To mark this milestone, Canary is looking back at its evolution and envisioning what’s to come in the next ten years. The future embraces new projects and client types that desire creative thinking to shape communities and value positive growth.

“We approach the future with an open mind and our eyes set on new opportunities to expand what our role as designers mean for us, our clients and community,” said Amanda Harper, Canary Director.

Canary began small in 2008 with two designers and an idea to expand the breadth of work and has since expanded into a multi-disciplinary design studio. Canary was recently ranked #11 on Phoenix Business Journal’s Phoenix area Graphic Design Firms and #23 for Interior Design Firms. In the last ten years, the studio has worked with both public and private clients from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies across the nation.

The studio has built a diverse portfolio, gaining experience in brand strategy and development, print media, environmental graphics and interior architecture and design. Recent notable projects include:

• WebPT Renovation

• Iron Chef Cat Cora/Aramark Street Eats Concept

• Young Mind Center Renovation and Brand Development

• Yosemite National Park Concession in partnership with Aramark

• Cooperstown Renovation for Equality Health

Located within the Phoenix Warehouse District, Canary and Gould Evans have engaged with the community and local businesses, helping to transform the area into the creative hub it is becoming.

“I’m encouraged by the success of our last ten years,” said Melissa Alexander, Canary Director, “and by the way our community has evolved, particularly in the Phoenix Warehouse District.”

Canary recently held “Next,” an event that celebrated their anniversary and envisioned the future.  An interactive CMYK Eggsperience room, consisting of over 2,000 eggs contained fortunes supporting the spirit of what is “Next.”

Canary Media Contact
Melissa Huapaya
Number: 602.650.7618
Email: melissa.huapaya@gouldevans.com

About Canary
Canary is a graphic, branding and interior design studio within Gould Evans, a multi-disciplinary design firm. Canary visualizes the various facets of a client’s brand, mission and values within an environment and determines how to create memorable experiences. Our work explores the relationships between brand and communication, signage and interiors – our collaborative outcome is a cohesive project that seamlessly integrates all aspects of your identity into one strong, consistent statement. To learn more, visit www.canary-studio.com.

About Gould Evans Inc.
Gould Evans’ award-winning designs are recognized for their specificity to people and place. Our diverse portfolio of architecture stems from a design process that starts with the client’s goals and envisions future outcomes and experiences for end users. We share a passion for regional architecture and design that positively impacts our communities. To learn more, visit www.gouldevans.com.

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The 22,000 sq. ft. building, constructed in 1925 in the “Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century Revival Period”, operated as Plaza Laundry until 1945. Over the years, the space has continued to operate as a commercial building, retaining its original exterior and connection to the broader historical context of Westport.

“Westport has become a strategic asset for us, both as a recruiting tool for new talent and an amenity for our clients,” said Dennis Strait, Managing Principal of the Gould Evans Kansas City Studio. “The narrow streets, small blocks and diverse mix of shops, restaurants and services make it the model for walkable living in Kansas City.”

Challenged with creating a space that will facilitate the firm’s vision and evolution into a progressive design practice, Gould Evans plans to adapt the historic building into a modern workplace that will act as an incubator for a design thinking. The space will create an environment that fosters creativity and enables the entrepreneurial spirit that has always existed within the firm, to allow new ideas, opportunities and business ventures to come to the forefront.

The two-story, flexible studio will cater to a broader range of working styles, taking advantage of the original structure’s unique bones to provide a variety of intelligent and dynamic zones. The renovation will dedicate more square footage to collaboration areas than traditional desk space and will feature:

• A dedicated makerspace featuring digital and physical modeling tools alongside assembly space for mockups

• A social zone for casual gathering that transitions to town hall gathering space for associates and local community

• Loft in the trusses with quiet nooks for introverts and heads down space

• Natural lighting from all four directions so everyone has access to daylight and views

• Height adjustable work environments customizable to the individual

• An outdoor patio along the trolley tracks for gatherings, outdoor work space and entertainment

In addition, the firm will continue to house the STEAM Studio, a nonprofit organization that works with K-12 students to develop skills in entrepreneurialism and design thinking, using STEM education as the foundation. The Studio, which began as an entrepreneurial venture of a Gould Evans principal in 2015, has served as an active learning environment within the firm, yielding research and insights into education design.

“Businesses and Biology both have life cycles that hit peaks and require fresh investment to have resiliency and avoid decline. We believe we are designing a design firm and this new environment is a perfect metaphor for our practice,” said Tony Rohr, Gould Evans National Managing Principal. “We aren’t forgetting the core of what we’ve been for over 40 years, but in many ways, this is a new beginning, or at least a new chapter. The insertion of new life into a historic frame is similar to inserting a new design culture into a traditional structure. It’s dynamic – not static.”

The new office will offer a more dynamic environment that is conducive to hosting firm-wide meetings, events and community gatherings. Gould Evans is expected to move into the building in early 2019.

Hi-res renderings and design team interviews available upon request. Please contact Megan Krtek at 816-701-5422 or megan.krtek@gouldevans.com.

About Gould Evans
Gould Evans’ award-winning designs are recognized for their specificity to people and place. Our diverse portfolio of architecture stems from a design process that starts with the client’s goals. We share a passion for regional architecture and design that positively impacts our communities. To learn more, visit www.gouldevans.com.

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