Reintroducing a Provincial Essential: Designing a Modern Identity and Campaign That Shows How Alberta Runs on Empties

2025

For its 50th anniversary, the Alberta Bottle Depot Association needed more than a refresh — it needed a reintroduction. The rebrand was designed to modernize the association while reinforcing its long-standing role in sustainability, community impact, and environmental stewardship across the province. At the heart of the work is a new wordmark, carefully constructed to communicate renewability and circularity, with those ideas built directly into the ABDA acronym.

The rebrand launched alongside a province-wide advertising campaign titled Alberta Runs on Empties, celebrating how bottle depots quietly power Alberta every day. Using bright, vibrant colours from the new visual identity, the campaign signals a more modern, energetic ABDA while staying rooted in purpose. Custom illustrations place cans, bottles, and cartons front and center — the literal “fuel” that keeps the system moving. Three campaign executions highlight different ways the association gives back to communities and the province, and are displayed in bottle depots across Alberta as a constant reminder of the impact empties make when they’re returned.

Credits
Work done @ FKA
Creative Direction / Jeff McClean
Associate Creative Direction / Krystin Royan
Art Direction + Design / Gordon Montgomery
Illustration / Gordon Montgomery