MVP PROJECT : MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION PROJECT
Client
MVP Project
Disciplines
Graphic Design · Art Direction · Brand Identity · Motion
Scope
Broadcast · Social · Print · Web
Creative Direction & Design
Nick Coyle
Deliverables
Graphic Design · Creative Guidelines · Brand Identity · Motion
Year
2020-2022
Designing for a programme that exists to make impossible creative visions possible
OVERVIEW
The MVP Project is a national grant programme administered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, powered by RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize, and supported by the RBC Foundation. Established in 2018, it exists to bridge the gap between creative ambition and financial reality for emerging Canadian recording artists, directors, and producers — providing music video production grants valued between $5,000 and $15,000 to talent coast to coast. Since its inception, the MVP Project has received thousands of submissions spanning every genre and region in Canada — from Pop and Indie Rock to Hip-Hop, Electronic, R&B, and beyond. Each round is adjudicated by rotating regional juries of music and film industry professionals, with selected teams going on to produce some of the most critically recognised music videos in the country.
A programme about creative emergence needs a visual identity that feels genuinely alive
The MVP Project is not a corporate sponsorship vehicle. It exists because emerging Canadian artists and filmmakers have creative visions that outrun their budgets — and it exists to close that gap. The audience for MVP Project communications isn't a general one: it's directors, producers, recording artists, and industry professionals who submit, jury, and celebrate work that is often boundary-pushing, genre-defying, and visually inventive. The design has to earn their attention.
Design as an act of advocacy for the artists
The MVP Project is not a corporate sponsorship vehicle. It exists because emerging Canadian artists and filmmakers have creative visions that outrun their budgets — and it exists to close that gap. The audience for MVP Project communications isn't a general one: it's directors, producers, recording artists, and industry professionals who submit, jury, and celebrate work that is often boundary-pushing, genre-defying, and visually inventive. The design has to earn their attention.
Visual Direction & Look Development - Each round began with building a new visual language from scratch — concepting creative directions that could carry the specific energy of that season. The goal was always a direction that felt contemporary enough to resonate with an emerging-artist audience, bold enough to function in a live show environment, and considered enough to reflect the quality of the funded work.
Social Content - Social content for the MVP Project served a dual purpose: promoting each round to potential applicants and celebrating the recipients and their work publicly. Artist-focused social graphics — featuring grant recipients like Ghostly Kisses, Jesse Ryan, IDMAN, Amaal, Katie Tupper, and Tomasson — were designed to give each artist a moment of genuine visibility, formatted for Instagram and other platforms where emerging music and film audiences live.
THE CHALLENGE
THE APPROACH
Eight rounds. Eight fresh identities. One ongoing creative commitment to the artists.
CONCLUSION
The MVP Project sits at a genuinely interesting intersection for a designer: a nationally funded grant programme that is also a celebration of some of the most creatively ambitious emerging talent in Canada. The work has to function as communication and feel like it belongs to the culture it serves — and across three consecutive rounds, that balance was maintained. Being retained for each round reflected a creative partnership built on trust, craft, and a shared understanding of what the programme is actually for.
© NICK COYLE CREATIVE. COPYRIGHT 2026