The branding process was rooted in understanding the significance of Little Saigon to its long-standing residents and its growing younger demographic. Through community consultation, including interviews with local businesses like Cathy from Kim Chau Deli, we gathered authentic insights into the cultural nuances of Vietnamese design and lifestyle. From these conversations, it became clear that CedarLane was not just a building but a vertical village. The brand needed to resonate with both legacy residents and newcomers seeking modern yet community-driven living. Inception Capital was looking for a brand identity for their real estate development along Kingsway in Vancouver. The brief was to create a design that is approachable yet distinctive, capturing the attention of street traffic. Kingsway Street in Vancouver is lined with flags of Little Saigon and is known for its Vietnamese community and joyful culture surrounding. This sparked the direction for the design and curiosities to learn more about the small businesses that make up the neighborhood.
Brand Strategy
Visual Idenity
Web Design
Print Assets
Photography
The brief
HBR is seeking to produce a short animated infographic for the article “Building Healthy Habits When You’re Truly Exhausted” written by Author Elizabeth Grace Saunders to be featured on their YouTube channel.
The goal is to make the messages in
the article clearly communicated and also appeal to their primary audience.
visual cues
Brand Strategy — A Vertical Village on Kingsway
From the outset, the branding process was rooted in listening. Before any design decisions were made, time was spent understanding the cultural and social fabric of Little Saigon—its rhythms, rituals, and visual cues. Through community consultation and conversations with local business owners, including Cathy from Kim Chau Deli, we gained insight into how residents experience the neighbourhood not as a destination, but as home.
What emerged was a powerful idea: CedarLane is a vertical village.
The brand needed to resonate with two audiences at once: long-standing residents who have shaped the area for decades, and a younger demographic seeking modern, community-driven urban living. Rather than leaning into trend-driven real estate aesthetics, the identity was designed to feel embedded—familiar yet forward-looking.
Heritage Interpreted Through a Contemporary Lens. The visual system uses hand-drawn analog and digital illustrations inspiration from a design language experienced while walking : rice hats glimpsed in storefronts, ochna blossoms associated with celebration and renewal, and the glow of neon signage reflected in café windows after dusk. These references were not treated literally, but abstracted—translated into shape, colour, rhythm, and texture. The palette balances warm neutrals and stone greys with expressive accents of ochna yellow and vermilion red, echoing the vibrancy of Tết and the lively storefronts that line Kingsway. Typography was selected to feel modern and confident while remaining welcoming—supporting a brand voice that is both grounded and optimistic. The resulting identity is distinctive without being loud, expressive without being exclusive—designed to sit comfortably within the streetscape while still standing apart.