The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD), Canada’s largest professional association for graphic designers, is staking its claim to one of the most universally recognized, and yet unsung, symbols for branding in the launch campaign for its newest awards program: the registered trademark symbol, ®.

This year, RGD is launching the new RGD Branding Awards, its first global program for branding and design. The campaign, developed by creative agency Rethink, harnesses the universality of the symbol – seen next to logos and product names around the globe – to “help successfully launch its first-ever global initiative” in a way “that transcends design trends,” Hans Thiessen, partner and CD at the agency, tells strategy.

“The biggest challenge for brands these days is standing out,” Thiessen adds. “We embraced a deceptively simple idea – creating the identity out of branding’s most overlooked symbol – to craft something that’s as unexpected as it is impactful.”

The symbol is used throughout the association’s new identity system. This meant designing a new, custom typeface for the campaign, called “Registered Grotesk,” that features more than 160 unique characters, multi-language support and an array of OpenType features.

In a moment that is perhaps reminiscent of the days of ASCII art, Rethink also used the symbol to create a wide array of graphics for both static and dynamic executions in print and digital formats, as well as using the symbol to recreate portraits for each of the competition’s judges: Astrid Stavro, VP of Collins; Forest Young, former CCO of Wolff olins, and Shaun Loftman, ECD at Landor & Fitch.

Creating the portraits, in particular, was “incredibly challenging,” says Thiessen.

“While the idea was simple on paper, executing it across every single brand touchpoint was anything but,” he adds. “Thankfully though, we’ve got an incredible design team at Rethink – a team that’s committed to creating groundbreaking work for our clients, regardless of the challenge.”

The RGD Branding Awards are currently accepting entries. June 9 is the submission deadline.