THIRTY YEARS OF QUIET ELEGANCE
THE BRIEF
Karen Kayne has been shaping interiors for nearly thirty years. From her beginnings as a high-end cabinet designer to becoming one of Toronto's most trusted names in residential design, her work has always been guided by the same principles — quality, restraint, and an unwavering attention to detail. The kind of practice that doesn't need to announce itself. By 2022, the brand needed to catch up — not to be reimagined, but to be brought into sharper focus. To finally reflect the depth and quiet authority of the work behind it.
DISCOVERY
Every project at Norman Les begins with discovery. For Karen Kayne Design, that process meant getting beneath the surface of a practice that had been quietly building its reputation for decades — understanding not just what the brand looked like, but what it stood for, who it served, and where it was going. What emerged was a clear picture of a brand defined by sophistication and warmth in equal measure. Understated but deeply considered. Built on relationships that in some cases span twenty-five years.
That understanding became the foundation for everything that followed.
IDENTITY
The visual identity that followed was built on the same principles as Karen's work — elegant, intentional, and quietly expressive. A wordmark that carries the full weight of the name with clarity and authority. A logomark conceived not merely as a graphic device, but as something sculptural — a symbol with enough presence and refinement to exist as an artwork in its own right. To occupy a pedestal. To invite contemplation. Look closer and the construction reveals itself — two K's mirrored and interlocked, the circular form completing the D. Meaning embedded in every line. A colour palette reduced to its most honest form: black and white, with nothing added that didn't need to be there.
Every element designed not to impress, but to endure.