THE REC ROOM

Visual Language / Design System / Design Toolkit

Supporting an internal team with systems and processes.

Challenge

Can a creative team focus on ideas and spend less time on creative execution? How can we accelerate marketing efforts across touchpoints? How can we save time and money with such a large brand to manage?

The Rec Room is Canada’s premier “eats and entertainment” hot spot. The massive 40,000sq. foot space redefines the meaning of fun for people looking to have a great time with friends in a space that offers incredible cuisine, live entertainment, virtual reality and so much more. With 7 locations across Canada the internal creative agency was facing challenges in executing all the media to facilitate the broad scope of communication requirements for each location. They were faced with constantly trying to come up with new and creative ways to craft visual communication for the venues while still staying within the brand foundation. Without a clearly defined structure and visual system the team was challenged by both being thoughtful with their ideas and intentional in the execution of creative assets in a timely manner.

Solution

A design system developed to structure and create consistency across all creative executions and provide the internal team more time to spend on messaging and ideas, with less time on executing the assets, removing the stress of competing deadlines.

The project provided the team with an ecosystem in which to explore their solutions intentionally—allowing them to think about the application of the solutions and develop the media inside of what they were hoping to achieve with it rather than forcing images and text into a box. The team ran with the system and created diverse yet consistent assets for the venues. Event posters, social media posts, banners and even wristbands all had the energy breathed into them that would be found if someone were visiting The Rec Room. It allowed the team to get back into the conversation of ideas and how they could use the system to elevate and expand the execution. The team had a new found love of working on media for The Rec Room and all it took was bringing back the essence of fun and play.

Results

A cohesive visual language and design system used across multiple locations

Faster, more consistent creative execution across marketing touchpoints

Reduced stress and friction for the internal creative team during peak cycles

Greater focus on ideas, messaging, and creative thinking rather than production

A flexible toolkit that supports events, promotions, and location-specific needs

Team

Dave Dick

Three rectangular sheets with grid patterns, from left to right: white with black grid lines, red with white grid lines, black with red grid lines.
Three promotional posters for The Rec Room, a restaurant and entertainment venue. The first shows a couple kissing with the text "Tell Better Stories." The second features a person about to eat a cherry with the same text. The third displays various images of people and food with the same phrase and additional text about storytelling and brunch.
Multiple colorful printed marketing and branding materials laid out on a flat surface, including flyers, brochures, and posters with various graphic designs and text.
A bus stop with a large advertisement for a restaurant called The Rec Room, featuring two women talking and plush toys, with three pedestrians walking by on the sidewalk in front of a cityscape.