Pop goes Canada 150

Project illustrates some of the nation’s most recognizable faces.

Some of Canada’s brightest stars got a pop-art makeover thanks to graphic design students at the University of Alberta.

In honour of Canada 150, students in Design 593: The Practice of Graphic Design were tasked with creating illustrations of people they believed had made an important contribution to Canadian society. The subjects could be from any field and any point in history, so long as they were part of the cultural zeitgeist and easily recognizable to the public.

Here’s a sample of the students’ creations, which feature a diverse range of famous faces in television, music, movies, politics, literature, sports and more. You can see even more illustrations on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Sandra Oh. Illustrations by Olivia Aubin.

Margaret Atwood, Roberta Bondar, and Gord Downie. Illustrations by Amelia Nash.

Jagmeet Singh, Clara Hughes, and Alex Janvier. Illustrations by Paul Twa.

Buffy Sainte-Marie and Chris Hadfield. Illustrations by Christy Campos.

Terry Fox, The Weeknd, and David Suzuki. Illustrations by Keandra Lucki, Riva Agustin, and Jonathan Pape.

Viola Desmond, Winnie Harlow, and Stéphanie Dixon. Illustrations by Danielle McBeth, Matthew Brownoff, and Kirstin Girard.

Eugene Levy, Esi Edugyan, and Drake. Illustrations by Hilary Zak, Gauri Maria Kinshuk, and Jamie Tameta.

Phyllis Munday, James Cameron and James Naismith. Illustrations by Chelsea Finn, Anna Guzik, and Tess Heinricks.

Celine Dion, Andrew Wiggins, and Michaëlle Jean. Illustrations by Riva Agustin, Greg Myles, and Keanda Lucki.

For almost as long as there’s been a Canada, there’s been a University of Alberta. Over the next year, in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, we’re proudly celebrating the people, achievements and ideas that contributed to the making of a confederation.