Stuart Ash

Stuart Ash is a founder and principal of the strategic design firm Gottschalk+Ash International. Stuart Ash and Fritz Gottschalk established G+A in Montreal in 1966, with a shared enthusiasm for design that is both functional and creative.

G+A has built an international reputation for creating powerful, successful communications driven by the vision, values and strategic imperatives of its clients. Offices in North America and Europe service companies around the globe to deliver solutions that shape public perceptions. G+A Toronto and Calgary offices have recently become part of DW+Partners - a network of best-of-breed creative companies that further extends our reach and complements our already formidable range of skills.

Stuart Ash, a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, has extensive experience in the development and production of branding programs, architectural wayfinding & signage systems and print communication. His work has been exhibited in the Mead Library of Ideas in New York, the National Gallery of Canada and the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. He has been published in most major design magazines in Japan, the United States and Europe.

Stuart is a member of:
The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada,
The Society of Environmental Graphic Designers,
The American Institute of Graphic Arts,
The Alliance Graphique Internationale
The Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts

Fritz Gottschalk

Founding Partner of Gottschalk+Ash Int’l Design Consultants
Curriculum vitae
Born in Zurich, Switzerland
December 30, 1937
Swiss Citizen also Canadian Citizen since 1968

1944-54: Primary and Secondary Schools in Zurich
1954-58: Apprenticeship as Typographic Designer with Orell Fussli Grafische Betriebe AG Zurich and School of Design HFG (Höhere Fachschule fur Gestaltung)
1959: Paris, Maquettiste at Atelier Typographique and Freelance Graphic Designer
1959-62: London, Graphic Designer at London Typographic Designers
1962-63: Post Graduate Studies in Visual Communication, Basel School of Design HFG (Höhere Fachschule fur Gestaltung)
1963/64/65: Three Awards for Excellence in the field of graphic design by the Swiss Department of Interior Affairs, Berne
1963: Moved to Canada
1963-66: Head of Graphic Design at Paul Arthur & Associates Design of comprehensive Signage System for Expo ‘67 World Exhibition, Montréal
1966: Founding of Gottschalk+Ash Ltd with partner Stuart Ash, Montréal
1972: Opening of Toronto office
1976: Opening of New York office
1978: Return to Switzerland, Opening of Zurich office
1985: Divestiture of New York office (now Carbone Smolan Associates)
1985-91: Secretary Treasurer for AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale)
1985-92: In charge of Milan office
Since 1990: Graphis Publishing, Member, Board of Directors
1994: Key Note Speaker at “Intersections”, Seattle, SEGD (Society of Environmental Designers)
Since 1995: Jury Member of FAW (Fachverband Aussenwerbung e.V.), Frankfurt
2004: “Designing Modernity”, lecture series, Goethe Institut Krakau
2006: Founding member of DACH (Design Archive Switzerland)

Major Projects and Company Highlights

1967: Expo 67, Montréal, Architectural Graphics
1968: Exhibition of Gottschalk+Ash Int’l, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts
1972: Design of four Commemorative Stamps for the International Congress of Geology, Cartography and Photogrammetry in Canada
1975-76: In charge of the Office of Design on behalf of Commité d’organisation des Jeux Olympiques
1976, Montréal. Design co-ordination of all visual aspects of worldwide Sponsor Programs
1975: Juror of Spectrum ‘75, the Royal Canadian Academy Art Exhibition on the occasion of the
1976 Olympic Games in Montréal
1975: Exhibition of G+A at Container Corporation of America, Chicago
1976: Design of Official Ticket for the Olympic Lottery
1985: Design of new Swiss Passport
1990: Design of Official Symbol for Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland
1990: Exhibition of G+A in Frankfurt, Galerie von Oertzen
1990-93: Design and Implementation of a new outdoor advertising concept for the City of Zurich
1993: G+A Retrospective Exhibition, Centre de design de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, Monréal and First Canadian Place, Toronto
1995: G+A Retrospective Exhibition, Coninx-Museum, Zurich
1995: Participant, Corporate Design Seminar organized by AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), Peking, China
1997: Participant, Exhibition “The World of Graphic Design”, Frankfurt
Approximately 100 Awards at various International Design Shows

Cynthia Hoffos

Cynthia Hoffos is a teacher by heart and graphic designer by choice. After counselling her high school art students in career options for six years, she decided she wanted to become a graphic designer. Cynthia brings her natural communications skills as a teacher and her twenty years of experience as a graphic designer to her work. While training as a secondary teacher at the University of Regina, she became highly skilled in creating processes, analyzing, paraphrasing and prioritizing information. Her years at Emily Carr College of Art and Design laid a strong foundation for visual problem solving and a discerning eye for typography. After graduating from Emily Carr, she worked with Zacharko Design Partnership out of Vancouver where she gained experience in the design process with a strong emphasis on typography.

Upon her return to Saskatchewan, she was hired by McKay Goettler & Associates and learned about the Saskatchewan market and the world of advertising. In 1991, Cynthia began her own successful design firm, Tandem II Design. It was during that time she met her business partner, Dani vanDriel, and formed Concepts 3 Public Relations + Design.

The company’s head office remained in Saskatoon for 11 years with five full time professionals on staff and in 2000, Cynthia expanded the company with an Ottawa office. Today, with Ottawa as head office, C3 Design is known provincially and nationally for providing business-to-business service, and the firm's reputation is recognized by peers in management, communications and marketing.

In 1994, Cynthia was elected as President of the Saskatchewan North Chapter of the GDC. She served as Chapter President for two years after which she was elected VP of Membership on the National Council for two consecutive terms. In 2000, she was elected for a two year term as National President, the third woman in Canada ever to hold the position. From 2002-2004 she served as Past President and Sponsorship Chair. She brought on Corel as a major sponsor during her term as Sponsorship Chair.

Hélène L'Heureux

Hélène was educated in graphic design at l’Université du Québec à Montréal in 1979. She joined the design team of Gottschalk+Ash in 1980, became an associate in 1985 and a partner in 1991. She opened Interaction/design in 2004. Hélène designed many annual reports for some of Canada’s largest corporations, such as Petro-Canada, Imasco, Air Canada and SNC-Lavalin. Furthermore, she has lead many large-scale branding projects: Ciba Specialty Chemicals, a multinational Swiss based company (1996), CGI, Canada’s premier information technology company (1998) and CDP Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Quebec’s Public Pension Fund Manager (2002).

Her intimate knowledge of information design and analytical capabilities have enabled her to develop intricate nomenclature systems and branding guidelines for above mentioned corporations and others, such as Investissement Québec, SITQ and Ivanhoé Cambridge. Hélène has been intimately involved with some of Montreal’s important urban environmental projects, providing branding, signage and wayfinding expertise: Lachine Canal, Old Montreal and Complexe environnemental St-Michel. She has been the recipient of many national and international design awards, amongst them a prize from AIGA for Canada Post’s Millennium Stamp Book, which is part of the permanent collection at Columbia University’s Rare Books and Manuscript Library.

In 1993, Hélène developed the 25-year retrospective exhibition for Gottschalk+Ash, which was shown in Montreal, Toronto, Zurich and Bejing, followed by an exhibit, in 1998, for AGI (Alliance Graphique International) at the Royal Ontario Museum. Hélène is a member of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec (SDGQ) and teaches part-time at Dawson College in Montreal.