Transit rebranding in Canada’s NWT capital city

Branding - Art Direction - Illustration

Yellowknife Transit

As the design partner on the transformation of Yellowknife Transit, our role was to bring clarity, cohesion, and character to a newly restructured transit system through a complete rebrand. Working closely with transit planners from WATT and City staff, the rebrand of YK Transit was developed to support a newly restructured transit system with a clear, modern identity. At the core of the brand is an abstract representation of the Yellowknife acronym, YK. The icon forms directional arrows and a flowing pattern that reflects movement, connectivity, and progress.

To clearly define the services offered by Yellowknife Transit, we developed a sub-brand strategy that separated fixed-route and on-demand services while keeping them visually connected. YK Transit was established for fixed-route service, while YK Flex was introduced for on-demand accessible transit (formerly YATS). This structure clarified services for riders and allowed the visual system to scale across logos, fleet designs, bus stop markers, route maps, schedules and riders guides with consistency and clarity.

The brand has been carried through every rider-facing touchpoint, including these fun interior bus banners with original illustrations designed to communicate passenger rules and new fare information in an engaging, easy-to-understand way.

Throughout implementation, accessibility and best practices as outlined in AODA-compliant design standards were implemented. The result is a cohesive, human-centered transit identity that reflects both thoughtful planning and strong design, delivering a more accessible and intuitive experience for YK Transit riders.

We’ve worked on a few transit projects over the years, but this one is especially close to our hearts. Despite delays from COVID, followed by wildfires and a city wide evacuation, the City of Yellowknife team showed true Canadian resilience. You can’t always get from A to B without major hurdles. We are honoured to work alongside a team that knows how to stay the course.