Entro works around the world: The Avenues Mall in Kuwait; the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

Photo: The Avenues Mall in Kuwait

If you have been through Pearson International Airport's magnificent new Terminal One building, one of the things that you may not have noticed is the fact that you didn't get lost in the 3.5 million square feet of public space. The reason for the terminal's smooth wayfinding is simple. It was designed by the team of Toronto's Entro Communications and Pentagram Design of New York City.

"We have a unique degree of diversity for an environmental graphic design firm," says Entro principal Andrew Kuzyk, "and it's been a large part of our success. Wherever our clients are located, they appreciate the value of our ideas that solve their design problems."

Started in 1990 in the back room of an apartment in Toronto, Entro was "export-ready" from the start. Founding partners Andrew Kuzyk and Wayne McCutcheon combined their skills and training in architecture, industrial design, and engineering to become pioneers in what is now widely known as environmental graphic design. Steady growth over the years has built a 25 person company staffed by experts in graphic and media design, fine arts, environmental design, and urban planning.

Entro worked with Canadian real estate developers in the early years, but as that market slowed in the mid-90s, the company turned its attention to health care facilities, where wayfinding and signage can literally be the difference between life and death. Entro's client base followed other development waves in casinos and airports in Ontario, but as the millennium passed, it was time to use the company's export-readiness.

"We made a concerted effort to diversify about eight years ago," says Kuzyk. "Wayne and I decided it was time to take our business out of Toronto, across Canada and North America and on to the rest of the world. Technology has made it so easy. We can gather information, produce the work here in Toronto, and send it back to the client. Our work flow is basically the same as an architect who's doing export work."

Pictograms are the graphics of choice for most of Entro's projects, offering near universality and economy of scale. Written languages can pose problems: the word "exit" translates as "the place that you go in and out from" in some languages.

"But don't forget that pictograms are culturally based," notes Kuzyk. "For example, in some countries, the pictogram for a woman's washroom can't show a woman in a short skirt. Our experience and research ensures that we use symbols that are effective and appropriate for the situation."

Entro's first export work was a joint venture working with Forrec, another Toronto export success story, for a Legoland amusement park in Germany. This was quickly followed by another project with a major client, a relationship which continues to this day. Exports now make up 60-70 percent of Entro's sales, with foreign work split about evenly between the U.S. and other countries. The company has worked on numerous prestigious projects around the world, among them the signage for the 15th Asian Games (second in size to the Summer Olympics) in Doha, Qatar.

"There were 38 venues and 423 events," says Kuzyk "and 80,000 signs. We had three project managers living in Doha. For over 10 months, they coordinated a Middle Eastern team of fabricators, printers, and installers to implement the signage during the events."

With its recognition of Canadian (and Ontario) design expertise, the Middle East has been a strong market for Entro. Kuzyk and his partner Wayne McCutcheon travel frequently to scout new export opportunities. Al Hinton, International Marketing Consultant for the Middle East, at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT), spearheaded the Ontario Pavilion at a recent trade show in which Entro participated.

"We met with Al at Cityscape in Dubai," says Kuzyk. "It was a huge show, with 1,200 exhibitors, so it was helpful to have him there on-site to make crucial introductions for us and our future endeavours."

One of Entro's current projects is the massive Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore, where they are part of a design team led by renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The project includes three 50 storey hotels, a casino, a museum and a convention centre.

"As the world economy changes, we find ourselves doing more and more work in the Middle East and Europe as well," says Kuzyk. "We're also working on the Delhi and Mumbai International Airports in India."

Website: www.entro.com