Oliver Gadoury, illustrator and designer in Montreal

Mauka Café et Glaces is a specialty café and artisanal ice cream shop in Mirabel. I helped them develop their visual identity and signage. The goal was to create something that felt both elevated and welcoming. Justine, the founder, had the goal of not just creating a cafe, but a space for community through her cafe. We created an illustration of a table which is central to this vision. Together, it offers a look at what she is proud to offer, as well as a meeting point for her clientele. I hand-painted the front window signage using traditional signpainting techniques as well as some details within the space, a nod to her commitment to quality and craftsmanship.

A selection of commercial and editorial illustration made for clients and publications, alongside personal projects.

While staying in El Transito, Nicaragua, I was commissioned by a local surf shop and café to paint a mural inspired by the town’s fishermen. Over a month there, I made watercolour and pencil studies of what I saw and felt, and one became the reference for the final design.

A brand concept for a skincare company committed to natural ingredients and sustainability. The name, “Genteel,” plays on two meanings of “gentle”: gentle on the environment, and gentility, the refinement of the recipes and ingredients. The identity aims to feel hand-crafted and chic, with lettering and illustration that evoke the circular nature of the products.

A packaging concept for a travel-inspired coffee brand. Each design draws on the geography and biodiversity of where the beans are grown.

A brand concept for a nature lodge in Algonquin Park, where I grew up camping with my dad and brother. The name comes from its setting at the Lake of Two Rivers. I drew on historical camping and outdoors imagery for the visual direction, and the palette references traditional trail signage and provincial parks branding. To carry the identity into the physical space, I designed old-school room key tags and a mural.

Studio Le Tigre is one of the only studios in Montreal teaching traditional pilates, the practice as originally developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. Working with the founders, I created a brand mark inspired by vintage matchbox designs that incorporates their existing tiger imagery and reflects the method’s history.

During a two-month residency at Apapacho Hostel in Mexico City, I painted a trio of murals for the newly opened hostel, one on each landing of the main staircase. I combined sketches based on scenes I’d seen to create the final compositions. Together they pay homage to the neighbourhoods of Doctores and Reforma: the street scenes, local shops, old school signage and the warmth I experienced there.