Scott Wilson
Creative Practice

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Work

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About

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Contact

wilson.scott7@gmail.com

About

I’m an international award-winning Design Director / Art Director from New Zealand, currently based in Canada.

With over 13 years’ experience working in design, my work covers brand design, conceptual editorial design, advertising art direction, and everything that falls within.

That might be a lot of things, but whether it's for waste management giants, a postpartum support house, stuffed-crust pizza, or a city of 1.5 million, I bring the same relentless hunt for the big idea and an emotional intelligence that leaves even the most complex subjects simple and full of feeling.

Awards

2026

Ranked in top 30 • Strategy Magazine Report Card’s top designers in Canada
Winner • Design • Entire Publication • Applied Arts Design
Currently Shortlisted • Design • Strategy Marketing Awards

2025

Silver • Design • Corporate Comms • ADCC Awards*
Bronze • Design • Public Service • ADCC Awards
Winner • Mobile Series • Communication Arts Advertising
Gold • Design • Strategy Marketing Awards*
Winner • Integrated Brand Identity • Communication Arts Design
Bronze • Rebrand • Design • Strategy Marketing Awards
Merit • Typography • Design • Strategy Marketing Awards*
Winner • PSA/Charity/Government • Applied Arts Design Awards
Gold Anvil • Direct Mail • AdRodeo Awards
Silver Anvil • Brand Identity • AdRodeo Awards
Gold Anvil • Annual Report • AdRodeo Awards*
Silver Anvil • Annual Report • AdRodeo Awards*
Gold Anvil • Microsite/Campaign Website • AdRodeo Awards*
Gold Anvil • Purpose Driven Impact • AdRodeo Awards*
Gold Anvil • Fearless Client • AdRodeo Awards*
Gold Anvil • Craft Design • AdRodeo Awards*
Gold Anvil • Craft Art Direction • AdRodeo Awards*

2024

Merit • Design • The One Show
Bronze • Design • Strategy Marketing Awards
Silver • Design • Public Service • ADCC Awards
Winner • Best in Show • Communication Arts Typography
Silver • Photography • Graphic Design Photography • ADCC Awards
Winner • Brochure • Communication Arts Typography
Winner • Brochure/Report • Communication Arts Typography
Winner • Annual Report • Communication Arts Design
Finalist • Public Service • Communication Arts Design
Winner • Public Service/Charity • Applied Arts Design
Winner • Entire Publication Design • Applied Arts Design
Best in Show • AdRodeo Anvils
Winner • Annual Report • AdRodeo Anvils
Silver • Photography Single • AdRodeo Anvils
Silver • Photography Series • AdRodeo Anvils
Silver • Craft Photography • AdRodeo Anvils

2023

Shortlisted • Design • The One Show
Winner • Annual Report • Communication Arts Design
Winner • Annual Report Single • Applied Arts
Merit • Strategy 101st Marketing Awards • Design
Finalist • NZ Best Awards

2022

Merit • Design • The One Show
Winner • Entire Publication Design • Applied Arts
Merit • Design • Marketing Awards
Winner • Cause Related Creative Response • Applied Arts
Winner • Brochure • Communication Arts Design Awards
Anvil • Brochure, Book, and Publication Design • Ad Rodeo Awards
Finalist (Pending) • Design Communication • NZ Best Awards
Bronze • Live Action / Animation • IDÉA Awards (Quebec)

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*As Leadership

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Title

At What Cost

Client

Calgary Foundation

Project

Quality of Life Report 2022

Type

Editorial Design

Year

2022

Credits

Creative Directors
Keli Pollock / Steph Kochorek
Copywriter
Steph Kochorek
Account Director
Miranda Thorne
Photographer (Editorial)
Jean Perron
Photographer (Book)
Jason Stang

Role

I worked as the sole designer on this project, developing the concept and graphic execution along with art directing the photography.

About

Calgary Foundation’s Quality of Life Report is a “pulse check” on the city of Calgary. The report is driven by a study surveying residents on key issues impacting their well-being. It’s intended to spark conversation around critical issues most relevant to Calgarians, and inform donors & polititians about areas of need.

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2022 offered Calgary a very cautious sigh of relief. With the city slowly beginning to open back up after the pandemic, social and work lives had been returning to what they once were. Meanwhile, the cost of living has not seen that same return, and in the wake of COVID-19 we’re left with sky-high prices and inflation pushing up every transaction along with our stress and anxiety levels. 2022’s report sought to explore that new sense of tension, highlighting statistics pointing to the effects of higher financial stress in the city.

I dove into the report head-on, with an aesthetic pulled from the heart of retail. The report begins with a cover designed to truly evoke the chaos and unrelenting feeling of compiling costs. We see layers of stickers upon stickers, initially appearing as discounts and reductions, but on closer inspection we instead see prices increasing.

Inside the report, I developed a design language built by the visual fabric of everyday transactions; bills, receipts, tickets, pricing, even hand-painted grocery signage — anywhere money is spent. This language, page after page, loud and chaotic, embodies the compounding stress of the rising cost of living.

The book utilizes a contrasting two-part typographic system; a hefty, shouty Futura Oblique, representing the hard-sell Point Of Sale, and a mono-space body style referencing printed receipts; the completed sale. These are supported by a blazing, bright, retail colour palette.

Photography was also a key consideration; hard-lit for a raw, immediate, and uncomfortable feeling, suggesting towards the tension of financial stress.

Awards

Winner • Best in Show • Communication Arts Typography 2024

Winner • Brochure/Report • Communication Arts Typography 2024

Winner • Annual Report • Communication Arts Design 2023

Winner • Annual Report Single • Applied Arts 2023

Shortlisted • Design • The One Show 2023

Merit • Strategy 101st Marketing Awards • Design

Finalist • NZ Best Awards 2023