York1 Environmental Website

Context.

Seventy years is a long time. That’s how long York1 has been in the environmental and infrastructure space. They’re one of the oldest in the game, and with a roster of six companies under their corporate umbrella, one of the largest, too.

They’ve been on the hook for massive projects across Southern Ontario, like excavation for the Rogers Centre, and infrastructure for the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. They’ve also spearheaded plenty of large-scale environmental cleanups, and everyday waste management for a swath of municipalities.

In 2021, they approached Distility Branding to overhaul their brand architecture, strategy and identity. They needed a strong masterbrand to unify all six of their freestanding companies, with room for acquisitions down the road. From a writing perspective, they were hungry for reimagined ‘About Us’ copy to set the tone for their rebrand—along with refreshed website content to bring their story to life.

Insight.

Brands in the environmental and infrastructure space tout their accomplishments and flaunt heavy machinery. The people actually hiring them rarely see a human side to the marketing. It’s ironic, because these projects are intended to build up and maintain the spaces we all have to share. They are fundamentally human in nature.

Idea.

Once we completed York1’s reimagined ‘About Us’ copy, it was time to concept for the website. After a number of ideas hit the table, spanning a few different territories, we landed on one that dialled up the brand’s purpose to build a better future by uniting the best in their industry.

Sure, this concept was flexible enough to celebrate York1’s recent rebranding and unification. But it also reflected their imprint on the community at large—that human side to the story their competitors simply lacked. Everything came together in the line 1 For All.