mnemonic design labs
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Otter Floatplane

otter
float-
plane

 

As attention-grabbing in Vancouver’s skies as bald eagles, our ubiquitous float planes dazzle residents and visitors alike. From Vancouver to Whistler, Victoria, Tofino, Seattle and beyond, these ICONS happily remind our city of our enviable position on the cusp of wilderness

 

  • Hand-Drawn Typographic Vector Illustration

    Hand-Signed and Numbered Gicleé Archival Printing
    Framed in FSC-Certified Coated White Birch

    Original Gallery Edition / Limited to 20

    CAD 500.00 Unframed / 700.00 Framed

    16 x 20 in / 41 x 51 cm

  • Each ICON sprouts in my photography. An ICON is approximately two years of process — from concept to completion

    I carefully draw out a graphic silhouette by hand. After detailed study I choose which adornments to include — taking particular interest in ones that can be missed by a passerby on the street

    Next I extrude elements from the building’s “face”. This period in process feels like an extended ballroom dance. There are twists, turns and dips — I go back and forth, and back again. I aim to leave plenty of space for the typography — which I consider the entry point for a viewer — and still include enough of each ICON’s definitive decorative elements. I’m humbled when viewers recall a personal dialogue or history with an ICON. To allow for this, I’m compelled to ensure familiarity

    I select a quote after boulevards of research. I learn from this meditative and often lengthy time in process. Ultimately my choice offers an emergent playfulness between the quote, or the quoted, and what each ICON outwardly presents — rather than be a quote about the ICON itself. Sometimes it complements, sometimes it counters. Sometimes in humour. Sometimes in critique

    Each letter in each composition is unique — hand manipulated as a self fashioned typography. For colour I created the blue exclusively for the limited edition — suspended among Arctic, Cerulean, and Sapphire. It speaks to the hue we discover anew — each time the clouds lift — in the high latitude low angle light of Vancouver’s shockingly alluring sky. The three hints of clouds are a fun unifying feature across this series. I use their placement to convey the perceived presence of each ICON relative to a viewer from the streetscape

  • Anchored by Harbour Air, our downtown float plane terminal at Vancouver Convention Centre West is known as the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre

    As a LEED-certified facility, VHFC won the international MARKET interior design award for hospitality interiors in 2013