UTEST Accelertor Program

A New Look & Feel

The University of Toronto Early Stage Technology (UTEST) program supports entrepreneurs at U of T in building and funding research-based companies.

UTEST asked us to help with a new website so they could showcase the breadth of their work over the years and encourage new students to apply. I completed this project while working as a Senior Designer at Office/Bureau.

We wanted to give UTEST a unique visual look that made it stand out from other accelerator programs, while still tying it into the U of T brand. That meant a lot of the brand dark blue, and using similar layouts and grids, but the references didn't have to be too heavy handed.

I developed a shape library for use throughout the website and on subsequent branded materials. Conceptually, these wireframe-style shapes represent the building blocks that UTEST helps students put in place. On a practical level these served as visual flourishes throughout the content. I also wrote a style guide regarding how the shapes, colours, and typography were to be implemented in future applications.

Custom illustrated shape library

Select Pages

We redesigned every page on the UTEST site with the intention of guiding users to apply to the program, and taking every opportunity to showcase what working with UTEST is like through photos. There was a lot of information that had to be included, so designing layouts to contain it all and make it accessible was paramount, and we had to keep in mind ongoing additions from the team once we stepped away and wrapped up the project.

Below are select pages from the website, click on any thumbnail to enlarge.

Work →→→

*

Web Design
Branding & Identity
Art Direction
Presentation Design
Editorial Design
Infographics
HTML & CSS

About →→→

*

Winner of Silver Davey Award (website: sustainability) for Ecology & Society, 2023
Winner of Silver Davey Award (website: science) for Ecology & Society, 2023

Familiar with Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Wordpress, Webflow, and AODA (accessibility) requirements for print and web.

Contact →→→

*

Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design
OCAD University, 2011.

Margot holds dual citizenship in both Canada and the United Kingdom and is legally eligible for work in both countries. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.

LinkedIn →→→

*

2011 - Present:
Senior Designer, Square
Senior Designer, Office/Bureau
Senior Art Director, H+K Strategies
Instructor, Toronto Film School
Art Director, Publicis
Art Director, Juniper Park\TBWA
Designer, Critical Mass
Designer, Indigo Books & Music
Lead Designer, Blue Ant Media
Designer, WIND Mobile