Some things take time. This one took a lifetime.

I have been sitting with this rebrand for a while now, turning it over, making sure it felt right before I put it out into the world. Because this is not just a new logo. It’s a declaration.

For the past several years I have been intentional about building my practice around Indigenous organizations doing work that matters. Workforce development. Education. Economic inclusion. Community storytelling. It has become the most meaningful work of my career and somewhere along the way I realized that the way I was showing up for my clients was not fully reflected in the way I was showing up for myself.

My father, Irvin Goodon, was a groundbreaker in every sense of the word. A Métis entrepreneur who understood the power of brand and reputation long before those words had the currency they do today, he built a logo so recognizable it became a fixture across Western Canada. In 2005, he became the first businessman to receive the Canadian Council of Indigenous Business Lifetime Achievement Award for founding his company Goodon Industries. He was unabashed about who he was, used his identity as a strength and always made his own tracks. I watched him do it my entire life. It’s time I did the same.

At the centre of my new logo is a Métis sash. Not just any sash. This one was woven specifically for me by my cousin, Shauna Steckly Taylor, a Métis artisan and traditional sash weaver whose work carries both beauty and meaning in every thread.

[SHAUNA’S CONTRIBUTION: meaning of the colours and why they are specific to Jo]

On the Buffalo

If you spend any time in my world, you will notice buffalo everywhere. In my art, in the imagery I am drawn to, in the way I think about work and purpose.

To me, the buffalo is everything. Strength. Resilience. Resourcefulness. Every part of the buffalo served a purpose, nothing wasted, nothing taken for granted. It sustained entire nations without judgment. It is the embodiment of Respect, one of the Seven Grandfather Teachings, and that word means something to me both personally and professionally.

Buffalo also protect their own. They are loyal. And when a storm rolls in, they do not turn away from it. They face it head on and move through it faster for doing so.

That is how I try to show up. For my clients, for my community, and for the work.

You will find other animals woven through my world too, each carrying their own meaning. But the buffalo is where it starts. And for what it’s worth, as a Taurus, the connection was probably not accidental.

When I look at this logo I see my dad. I see my cousin. I see my community. And I see thirty years of work that has always been rooted in something real, finally wearing it on the outside.

Not Your Average Jo Communications is proudly, unapologetically Métis-owned. That has always been true. Now you will know it the moment you see us.

June is National Indigenous Peoples Month. There is no better time to make this official.

Make your own tracks.

One more thing.

This post marks the launch of Making Tracks, my refreshed blog and the place where the work, the thinking and the things worth talking about will live. Expect communications insights, work worth showcasing and the occasional thing I just can’t stop thinking about. Pull up a chair.