Our services are expansive,
and our process is battle-tested.
We opened up shop in 2003 with a passion for building brands and telling stories, and eventually grew into today – a smart and efficient creative studio with a niche that not many care to take on.
Presentations are often an afterthought, and brand systems are the end game rather than the starting point. Not here. We bring these skills and viewpoints to every project, allowing us to uncover the delight within our clients' business and the evolving users they serve.
Our team has collective experience in strategy and design, copywriting, keynote direction, interactive design, presentation design and data visualization. We work with the best production crews in the industry to ensure our clients’ collective vision is executed flawlessly.
We love to craft beautiful, smart and inspired work that is focused on the
right information delivered to the right people at the right time.
Ashley Smithers, RGD
Founder & Principal
Ashley has spent 20 years building presentations and identity systems for companies worldwide, and coding websites since the early 90s. (First computers? An Osborne 1, a 386 and a Macintosh Classic.)
In addition to her work with 1821, Ashley has led marketing efforts at a boutique investment firm, led the creative for Pride Toronto, and worked for 5 years with an international NGO on their resource gathering and fundraising teams for regular giving, child sponsorship, major donors and emergency relief.
Educated as an Industrial Designer with further studies in Adult Education, Ashley is a former member of RGD Ontario’s Ethics Board. She has guest lectured on brand and identity design for classes at Royal Roads University, and is a passionate curler, painter, and formally-trained pâtissier.
Our Network
We collaborate with a close network of technical producers, lighting designers, audio engineers, teleprompter rockstars and production designers around the world to create amazing experiences that inspire and delight.
Our capabilities include:
PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS
Content Strategy
Creative Direction
Keynote Direction
Presenter Preparation / Script Review and Rehearsal
Interactive Presentations & Pitch Decks
Investor Memorandums
AGM & Investor Roadshows
Tradeshow Keynotes
Virtual Conferences
Continuing Education & Webinar Presentations
Instructional & Training Presentations
PLATFORMS:
Keynote
Powerpoint
Dataton: WATCHOUT
STRATEGY & COPY
Creative Direction
Disruption & Discovery Sessions
Naming & Tagline Generation
Story & Messaging
DESIGN
Logos & Visual Identity
Illustration
Corporate Communication Design:
- White Papers
- Investor Memos
- Annual Reports
Signage & Wayfinding
Packaging
Print
Digital / Web