VANCOUVER—The recently expanded Vancouver Convention Centre opened its doors two weeks ago, unveiling a new visual identity created by Karacters Design Group, a subsidiary of DDB Canada. The facility, based on the waterfront in Vancouver, was built mostly with clear glass, allowing delegates a clear view of the water and mountains outside.

The idea was to create a convention centre that bucks convention, says Claire Smith, vice president of sales and marketing for the VCC, an idea that was further enhanced by DDB’s branding initiatives.

James Bateman, creative director of Karacters, says his team wanted to create a look that played off the building’s “cultural centre” feel. Ruling out “anything that was literal,” such as a shot of the building or use of geographic symbols, Karacters created a logo that has layered images of water, light and glass and prominent use of the word Vancouver, which appears in a redrawn version of Din.

A print campaign that shows images of dreary meeting rooms, accompanied by copy such as “Hell isn’t all fire and brimstone, sometimes it’s carpeted,” will go out to meeting planners.

In addition to Karacters, DDB subsidiaries Tribal DDB, Radar DDB and Rapp Collins were all involved in the project.

Tribal DDB has redesigned and reorganized the content on the VCC website, while Radar DDB has created social media programs that include online communities on Flickr and YouTube. Rapp Collins is also developing a direct mail campaign that will target media planners.

As part of the launch, DDB sent out special invitations where guests were encouraged to tear off a piece and write down something that inspired them at the building. The guests then posted the notes on large cardboard frames that spelt the word Vancouver, recreating the logo in life-size. “It looks amazing,” says Bateman. Contact: www.karacters.com; www.vancouverconventioncentre.com