Think Canada’s national capital is stuffy, boring, conservative, and really f***ing cold?  Well you’re wrong!  OK, mostly wrong, its really f***ing cold here.

But we have some really talented designers.

At Mercury Grove we’re constantly looking for great talent all over the world, and we’ve worked with some of the best.  Recently I was searching for a local designer and asked the Twitterati in the Twittersphere who was the twitter-awesomest (ok, I’ll stop now) when it came to online graphic design.  Within minutes I had discovered and rediscovered some awesome designers – many that I have worked with before – that I thought it was worth writing them up and giving some props.

Reconfigure (@reconfigures, reconfigure.ca)
Steph at Reconfigure is a great guy with a fine eye for web design and an expert Shopify template designer.  In fact, Steph designed one of our MercuryGrove.com iterations years ago.  And he’s awful at curling (but great form).

Cinnamon Toast New Media (@addsomespice ,cinnamontoastnewmedia.com)
Now I haven’t worked with Bronwyn before, but I’m told she’s one of the best!  I like their website and name, and she comes highly recommended on the twittersphere.

RealDecoy.com (@realdecoy, RealDecoy.com)
Mark Stephenson at Read Decoy is a great designer, great guy, and long-time, active member of the local startup community.  If you haven’t worked with Mark or had a beer with him consider your Ottawa experience incomplete!

One Marketing (@onemarketingca, onemarketing.ca)
One Marketing is a new awesome firm in Ottawa that specializes in strategy, brand, and design – but partner and creative lead Scott Fair is definitely not new to design or Ottawa.  Scott has worked with some of the best and he’s got great creative capacity.  I have no idea what his beer drinking is like though I have shared an awesome meal with partner Jud Rasmussen on the Metropolitan patio.

Amanda Emmanuel (@amandaemmanuel, amandaemmanuel.com)
Unfortunately I don’t know Amanda, but also highly recommended on twitter.

Rene Antunes (@reneantunes, northernarmy.com)
That’s a lot of dots on the homepage!  I bet Rene does some awesome stuff, but we haven’t had a chance to work together (yet).

Emily Daniels (@emdaniels, emilydaniels.com)
I don’t know Emily either, but the photos on her site are striking and I really like her use of space, colors and text on the site.  I’m pretty sure we’ll be working together very soon!

There’s a short-list of Awesome Ottawa Designers that were recommended by the twitterati… Missing some obvious ones?  Add them in the comments and we’ll add them to the list!