Ashley Howell is CEO of Avid Creative, a Toronto-based full service graphic design and branding studio.

Born and raised in Toronto, Howell attended Humber College before opening her own agency in early 2014. Avid Creative serves a diverse range of international and independent clients, including Mucho Burrito, Singapore’s Crowd Sourcing Week, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the YMCA. Its motto, “Design for A Greater Good,” espouses the company’s goal of creating a world of beauty, clarity, and function, whether you’re talking about a logo, menu, cookbook, or marketing material. The firm’s modern, inventive, iterative design is informed by the sensibilities and goals of their clients.

Howell’s studio won the Julia Child Award design competition, and spent months conceiving the logo as well as the physical award, which playfully incorporates Julia’s beloved and iconic copper pan.

The fact that Avid Creative won the international design competition is not surprising given Howell has long been a passionate lover of food, cooking and restaurants, something she developed by growing up in a food-loving household, tasting her way through Toronto’s diverse restaurant scene, and being inspired by Julia Child, whose cookbook had a place in her grandmother’s home. “I’d like to be a part of the positive global change in food–how we eat, how we live and the experience we take from it,” says Howell.

Howell lives in Toronto with her husband, Frazer Howell, a millwright. To reach Howell regarding Avid Creative (http://acgd.ca), please contact her at ashley.howell@acgd.ca.

To reach Ashley regarding the design of the Julia Child Award, contact Julia Child Award Communications Director Laura Miller at laura@juliachildaward.com.