Design is often treated as the final stage of a creative assignment, brought in once the strategy and big idea have been established. Cartel Collective has built its business around challenging that approach, putting design at the centre of the process from the beginning.

The Toronto-based studio, which earned Bronze in Small Design Agency of the Year in 2026, was founded in 2021 by Hillary Gonzalez-Tyler to bridge the gap between traditional design studios and advertising agencies.

“We’re the ones still fighting for high-quality design,” she says.

With just six employees, Cartel combines strategy, creative direction, art direction and design in a collaborative structure that avoids conventional agency departments. Its team members work across disciplines, allowing the same people who develop an idea to carry it through production and execution.

That model has helped Cartel evolve from providing fractional brand marketing services to startups into handling larger, integrated assignments for established brands.

For Harry Rosen, Cartel developed “Sundays with Harry,” a lifestyle platform designed to introduce the heritage retailer to younger audiences. A new visual identity came to life through styling experiences, food partnerships and racquet sports, creating a format that could travel to different markets.

For Matcha Dive, the studio developed a colourful identity spanning packaging, photography, digital content and new products, supporting a brand that recorded a 24.8% repeat purchase rate. And for salad-kit startup Arte*, Cartel created a cohesive visual system across retail, experiential, social and content, helping position the business as a lifestyle brand and attract national media attention.

The work reflects Gonzalez-Tyler's belief that design should shape the entire brand experience rather than simply provide its visual finish.

Cartel's small size also gives clients direct access to the people doing the work. Gonzalez-Tyler credits the team's multidisciplinary skills, younger perspectives and network of collaborators with allowing it to tackle assignments that might otherwise require several specialized partners.

As experiential work becomes a larger part of its business, that ability to connect strategy, design and execution is becoming increasingly valuable.

For Gonzalez-Tyler, the objective remains to make design integral to every assignment – not an aesthetic consideration added after the important decisions have been made. As she puts it, design is the “foundation of a brand,” and “part of the larger picture – a very important piece.”