Since 1967, Capilano Mall has held an important place in the North Shore community. During that time, there has been tremendous growth and change in the City of North Vancouver and on the North Shore. As the mall’s owner, QuadReal is thinking about the future of Capilano Mall and how it can meet the needs of the community with a redefined purpose and unique placemaking. A community engagement brand was developed to build confidence and trust in QuadReal, in the short and long-term. The design process involved incorporating information gathered from a community engagement survey and geo-targeted mobile polling, which allowed the identity to be rooted in community values, as well as a placemaking and visioning workshop.
The key design challenge was developing a vision for the future of the site that the community could get excited about while being careful to not negatively frame the existing mall and its current tenants. It was vital to balance excitement for the future while maintaining viable business opportunities for the existing mall. The name "Thinking Cap" was developed to portray QuadReal's intent and commitment to the process, and to help the community identify with the engagement and create a feeling of familiarity.
The design solution is a visual identity that fully embodies the key themes of "uniquely and exclusively North Shore", “nature/ outdoors/green” and “connectivity and inclusion” through the inclusion of abstract graphic patterns, vibrant North Shore inspired colour palette, and playful, welcoming typeface.
