BuildingIN

Drawing on six years of research, testing, and neighbourhood simulations, the BuildingIN team developed a groundbreaking approach to urban planning that helps municipalities meet their housing needs now, and into the future. This innovative breakthrough in urban planning led Rosaline J. Hill to establish BuildingIN alongside a group of partners and collaborators.

When BuildingIN prepared to launch in June 2024, their team engaged LeBlanc (& co.) Communications to support the company's launch. Their goal was to introduce BuildingIN as a credible and innovative consulting firm ready to be hired by municipalities to solve one of their most pressing challenges: the housing supply crisis.

BuildingIN needed communications and branding that would resonate with decision makers within municipalities, and win over their trust. To prepare BuildingIN for their launch, we designed their brand, created a communications strategy, and supported their public launch. To start, we engaged in a strategy and research phase to ensure that BuildingIN could communicate highly technical information in a way that was both accurate and engaging. To do this, we led a series of conversations and workshops with BuildingIN's experts in areas like urban planning, architecture, and municipal affairs. We created a messaging framework designed to ensure their credibility and impact could shine through to two different audiences: technical experts in urban planning and elected city councillors.

After completing our strategy phase, we began designing a brand for BuildingIN. Their team requested a visual brand that would resonate with their two main audiences of municipal staff and elected officials. The tone of the visual brand was formal and engaging, aiming to resonate with BuildingIN's target audiences. We created a brand guide complete with a custom logo suite, colour palette, font selection, and range of design elements such as a pattern inspired by architecture.

After BuildingIN's core brand was created, we embarked on our next design challenge — creating art direction guidelines for their technical assets such as maps, architectural renderings, and motion graphics. We worked with their team of experts to develop art direction parameters for technical assets, which were limited to specific colour palettes and certain design elements.

When BuildingIN was chosen as a semi-finalist by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in Round 5 of the Housing Supply Challenge, LeBlanc (& co.) Communications supported the BuildingIN team with their communications needs during this fast-paced process. 

After a successful launch covered by the CBC, BuildingIN has now worked with municipalities across Canada including the City of Victoria, City of Kelowna, and City of Sudbury.