the way for a celebrated career that saw Stuart and his team at G+A developing design programs for clients such as American Airlines Arena in Miami, Toronto’s PATH and Skydome, the visual identity for Royal Bank of Canada, and a new global brand for Ciba Specialty Chemicals.

    “Design is about creating something that is unique, not stylistic, and that has emotional resonance. It is not about ego but rather a search for an inherent idea that functions to communicate a simple message. It is about getting passionate about details like typography, form, colour and iconic images – all maturing into a design concept that addresses a key communications issue.”

    For more, visit www.canadamodern.org/stuart-ash/

    Education

    plus

      1957 – 1962

      • Western Technical School (Canada)

        1962 – 1964

        • Ontario College of Art (Canada)

        Instructor

          1980 – 1981

          • Ontario College of Art & Design (Canada)

          Awards

          plus
          • 1968

          Canadian Centennial Medal
          • 1998

          Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Centennial Medallion
          • 2008

          GDC Lifetime Achievement Award
          • 2011

          Communication Design Association, Honour
          • 2017

          ADCC Les Usherwood Lifetime Achievement Award

          Other Professional Activities

          plus
          • AGI, Alliance Graphique Internationale, Member

            1974 – present

          • Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Member

            1975 – present

          • Society of Environmental Designers (SEGD), Director

            1998 – present

          • GDC Fellowship

            2008 – present