Buywell Sign
#1: Don’t Ask Jeeves (About the Lobsters)
By Dylan Nazareth, Alina Aitkalieva, Defne Veral and James Fay
The face of an iconic Montreal establishment, this sign was originally displayed in the window of the Buywell grocery store to hide the lower half of the live lobster tank from passersby on Ste. Catherine. Now, the sign and its jovial character Jeeves sit hidden away in a dark basement hallway not prone to visitors. Through the power of partying, Don’t Ask Jeeves attempts to re-write narratives of loneliness both within a present and historical context of the Buywell grocery sign.
#2
By Olympia Dairaine, Tara Salamé, Catherine Skothos, Elizabeth Asturias, Ana Floyd and Zaya Levesque
For our final project, we created a mapping projection with the Buywell sign. Buywell was a supermarket opened in 1900, however, the sign and their mascot Jeeves appeared in the 1920s. The grocery store was open during WWI, WWII and the post-war period. However, it closed down in 1985 after an important adventure. The concept behind our mapping involves bringing life to the Buywell sign and its character Jeeves. We used illustrated drawings, colours, archival photographs and sound to bring a second life to our sign. The colours change as Buywell’s changed in the 30s. The sound is inspired by cinematic archives. The introduction of the sound is a reply to the movie Cent Mille dollars au Soleil. It is a link to money matters and the « buy » on Buywell. The sound is a dancing sound as we wish to see Buywell dance again. There is also a supermarket sound to remind viewers of the origin of the sign.
Mars Sign
#1
By Gian Isabelle Matutina, Yassine Ben Ayed, Ruddy-Sann Navalta Sison, Leah Taussky and Martina Bonanata
MARS was a comic book and cassette store that was open on saint Catherine’s from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s. Within our project , we wanted to showcase the evolution of both music and comics , and did that through the use of various album covers and comic characters. We chose to further play with this idea by projecting footage of the iconic street that was home to this establishment, and added an Easter egg in reference to what the MARS shop is today.
#2
By Morgan Moakler Jessiman, Rosalie Donnelly-Rheaume, Anika Ouy, Julian Shaw, Françoise Adama Yansané and Nicola Lewis
Seeing as Mars Comics opened on St. Catherine sometime during the 60’s or 70’s, we decided to animated the sign with era appropriate, space themed comics to immerse the viewer in the comics they would have encountered at the time, and also to exemplify the space themed storefront. We also added a rocket which traces the long tail of the S on the sign to draw attention to the name of the store to maintain its validity as a storefront sign while also providing a whimsical viewing experience.
STM Sign
#1
By Lili Bertrand-Vermette,, Shannon Hugh, Apolline Vaillant, Tiffany Tshilomba, Kathleen O’Keeffe and Maria Hajjar
The Montreal Metro has always been key to many Montrealers’ daily lives. By observing and listening to the sounds and the visuals aspects of the Metro, we have found that each day, no matter who is present, the sounds and visuals will be constant and will form a specific rhythm. Through the chaoticness of the Metro, dance and music are installed and performed by individuals. We want to establish a relationship between the sign and its story by using sound and animation. We want to put different eras/versions of this well-known rhythm into conversation.
#2
By Kyle Foote, Hilary Etomo Mba, Jacqueline Tzontchev, Marielle Loyola, Marissa Driver and Mitchell Stein
Our project focuses on the STM Wayfinding Sign, because of its importance to our city as a means of accessibility and transportation. The sign is considered a form of semiotics, which should serve as a guide to citizens and visitors. The metro symbols were presented in 1963 and were designed by Jacques Roy. Associated with many colours, it symbolises movement, with the direction arrows, through the tunnel and is considered part of Montreal’s heritage. It represents and highlights Canada’s second-busiest rapid transit system and it is a symbol of innovation, thus technology, societal and environmental advancement. As a community, we are able to travel to many beautiful areas in Montreal through public transportation. This sign represents Canada’s second-busiest rapid transit system, and it is also important to recognize accessibility considerations when looking at wayfinding throughout the Montreal transportation system, which should be emphasised and included in the design of these signs and accomodations.
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