Haluka Yagi (IDEA Grad 2021) gains 2020 RGD Student Award Honourable Mention for the Tony Jurgilas Award for Logo Design with 'Mayday'

Congratulations to Haluka Yagi (IDEA Grad 2021) for gaining 2020 RGD Student Award Honourable Mention for the Tony Jurgilas Award for Logo Design with 'Mayday'.

Mayday is a fictional online resource that helps educate youth in British Columbia on natural disasters, and how to prepare for them. The main objective is to communicate the harsh realities we could face when we get hit with unpredictable disasters. See: Mayday: UX UI Case Study

Mayday is an online resource for youth that brings awareness to people's lack of preparedness towards natural disasters. "Mayday" is an international radio distress signal used in voice-procedure radio communications, signalling a life-threatening emergency, the morse code equivalent being "SOS." The logo was built from the morse code symbols of "SOS" to create an asterisk (*), which is primarily used to draw attention to words. Mayday believes in communicating and drawing attention to natural disaster preparedness, as being prepared is the key to being safe.

Natural disasters are unpredictable, and not many people in Canada are aware of what to do before, during, and after an emergency suddenly happens. We watch and read the news on things happening around the world, which is when we realize that it could be our reality. Youth have the power to move adults, as we have seen with the recent climate action strikes around the world. The inevitable “Big One” has been predicted to happen soon, and Mayday is the online resource that speaks to youth on these natural disasters.

This project was for IDES 383 Visual Communication Studio II: Interactive Concentration with Jai Djwa! 

No matter what type of project I work on—from branding, interactive, to illustration, I like to dedicate a reasonable amount of time to research. Usually, this helps lead me down a different path from what's already been done. In the case of this project, I stumbled across distress signals and calls during my research, where I found "Mayday," a word derived from the French word "m' aider" which means "help me." This became the brand name as it was recognizable by many from its use in critical scenes in movies. Looking deeper into the word, I found out that the morse code equivalent was SOS, which ultimately led me to the logo design. Whether it is design-related or relating to the project's background, we are continually learning; and this, to me, is one of the most enjoyable and enriching parts of being a designer.

Project duration: 4 weeks
Instructor: Jai Djwa

“Haluka Yagi’s MAYDAY project is a thoughtful and interesting project that could help young people be safe in the event of a major disaster. With a strong user experience, powerful graphics and typography, this project combines information, an interactive quiz and personal stories of resilience from youth that have survived other disasters. It’s a contemporary and clever approach to a relevant social issue here on the West Coast.”

— Jai Djwa, Instructor

About RGD

The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) is a non-profit, professional Association that represents over 4,100 design practitioners, including firm owners, freelancers, managers, educators and students.

For all the winners, see rgd.ca.

About Tony Jurgilas, R.G.D.

Tony Jurgilas, R.G.D. is a Principal and Chief Design Strategist at 50 Carleton. He is a founding member and Past President [2001-2003] of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. His vast experience in the graphic design industry has led to the development of successful branding and collateral campaigns across northern Ontario and abroad. He is charged with the task of maintaining 50 Carleton’s high standard of creative quality and design ethics.

For more about this UI/UX design project see halukayagi.com/mayday.