CHAPTER 1 OF 3 — YRT · VIVA · BRAND EXPERIENCE
Brand • Campaigns • Customer experience • Videos
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Kept riders loyal and turned commuters and drivers into regular riders.
Made Viva, PRESTO, apps and On-Request easy to understand, and showed transit is for everyone.
One recognizable YRT and Viva identity on buses, stations, signage, web and apps.
Six service changes a year, detours, severe weather, COVID-19 and major launches.
Built support with residents, partners and council, and gathered input through interactive maps.
View the brandHide the brand
The challenge: as YRT continued to grow and evolve, the brand needed to evolve with it, making room for new services and offerings.
The result: one flexible, transparent and reliable system that riders could trust. As new services are added, they fall under the YRT master brand umbrella.
Master brand
Sub-brand familyTHE RIDER’S JOURNEY
Everything below serves one rider, from the first time they consider transit to having a say in its future. Each stage starts with what riders needed, then shows the work that answered it.
STAGE 1 · GROW RIDERSHIP
The challenge: as York Region grew, YRT needed to attract new riders, like commuters and drivers stuck in traffic, while keeping current riders loyal.
The result: transit stayed top of mind as an affordable, safe and convenient way to travel, with award-winning campaigns that kept riders coming back.
Featured work
STAGE 2 · KEEP RIDERS INFORMED
The challenge: service changes, severe weather and potential strikes could affect riders with little notice, and I led my team to get them accurate information fast. The campaign below focused on COVID-19, communicating its impact on service and the safety measures and policies that kept everyone safe during the pandemic.
The result: riders got clear, timely and consistent information, even when guidance changed with little notice, which built confidence and trust in the system.
Featured campaign
STAGE 3 · RIDER SAFETY
The challenge: our current riders needed to feel safe on board and at the stop, and to know exactly what to do and who to tell when something felt wrong.
The result: riders saw one simple message wherever they travelled, and knew how to get help: tell the driver, tell a Transit Enforcement Officer or call 911.
Featured campaign
STAGE 4 · HAVE A SAY
The challenge: YRT changes its service every year, and riders, municipalities and community partners needed a real voice in those changes before they happened.
The result: riders helped shape the final 2025 Transit Initiatives, and saw that their feedback drives real changes to their service.
Featured campaign
THE OUTCOME
Riders met one consistent YRT and Viva voice at every stage of their journey, on buses, at stops, online and in their hands. The campaigns on this page won five industry awards.
RIDERSHIP CAMPAIGN · TOURISM
An integrated campaign encouraging residents to discover York Region and Toronto destinations by bus, across shelters, buses, print, radio, digital and social.
My role: produced entirely in house by my team of eight designers, social media specialists and visual media coordinators, under my direction from concept through rollout.
Raise top-of-mind awareness and show transit as an affordable, safe and efficient way to reach York Region’s destinations.
Residents aged 18 to 34, students and low-income residents.
A rider at the bus window, reacting to what’s outside: “Get out and see York Region up close.”
Seven channels over 12 weeks, June 20 to September 11, 2022.
Every piece uses the same bus-window frame and tagline, so the ads read as one campaign across every channel. Each message points to a different reason to ride:
62M estimated impressions from 50 shelter ads
43 ads on YRT buses in Vaughan, Markham and Newmarket
16.5M impressions and 11,000+ clicks
3.65M impressions and 30,237 clicks on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat
33,942 page views, 71% on mobile
9M+ estimated impressions from 300 radio spots
267,000 estimated impressions from half-page ads in 10 local newspapers
RIDERSHIP CAMPAIGN · YRT AND TTC
A family of ridership ads showing how easy it is to travel between York Region and Toronto on YRT and the TTC, as part of a “one system” initiative.
My role: created entirely in house, with my team and me taking every piece from concept to production.
Show that YRT and the TTC work as one connected system, so a trip into Toronto feels as easy as one across York Region.
Riders and residents on both sides of the boundary, reached on TTC subways, on YRT buses and at local events.
By day, by night: pair a York Region destination with a Toronto one, linked by a simple route map.
Subway cards, transit kings, half tails and event banners, supported by a YRT and TTC “one system” map.
Each ad splits the frame between two destinations and shows the exact route that joins them, so riders can see how to get there at a glance:
Full-length ads on the sides of YRT buses.
Ads on the back of YRT buses, seen by drivers in traffic.
Viva and YRT routes with every TTC subway connection on one map.
Route-map banners for event partnerships at York Region venues.
VIDEO SERIES · 4 VIDEOS
A four-part video series created to educate riders and show the benefits of taking transit, from saving money and avoiding traffic to knowing exactly when the bus will arrive.
My role: I set the strategy for the series. I identified the barriers that stop people from riding, turned each one into a short, focused video, and defined the scope and creative direction for our agency. I then led the work from concept and script approval through production and post-production, keeping every video on brand, upbeat and short enough to share.
Two-Hour Travel: one fare covers two hours of travel.
Leave the Driving to Us: skip the traffic and the stress.
It’s Easy!: what to expect, step by step.
Real-Time Mobile App: see exactly when it arrives.
01 — Get on the Bus: Two-Hour Travel0:31
02 — Get on the Bus: Leave the Driving to Us0:54
03 — Get on the Bus: It’s Easy!0:48
04 — Get on the Bus: Real-Time Mobile App0:47
PUBLIC SAFETY CAMPAIGN · 2020–2021
On-bus and station signage, a COVID-19 hub on yrt.ca, social media, digital ads, digital bus stop displays and bus cards across the fleet, all saying the same thing as guidance changed.
My role: I took responsibility for the communication, design, production and distribution of every transit campaign and notice. With several colleagues, including my manager, redeployed, I joined manager meetings to relay Corporate Communications and Public Health messaging to every Transit business unit, and kept social media, the website and printing running.
Keep travellers informed of fast-changing service reductions and safety measures, and point everyone to one trusted source.
All YRT and Viva travellers, on board, at stops and online.
One clear sign system for every measure, all leading back to yrt.ca/covid19.
Signs, posters, digital, social and a web hub, updated from March 2020 to March 2021 as guidance changed.
Each new rule got its own simple, consistent sign, so riders could understand it in a second and the team could roll it out fast:
5,000 signage postings and 16,000 notices printed
At shelters, stations and terminals
748,281 impressions on local news sites
499,168 spots in 10 transit shelters
67,273 people reached on Facebook and Instagram
Reminders across the YRT fleet
100,000+ page views on yrt.ca/covid19.
PASSENGER SAFETY · WITH YORK REGIONAL POLICE
A family of safety campaigns for current riders, made with York Regional Police and YRT Transit Enforcement, encouraging everyone to speak up about harassment, bullying and abuse of drivers.
My role: in partnership with our advertising agency, I defined the project scope and creative brief, guided the work through concept, review and production, and worked with the production and photography teams on the shoots, from selecting models to wardrobe. I also coordinated with York Regional Police, Transit Enforcement and internal teams to roll it out on buses, in shelters and online.
Help riders feel safe, and make sure they know how to report harassment, bullying and abuse of drivers.
Current YRT and Viva riders, especially bystanders who see something happen.
Show what goes through a bystander’s mind, then answer it with one clear action.
On-board posters, shelter ads and social media, all pointing to yrt.ca/stopit.
Each poster pairs a moment on board with a reply from YRT Special Constables and York Regional Police, so riders know someone has their back:
Each poster fills the frame with the thoughts racing through a witness’s head, then gives one answer: you can stop it. Three situations, one action:
Tell the driver, tell a Transit Enforcement Officer, or call 911 for emergencies.
Concerns can be reported to any on-street staff, including bus operators, or by calling 1-866-668-3978.
After 9 p.m., riders can ask to get off between stops, closer to where they’re going.
Security cameras on YRT vehicles and properties help deter incidents and provide evidence when needed.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN · 2024
Every year YRT consults travellers before changing its services. For 2025, Service Planning proposed 35 changes, from higher frequency and restructured routes to brand-new services, and this campaign invited the public to weigh in.
My role: I directed the in-house creative. Working with Service Planning, my team and I built the “Your opinion counts” look and carried it across the yrt.ca landing page and interactive map, digital and social ads, postcards, posters, bus stop notices, vehicle inserts, event signage and the stakeholder presentation.
Gather traveller feedback to shape the final 2025 Transit Initiatives, and show riders that their input drives real changes.
YRT travellers, local municipalities and councils, school boards and community partners.
“Your opinion counts”: meet riders where they are, online, on their route and in person.
An interactive map, route-by-route surveys and 18 pop-up events, from April 15 to June 8, 2024.
Customers could drop a pin on the map and comment specifically on the route changes that affect them.
1,586 people at 18 in-person events
12,426 postcards mailed and 900 cards handed out on six routes
1,850 postcards at events, plus On-Request vehicle inserts
183,739 impressions, targeted to schools, GO stations, terminals and malls
Posts and ads on Facebook, Instagram and X
One page for the presentation, the map and every event
A stakeholder presentation summarized every proposed change. It was shared with all nine local municipalities and posted on yrt.ca for anyone to read.
