What does an insulated mayonnaise jar have in common with a national music organization or one of Canada's largest food brands? At LG2, all three demonstrate how design can solve problems that extend well beyond visual identity.

The independent agency's approach earned it Design Agency of the Year Gold in 2026, following consecutive Silver wins in 2024 and 2025. With offices in Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto, LG2 has been expanding its capabilities while maintaining a philosophy that treats design as a way of thinking rather than a narrowly defined service.

“Design is not just one area of practice,” says Ryan Crouchman, partner, VP and ECD of design. “It’s such a large umbrella. Brands can come to life in so many ways and design is, really, an intentional expression of the brand depending on the medium or context.”

That broader definition allows LG2 to move between packaging, branding, digital and experiential work, choosing the form that best addresses a client's challenge.

The agency also sees creative judgment as essential to that process. Data can help identify patterns and inform decisions, but it cannot necessarily predict what will capture attention or create an emotional connection. Crouchman and partner and CCO Nicolas Baldovini believe independence gives LG2 the freedom to make those decisions and take creative risks.

Its recent projects demonstrate the range. For Quebec condiment maker MAG, LG2 created bold packaging with oversized typography and black jars, then incorporated space-age insulating material into a mayonnaise label to help keep the product cold. For Panorama, formerly SOPROQ, it developed a bilingual name and a dynamic identity inspired by Canadian landscapes and sound waves. And for Olymel, it modernized a familiar food brand's identity while preserving the recognizable elements and equity built over decades.

Each project required a different expression of design, from functional innovation to organizational transformation and brand renewal.

For LG2, that flexibility is becoming increasingly important as brands encounter new technologies, changing consumer expectations and more complex communications environments.

“Design is a way of thinking that helps us respond to a world that’s constantly changing, and develop an intelligent response to that,” Crouchman says. “We’re always reinterpreting our definition of design, adding new areas of expertise and new specialists when the planning is right … We stay curious and in touch with what’s happening in the world and what brands need, because our dedication is there. We just have to keep the spirit of curiosity.”