Designing momentum for a new chapter

The Situation

The Fisheries Council of Canada had a long-established reputation as the national voice of Canada’s seafood industry. But in 2025, the organization found itself at an important moment.

With new leadership came new ambitions. FCC President Jason McLinton wanted to build momentum around the organization’s future, strengthen engagement across the industry, and elevate the annual conference into a must-attend event for seafood leaders, partners, and stakeholders.

The existing visual identity no longer reflected that vision. The logo and colour palette felt dated, and the annual conference lacked the cohesive visual presence needed to support the caliber of event FCC wanted to deliver.

The challenge was about more than design. It was about creating a visual foundation that could signal a new direction and generate excitement for what came next.

The Goal

The project began with a refresh of FCC’s visual identity, but quickly expanded into a broader initiative to support the organization’s flagship annual conference.

Success meant:

• Modernizing the Fisheries Council of Canada’s visual identity
• Creating a stronger sense of momentum and optimism around the organization
• Developing a compelling conference theme and visual system
• Delivering a consistent experience across digital and physical touchpoints
• Supporting attendance, sponsorship, and industry engagement

Most importantly, the conference needed to feel different.

Not simply bigger, but more polished, more ambitious, and more reflective of where the organization was heading.

The Approach

Refreshing the visual identity

The first step was evolving the Fisheries Council of Canada’s visual identity.

Rather than undertaking a complete rebrand, we focused on modernizing key elements while maintaining recognition and continuity.

The refreshed logo introduced a greater sense of movement and optimism. Combined with an updated colour palette, the new identity helped communicate growth, progress, and forward momentum while remaining connected to the organization’s history.

This new visual direction became the foundation for everything that followed.

Building a conference theme around global opportunity

With the identity established, attention turned to the annual conference.

The 2025 theme, Accessing Global Markets in Turbulent Waters, reflected both the opportunities and challenges facing Canada’s seafood industry.

The creative direction incorporated global imagery, international trade themes, and visual references to the interconnected nature of modern seafood markets. It provided a strong foundation that could be applied consistently across every conference touchpoint.

Creating a cohesive event experience

As a Platinum Sponsor and long-term partner, Baytek worked as an extension of the FCC team throughout the planning process.

Over the course of the project, we designed:

• Conference promotional graphics
• Social media campaign assets
• Sponsorship brochures
• Conference programs
• Event landing pages
• Eight banner stand designs
• Lanyards
• Sponsor recognition signage
• Environmental graphics throughout the venue

Rather than treating each piece as a separate deliverable, every asset was designed as part of a unified experience.

From the first promotional post to the final conference session, attendees encountered a consistent visual language that reinforced the event’s message and professionalism.

The Outcome

The conference successfully reflected the ambition behind it.

The refreshed visual identity helped establish a new tone for the organization, while the conference experience created excitement among attendees, sponsors, and speakers alike.

The event attracted high-profile speakers, including Dominic Barton, former Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China, and generated strong engagement throughout the industry.

Most notably, conference income exceeded the previous year’s event by over 65%, helping create momentum for future initiatives and demonstrating strong support for the conference’s renewed direction.

While many factors contributed to that success, the consistent branding, conference theme, and attendee experience helped create an event that felt elevated, professional, and worth talking about.

Perhaps the strongest indication of success came from attendees themselves. Conversations about next year’s conference began before this year’s event had even ended.

“Baytek is more than a web and branding company. They are solution providers and partners. I am 100% satisfied with the work they did for us on branding and event promotion.”

Jason McLinton
President, Fisheries Council of Canada