I would caution that approaching companies with pre-constructed, unsolicited redesigns opens you up to the precise opposite — your work being stolen without compensation or credit. All it takes is for enough to be modified to hit different goals or targets and they’ve suddenly saved enormous amounts of money on a project. One has to consider, for example, if Canadian Tire liked the logo enough to simply find influence from it and use another typeface based on a solid rationale? Even if your case was solid it’d be difficult to challenge Canadian Tire whose legal team likely has a retainer higher the gross income of most design offices.

Perhaps this perspective is a bit tinfoil hat in nature for most and can open doors, but people shouldn’t pursue it for that purpose and certainly not without the understanding that they may not be recognized. I think, overall, we spend a lot of time in the creative industry suggesting to our own community that we work for free.

I encourage enthusiasm and pursuit of opportunity, learning and development, but with it, I encourage caution.