Designed For Mastery.

Case Study

Shared purpose. Aligned educators. Building a community that shapes mastery, connection, and surgical leadership.

McGill University’s Division of Surgical Education (DOSE) is a community shaping how surgeons learn and lead in complex, high-stakes environments. By bringing educators, clinicians, and trainees together, DOSE creates space for mastery, connection, and clear decision-making under pressure.

Our mission was to help DOSE move from concept to community. To align stakeholders, build trust across roles, and establish a foundation that supports surgical excellence at the highest level.

Challenge

Clarify the brand identity of a newly formed division and align a diverse set of educators, clinicians, and stakeholders around a shared purpose. DOSE needed a clear narrative and visual system that could support credibility, community building, and leadership in high-stakes surgical education.

Outcome

A cohesive brand platform that brought clarity and alignment to DOSE. The work established a shared narrative, a flexible identity system, and launch-ready assets that support communication, engagement, and long-term growth across the Division of Surgical Education.

Project Scope

Brand Strategy
Messaging
Identity System Design Campaign Creative
Digital and Print Assets

Strategy

Will Be Live partnered with McGill University’s Division of Surgical Education to define the strategic foundation for a newly formed division. Through facilitated working sessions, we surfaced key challenges, aligned stakeholders, and clarified priorities. This work became the foundation for DOSE’s positioning, narrative, and visual identity system.

McGill Department of Surgery Users

High stakes decision makers
Mastery driven practitioners
Community oriented educators and learners
Human-centered leaders under pressure
Co-creators of the future of surgical education

Defining the Brand

Through collaborative strategy sessions, we clarified the core principles that define DOSE. This work shaped how the division should communicate, present itself, and act as a unified community.

Design

Clarifying who DOSE serves and what it stands for defined its positioning. This work set the tone for how the division communicates, leads, and shows up as a unified community.

Merchandise Design

We developed a series of branded applications as part of the DOSE identity system. Designed for everyday use, these assets helped establish a consistent presence and support recognition across the Division of Surgical Education.

Activating the Brand Across the Community

Will Be Live partnered with DOSE to activate the new identity across key communication channels and touchpoints. We designed launch-ready assets and templates that enabled the division to communicate consistently across digital, presentation, and institutional formats. This ensured the brand could be adopted quickly and applied confidently by faculty, administrators, and partners.

Results

The effort resulted in a unified brand platform for DOSE, creating clarity around its purpose, audience, and role within McGill’s Department of Surgery. With a shared narrative and visual system in place, DOSE is positioned to strengthen community, support leadership, and advance its mission over time.