100 Years —100 Perspectives
Since 1919, Canadian National Railway has run alongside North Americans on the roads, in the continent’s culture, and in the popular imagination. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of North America’s largest railway and honour its extended family, a commemorative book was created.
Every page of the book was inspired by its content. The layout was based on CN’s intermodal containers and its graphic vocabulary sprang from the visual landscape of North American rail transport. Rail signage, safety symbols, and the shapes of rail technology and surrounding landscapes were inspirations.CN’s archives were as deep and rich as its history. The strong graphic approach helped in organizing copious interviews, photos and technical documents. It also tied together the century’s worth of sometimes disparate elements.In the same way it changed North America with its innovations, CN wanted to reinvent the history book. The result was a book that can be read straight through, opened on any page and dipped into, or mined according to the reader’s interest.After a year of research, writing, editing, and design work, 40,000 copies were shipped to CN employees and retirees. A fitting way to turn to the next chapter of the page into the railway’s next century.
Agency — Sid Lee
Creative Director — Marie-Élaine Benoit
CN100 Creative Director — Christian Ayotte
Art Director and Graphic Designer — Audrey-Claude Roy
Editorial Director — Jean-François Légaré
Editorial Copywriter — Sarah Musgrave
Researcher — Amie Watson
Group Account Director — Geneviève Boulanger
Account Director — Vanessa Audigand
Account Executives — Charlotte Corazza, Jennifer Jackson-Beaudoin
Executive Producer — Marie-Christine Côté
Production Coordinator — Miquela Houle
Prepress — M&H
Studio Account Executive — Sophie St-Germain
Graphic Artist — Marc Labrosse
Digital Artist — Luc Provencher
Proofreaders — Aviva Guidis, Ghislaine LeFranc, Marjorie Perreault, Gabrielle Rivard
Print Producer — Maxime England
Printed by l'Empreinte
