Rough and Refined: Crafting a Uniquely Canadian Nike Branded Environment
Scope
Branded Environment
Creative Direction
Spatial Programming
Photography & Art Direction
Illustration
Custom Typography
Hand Painted Murals
Custom Sculptural Installation
Fabrication Project Management
Installation Management
Contributors
Brothers Dressler
Custom Woodwork
Jolly Productions
Hand Painted Murals
Share
Nike’s Workplace Design team in Beaverton, Oregon, approached Jacknife to help envision Nike Canada’s brand-new headquarters. The brief? Bring to life a workspace that inspires creative thinking and connects staff and visitors to the brand.
We needed to create a branded environment that celebrated the uniqueness of the Canadian market while also establishing deep ties back to the World Headquarters. To achieve this, we developed a “Rough and Refined” theme – a celebration of the diverse nature of the Canadian landscape and its people, from the roughness of our natural landscape to our refined, modern urban centres. Canadians take pride in our harsh environment and the unique grit required to be an all-season athlete here.
We developed an extensive series of art-based installations throughout the new offices.
These included a massive sculptural “Just Do It” mimicking iconic shoe patterns in the snow, floating on a dimensional map of Toronto, an intricate wooden slat wall and ceiling installation forming the Nike logo, a boardroom wall and seating installation made from actual basketball court material and a hand-painted logo, multiple large-scale murals featuring both the brand and the fabric of Canada, iconic footwear painted on concrete columns throughout the space, a “Run Faster” custom tile work installation in the employee kitchen, and large sculptural wooden typography featuring chainsaw-cut letters.
Throughout the process, we had access to archival Nike brand assets and the collective knowledge of their in-house design team. We scrutinized every detail to create the most engaging environmental experience possible. To execute such a broad array of interactions, we assembled and orchestrated a team of highly skilled local craftspeople from various disciplines ranging from signpainters to woodworking experts and specialty sculptors.
Ultimately, we created a modern space that embodies the spirit of the Nike brand, tells intriguing and discoverable stories, and inspires their team daily.
Following the unveiling of the new space, Jacknife was enlisted to create environmental branding for Nike’s new corporate showrooms – a unique challenge to create spaces that showcase strong brand expression while being flexible enough to accommodate constantly evolving collections and product stories tailored to specific audiences.
