We’re very proud to present the Breather Values Poster!

The goal of the project was to bring our company values into a more visible and physical environment for all Breather employees.

Brainstorming and Process

Since incorporating the core values as postcards into the the Onboarding Kit, we wanted to keep working towards integrating the company’s values into Breather’s every day environment.

The criteria was to create something that:

• would be beautiful and inspiring
• could be placed in a public or common area
• wasn’t cheesy like a giant mural that everyone would get sick of in 6 months
• was a physical item that we could send to each remote office
• would be the same everywhere and have the same message

A mood board of visual values and styles.

We (the Values Poster Squad is made up of myself, Graphic Designer, Katie, our Creative Director, Vanda and our CEO, Julien) met with an artist based in Montreal named Raymond Biesinger (one of whose prints is featured in one of our early Montreal Breather spaces on Bernard St.) and it immediately clicked! Raymond’s final design really captured the Breather ecosystem and brought our values to life.

Working closely with Raymond allowed us to brainstorm together and come up with the best ways to illustrate each one of the concepts. (How does one draw empathy?)

For the general shape of the image, we settled on a large hybrid building of sorts, combining Montreal Plateau-esque rooftops, old school bank or NYC-style skyscrapers, and a greenhouse at the top. At the bottom is a street filled with cars, buses, people biking, a few hot dog stands… and a traffic cone (Montreal’s unofficial mascot). At the foot of the building, there’s a person walking up to the main door and a person waiting for an elevator. Then, throughout the building, you see other scenarios taking place—a meeting, a brainstorm session with post-it notes covering the wall, and people walking toward their Breather door. There is even a person with a “B” on their shirt, wearing a cap and holding a broom while tidying up… an Operations Associate! (OAs are Breather staff who go to each and every one of our spaces to tidy up after a reservation or set-up before a special booking. Essentially, they’re our eyes, ears, and hands—so we had to give them a shout-out!)

A few photos and sketches of the process.

Our values live harmoniously alongside all the action taking place in this megabuilding, and are illustrated in our minty Breather green. Each one has its value clearly written underneath, so as to be as evident and as powerful as possible.

Time to Print!

After Raymond finalized the design, it was time to send to print! Raymond’s screen printer of choice, UNIK Printshop (founded and run by Sophie Joubarne), printed a small run of the posters. The design sits beautifully on thick Dur-O-Tone Steel Grey Paper, and is printed in white and a custom mint ink.

Hello, 200 Employees

As we continue to grow at hyperspeed (we recently surpassed 200 employees!), taking care of our company culture becomes increasingly important. The 8 Breather values are a core part of who we are, as employees, and as a group of people working together toward a common goal. They align us in our work, guide us in how we collaborate and interact with each other, and keep us focused in this crazy adventure.

It’s been a bit of a long journey for the poster squad, but the final product is gorgeousssss and we are VERY excited and anxious to be putting these up in ALL of our Breather offices!

Huge thank you to Vanda, Julien, Johnny, Dave B., Raymond Biesigner, and Sophie Joubarne for bringing this project to life.