Algonquin College

A new campus dining program for Algonquin College. I built a family of station brands that look like they belong to the college, not to an outside vendor. It was the largest education award in that year's pipeline. It is now open, and we shot a short film there with the students and staff who use it.

Client: Algonquin College, through Compass Group Canada
Year: 2026
Role: Creative lead
Outcome: Awarded, $9.0M a year. Now open.

The stations open at Algonquin. From the promo film we shot for the college at Compass Group Canada.

AC Dining

The program runs under one mark, AC Dining, in Algonquin green. In the film it shows up in the space itself: on the staff uniforms, and cut out on a counter top.

The AC Dining logo

The AC mark in white on a green counter top — The AC mark on a counter top, from the film

A family of stations

Market Grab n Go for made-fresh daily packaged food. Grill House for burgers and all-day breakfast. Pronto Pasta, named for what students need between classes: food that is ready. Plus Greens & Grains, Burrito Loco, Create, Bubbz, The Hot Spot and Spoons & Ladles.

Each station was pitched as a slide in the proposal. Beside each slide is the station as it opened, in a still from the film.

Market Grab n Go, proposal slide — Market Grab n Go, as pitched

A student at the Market Grab n Go fridges, under headers reading Good food good vibes — Open: the Market fridges and headers

Grill House, proposal slide — Grill House, as pitched

The lit Grill House sign over the counter — Open: the Grill House sign

Pronto Pasta, proposal slide — Pronto Pasta, as pitched

Pronto Pasta digital menu boards over the counter — Open: Pronto Pasta menu boards

Burrito Loco, proposal slide — Burrito Loco, as pitched

Burrito Loco counter with orange walls and digital menu boards — Open: Burrito Loco

Greens & Grains, proposal slide — Greens & Grains, as pitched

"Love the neon signs and the coloring now, and the details. They've really put in the work in designing this place."
A student, in the film

From render to room

Concept renders for the servery and wall graphics, used to plan the graphic installation. Beside them, the same counters open.

The self-serve kiosks carry every station's brand on one screen, so the family has to hold together at the size of a button too.

Concept render: the Create and Hot Spot counters

Students at the Create counter — Open: the Create counter

A student ordering at a self-serve kiosk showing Grill House, Pronto Pasta, Create, Bubbz and Burrito Loco — Open: a self-serve kiosk, every station on one screen

"I'm eating there more now because it saves a lot of time."
A student, in the film

How campus feels now

The film ends with students and staff finishing one sentence: the new food experience at Algonquin makes campus feel…

More at home.
More organized.
Comfortable.
Diverse.
Seamless.

Naming the residence café

The residence café was called the 35th Street Market Café. The address had changed, so the name pointed to nothing. I proposed four names built on how students already talk about the space: Residence Café, In Residence Café, The Corner and The Spot. Each one was mocked up on the real door.

In Residence Café, shown on the existing door

Early explorations

Logo and brand concepts from the proposal, before the program settled on AC Dining.

Logo explorations

Three master marks from the RFP. A-Leaf builds a leaf into the college's A. Wolf & Fork uses the Algonquin Wolves mascot with a hand and fork. Leaf-Fish reads as a sprouting leaf and a fish swimming upstream, a nod to the region's rivers.

Brand explorations

Early station concepts, each pitched as a brand board: the mark, the packaging and the feel of the space on one page.

Next project

York University: YU Eats