Shaun Vincent
Founder, Vincent Design
Shaun is an artist, graphic designer and entrepreneur. He founded Vincent Design Inc. in 2007, after working in the design industry for several years. With strong roots in the Métis (Met-e) community, it was early in his career that he recognized the need for representational design.
It was to become the inspiration for striking out on his own and building a branding and marketing firm focused on Indigenous communities, organizations, and companies.
From the early days of working in his basement, he knew he wanted to create authentic, memorable work. Since then, Vincent Design has grown to include a team of 17 people serving local, national and international clients.
He's known for his personable working style and careful intention to create authentic, memorable work that speaks volumes.
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Shaun Vincent is from the Red River Métis Community and homeland of the Métis Nation from Santa Clara, Manitoba, which is at the tip of lake Manitoba. “Names are important here,” he says, as they have a lot of meaning in my community.” There are a lot of connections through family and name in the community. I’m very involved in a lot of different ways and I volunteer as much as I can to have as much of an impact as possible.
Shaun does illustration, design, storytelling, branding, marketing and, most of all, connect to the Indigenous aspect, which is listening.
Every design starts out with a pencil and paper and, from a design perspective, fits with what he has been experiencing. These designs have an added value not only for clients but also for him as well. An Elder once told him that the design he creates from nothing is part of the spirit. His spirit creates it. Something beyond what he sees, smells, tastes and hears. It emanates from another place. It is something different.
So, a lot of the design coming out of Vincent’s company begins on pencil and paper. It’s really important to both designers and clients. Using modern methods, design standards and Indigenous storytelling, they create inclusive design. Vincent Design does a lot of work for institutions that represent a lot of communities. Southern Chiefs organization, for example, represents 34 First Nations communities in Manitoba. These are the people the studio works with and, among them, the Elders, knowledge keepers and carriers that they consult with.
As a result, design needs to be flowing, inclusive drawn from different cultures, groups, ages and demographics. In this design process, the work must not only be approved by the client but also by the community. There’s an extra layer of complexity and challenge within the design, so you need to do your research to make sure it has all of those fundamentals.