Halfcase: How these Gen Z creatives have custom-designed their work lives

Lynette Adams · for CBC News

· Posted: Jul 12, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 12

If you attended immoderate Lawnya Vawnya events astatine the Ship Pub this year, you whitethorn person been surprised to spot the signifier designed similar the rec rooms of your childhood.

A dart board, a foam finger from a Jays game, a cribbage committee shaped similar the representation of Newfoundland, set posters affixed with strips of masking portion adorned a sheet committee backdrop. The plan was the brainchild of Isobel McKenna and Jacob Cherwick, 2 young creatives known collectively as "halfcase."

"The full thought was to marque it consciousness similar you were walking into somebody's suburban basement," said Cherwick. "It's not needfully expected to look similar it's from a [specific] clip in the past, but it's expected to look similar a spot that's filled with a batch of worldly from the past."

Despite their young ages — some were calved successful the precocious 1990s — the duo brings a wide scope of skills and acquisition to their plan agency.

They person worked unneurotic creatively for about five years, moving with much than a twelve section artists, artisans, and euphony groups. Their service offerings see euphony accumulation services for section bands with divers euphony styles ranging from people to punk and hep hop. They besides plan medium screen art, circuit posters, brand logos, and apparel art.

"We're some of an property wherever we experienced a batch of those places arsenic kids, possibly they don't exist anymore, those basements with each that worldly successful them," said McKenna. "I stake a batch of radical attending and playing astatine Lawnya Vawnya consciousness likewise oregon would admit what we're doing with it."

Their Lawnya Vawnya signifier plan astatine The Ship is their largest task to date, encompassing the concept and carnal staging, arsenic good arsenic graphic plan elements similar custom posters that were integrated among the vintage artifacts.

"A batch of plan studios … bash graphic plan in-house, and possibly they people books and person a printing installation arsenic well," said McKenna, whose background includes studies successful biology design at OCAD University, and a beardown involvement successful architecture and interior design.

Cherwick, possibly astir recognizable arsenic a subordinate of the Ukrainian-style people band Kubasonics, estimates that helium plays with astir 10 antithetic section bands successful immoderate fixed year. He believes the generalist attack successful originative services is desirable successful the arts industry.

"People are nether unit to get things finished quickly. Even if you're making music, it inactive needs a strong ocular constituent and contented you tin stock online," helium said.

Digital services with an analog aesthetic

An older big mightiness admit a consciousness of nostalgia successful that rec country signifier design, but aren't a pair of Gen Z artists excessively young to acquisition nostalgia? McKenna believes her generation, even people younger than her, person an appreciation for images and objects of the past.

"There's a lot of involvement successful older aesthetics. Those things are seen arsenic benignant of much existent and genuine than more internet-focused aesthetics," she said.

Cherwick said it's a "20-year inclination cycle," acknowledging the adage that everything old is caller again, but this clip with a twist.

"There's besides close present a truly large absorption connected precocious '90s, early 2000s imagery and aesthetics, conscionable arsenic the past epoch close earlier smartphones and easy accessible net took implicit the satellite and reshaped the mode everyone lives," helium said.

As halfcase, the brace seems to negociate betwixt the internet-era and a much analog lifestyle. Because astir of their enactment is digital, they enactment without the costly overhead of more conventional originative agencies.

McKenna believes their work-from-home attack enhances their collaborative spirit.

"We're some moving successful our bureau connected other sides of the country astatine the same time," she said. "So we're talking astir it each astatine the aforesaid time, too."

The halfcase squad has precocious been processing a logo and marque plan for a section artisanal food supplier, arsenic good arsenic a t-shirt plan for the Petty Harbour Community Museum.

Beyond their plan work, some Cherwick and McKenna play successful the punk set Sick Puppy, who are preparing to grounds an medium of archetypal euphony this summer.

"We're ever trying to find a caller thing," said Cherwick.

For the future, the brace hopes to broaden the scope of their enactment beyond the arts industry.

"We're inactive moving mostly within the arts community, but we're hoping to propulsion retired of that a spot much and bash immoderate enactment with other businesses oregon brands oregon radical that mightiness request plan enactment oregon immoderate benignant of creator eye for immoderate they're doing."

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