Sarnia Arena Rebrand & Environmental Design

The Challenge

New ownership acquired the Sarnia Arena—home of the OHL's Sarnia Sting—and wanted a bold, ambitious rebrand that would transform the fan experience. Budget was not a constraint. They wanted transformative ideas that would make the venue feel premium and contemporary.

The challenge: Two weeks. That was the timeline to concept, design, and present a comprehensive rebrand covering multiple venue zones—from luxury suites to concession stands to a kids entertainment area.

The existing spaces were dated, with mismatched furniture and no cohesive visual identity. The scope demanded more than graphic design—it required full environmental design thinking: material selection, lighting specification, millwork concepts, 3D signage, and a cohesive visual system that could flex across very different contexts.

Strategic Approach: A Cohesive Visual Language

The Sarnia Sting's mascot is a bee—which immediately suggested a powerful design direction.

I developed a hexagonal visual language that could unify the entire venue:

1. Honeycomb patterns in environmental graphics that work at any scale
2. Hexagonal LED light fixtures as signature architectural features
3. "Buzz"-themed naming convention for all food and beverage destinations

This wasn't just about graphics—it was about creating immersive branded environments. Every specification had to work architecturally: the materials needed to be durable for a sports venue, the lighting needed to create atmosphere without interfering with sightlines, and the signage needed to function as wayfinding while reinforcing the brand.

The result: a complete venue brand architecture with 8 distinct zones, each with its own personality but unified by the hexagonal design system.

BuzzSocial: The Arena's Social Hub

BuzzSocial is the arena's flagship restaurant destination—a social hub where fans can gather before and during games. The hexagonal theme is pushed to its maximum expression here: dramatic honeycomb LED ceiling installations serve as both lighting and architectural statement pieces.

The warm material palette—exposed brick, wood flooring, and leather seating—creates an upscale sports bar atmosphere that elevates the typical arena concession experience. This is where environmental design and brand experience converge.

The space needed to feel premium enough for VIP guests while remaining approachable for families. The design achieves this balance through material selection and lighting design that creates intimacy in a large-scale venue.

Hall of Fame: Celebrating Sarnia Sting History

The Hall of Fame bar celebrates Sarnia Sting legends while providing a premium hospitality experience. Design elements include limewashed brick for a contemporary industrial feel, an L-shaped bar with black granite countertops, and the signature hexagonal floor pattern throughout.

A large hockey puck-shaped pendant light featuring the Sting mascot serves as the focal point—a playful nod to hockey culture that reinforces brand identity. The "Honourable Inductees" display is prominently featured, turning team history into environmental storytelling.

This demonstrates my ability to design spaces that honor heritage while feeling contemporary—balancing nostalgia with forward-looking brand energy.

Complete Naming Architecture: The "Buzz" Family

I created a complete venue brand architecture with consistent naming that reinforces the bee/buzz theme throughout the arena:

This naming system does triple duty: it creates wayfinding clarity, reinforces brand identity at every touchpoint, and tells a cohesive story throughout the venue journey.

Youth Hive: Family-Friendly Brand Expression

Youth Hive demonstrates how the hexagonal brand language adapts to different audiences. The space maintains visual continuity with the rest of the venue while introducing brighter, more playful colors—adding blue accents to the orange and black palette.

The space includes games, poster-making stations, hot chocolate service, and kid-friendly concessions. Large-scale environmental graphics create Instagram-worthy moments for families while the hexagonal pattern maintains brand consistency.

This project showcases my versatility: designing premium hospitality spaces alongside family entertainment zones, all within a unified visual system.

Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding

Beyond individual spaces, I designed a comprehensive wayfinding and environmental graphics system that guides fans through the venue while reinforcing brand identity at every touchpoint.

The hexagonal pattern appears in floor vinyl graphics, wall murals, ceiling installations, and signage elements. The pattern's modularity allows it to scale from small wayfinding signs to building-sized installations while maintaining visual consistency.

Color-coding helps with wayfinding: premium spaces use warm wood tones and black, quick-service areas use bold orange and black, and family zones incorporate blue accents—all tied together by the hexagonal geometry.

Complete Design Specifications

This project required more than visual concepts—it demanded production-ready specifications that could be handed to contractors and manufacturers. Every design decision had to be architecturally sound and commercially viable.

Key Deliverables:

• → Hexagonal LED lighting specifications (fixture dimensions, mounting details, electrical requirements)
• → Material & finish selections (limestone, limewashed brick, slate, wood slats, granite)
• → Millwork concepts (bar fronts, countertops, wall treatments)
• → 3D signage designs (pendant lights, wayfinding, menu boards)
• → Floor vinyl graphics (custom hexagonal pattern system)
• → Furniture specifications (seating, tables, bar stools)
• → Environmental graphics (wall murals, window graphics, ceiling installations)
• → Complete wayfinding system (directional signage, zone identification)

The client praised the "attention to detail" and noted how easy it was to "imagine the future state of the building"—validation that the specifications were both comprehensive and clearly communicated.

Results & Client Response

The proposal was enthusiastically approved by ownership and external stakeholders—described as "amazing work" that exceeded expectations.

From the client presentation feedback:

"The client was very impressed with what they saw. The renderings, digital mock-ups, and visual boards you created really anchored the story—the client called out the attention to detail and how easy it was to imagine the future state of the building."

This project demonstrates:

• • Environmental design expertise beyond graphic design—material selection, lighting, millwork
• • Rapid execution under pressure—comprehensive rebrand in 2 weeks
• • Cohesive brand systems that unify diverse spaces with a single visual language
• • Production-ready specifications that contractors can implement
• • Strategic naming architecture that supports wayfinding and brand storytelling
• • Versatility across contexts—luxury suites to kids zones to quick-service concessions
• • Client presentations that sell the vision and exceed expectations