Liberty Entertainment Group Logo Evolution

Toronto's Premier Hospitality Leader

For over three decades, Liberty Entertainment Group has defined Toronto's upscale dining and entertainment landscape. Led by CEO Nick Di Donato, they operate nine landmark venues including Casa Loma, Liberty Grand, and BlueBlood Steakhouse — serving 1.75M guests annually across 500,000+ square feet of premium hospitality space.

I had previously designed for Paris Texas and Bovine Blue within their portfolio, establishing a creative relationship built on trust and understanding of their brand standards.

Evolution, Not Revolution

Liberty reached out with a deceptively complex brief: modernize their logo while preserving 30 years of brand equity. Their existing mark — serif typography with integrated torch element — had served them well but felt dated against contemporary hospitality standards.

The complexity wasn't just design — it was organizational. As a large company with multiple stakeholders, there was deep emotional attachment to the original logo across leadership. The torch had become synonymous with Liberty's identity across Toronto's most prestigious venues.

The Brief:

• • Modernize typography while maintaining luxury positioning
• • Create flexible system for 500K+ sq ft of signage plus digital
• • Retain recognizable brand elements where strategically sound
• • Navigate stakeholder feedback across large organization
• • Balance heritage preservation with contemporary market needs

Round 01 — Respect the Heritage

Starting with Reverence

I approached the first round with deep respect for what Liberty had built. Rather than proposing revolution, I explored how to evolve the iconic torch element that had defined the brand for three decades. Every letterform was hand-drawn, not adapted from existing fonts — a level of craft befitting a premium hospitality brand.

Three Strategic Directions:

Concept 01: Elegant Refinement
Thin, sophisticated serif typeface emphasizing luxury positioning. The modernized torch sits above the "I" as a subtle nod to heritage. Created a flexible secondary circular lockup for applications where the full mark wouldn't fit.

Concept 02: Bold Confidence
Heavier sans-serif typeface for stronger visual presence. This direction removed decorative elements entirely, letting typography carry the weight. Optimized for visibility in competitive hospitality environments — excellent for signage and digital platforms.

Concept 03: Recommended
The hybrid approach — blending Concept 01's elegance with Concept 02's boldness. Retained the torch icon while ensuring strong visibility through balanced proportions. This felt like true evolution: modern enough for today's market while respecting 30 years of heritage.

Stakeholder Response:
The recommendation was well-received, but feedback came back requesting "more modernization — less traditional, more contemporary." This pushed the exploration in a bolder direction.

Round 02 — Test the Boundaries

Exploring Alternatives

After the "more contemporary" feedback, I tested whether Liberty could move away from torch heritage entirely. This exploratory round examined multiple strategic directions — from literal hospitality symbols to abstract geometric treatments. The goal: find the comfort zone between preservation and innovation.

The Insight:
This round revealed something critical — stakeholders valued the torch MORE than initial feedback suggested. Moving completely away from the iconic element felt wrong. They didn't want abandonment; they wanted thoughtful evolution. This informed the strategic decision to return to torch refinement for the final round.

Hand-Crafted Letterforms

One exploration became my personal design favorite: custom letterforms with distinctive inline strokes creating art deco-inspired elegance. The vertical striations reference architectural grandeur — columns, fluting, the historic details of Liberty's venues like Casa Loma. Each character was hand-crafted to balance sophistication with readability at scale.

While not selected for final implementation, this represents the typographic craft applied throughout the project. Every concept featured custom hand-drawn letterforms, never adapted fonts.

Round 03-Final — The Resolution

Strategic Synthesis

Armed with insights from the exploratory round, the final direction returned to the torch with renewed confidence. The approved system retained the icon as a key equity element while modernizing typography and proportions based on learnings from earlier rounds.

The result: an evolution that respects 30 years of brand building while confidently positioning Liberty for contemporary hospitality competition.

Deliverables:

• • Primary horizontal lockup + secondary stacked version
• • Standalone torch icon/favicon for flexible applications
• • Brand color specifications
• • Complete file package (SVG, PNG, PDF) with usage guidelines

Status: Currently deployed across all Liberty Entertainment Group properties

This project reinforced the value of iterative exploration with stakeholder groups. The journey through three rounds — respect, explore, synthesize — created space for the organization to discover what they truly valued. Sometimes the designer's role isn't to push the most radical solution, but to guide stakeholders toward the evolution they're ready for.

Skills Demonstrated:

• • Brand strategy and stakeholder navigation
• • Custom typography and hand-drawn letterforms
• • Iterative design refinement across multiple rounds
• • Flexible identity system development
• • Client relationship management on complex projects

Results & Business Impact

Status: LIVE — Currently in use across Liberty Entertainment Group properties.

Built on an existing creative partnership — previously designed brand identities for Paris Texas and Bovine Blue within the Liberty portfolio.