GSM Studios is an international creative group specialized in the design and production of cultural attractions and exhibitions for museums.Coates, Charlotte. "gsm project unveils new brand identity, GSM Studios" Blooloop, March 20, 2026, including capabilities in strategy and planning, content development, experience and spatial design, technical development, production, project management, and operations and management support.
History GSM history can be traced back to Jacques Guillon and Associates, the first multidisciplinary design office in Canada, founded by architect Jacques Guillon in 1958.Laliberté, Suzanne. "Montreal Design. La vision de Jacques Guillon. Au temps d'Expo 67" Int.Design, May 5, 2021 The firm participated in numerous landmark projects in various fields, including the signage and metro cars for Montreal’s metro system"Entretien avec Jacques Guillon, le designer du métro de Montréal." Métro, week-end du 30 août-2 septembre, p.09. and several thematic pavilions at Expo 67 in Montreal.King, Mike. "Montreal firm GSM going up. Way up." The Gazette, May 24th 2007. B3. These projects were realized by the talents of Morley Smith, an American industrial designer in charge of the design of Montreal Metro cars and the Man and Life pavilion at Expo 67, and the Swiss graphic designer, Laurent Marquart. The company rebranded itself Jacques Guillon Designers in 1968. Together, they added exhibition design to the repertoire of this versatile company. The team was completed by a fourth associate, Roger Labastrou, a Swiss architect in charge of the interior design department."L'homme du moi: Jacques Guillon, un pionner du design." Revue Commerce, mai 1983, no.5.
Renamed Guillon, Smith, Marquart in 1978GOTLIEB, Rachel and Cora GOLDEN. 2001. Design In Canada Since 1945: Fifty Years from Teakettles to Task Chairs. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 277 p. as Guillon passed the majority of his shares to Smith and Marquart, then as GSM Design in 1982, the company offered services in visual communications, industrial design, interior design and exhibition design.Ferrabee, Lydia. "Jacques Guillon Designers Inc." Canadian Interiors, April 1972. Having secured his succession, Jacques Guillon retired in 1987.
After Guillon’s departure Morley Smith and Laurent Marquart divided the company. Morley Smith moved the industrial design department to his own firm, GSM Design, Produits et Transport and Laurent Marquart kept the interior and exhibition design. Laurent continued in 1987 with his two associates, Kathleen Lanni in interior design and Yves Mayrand in exhibition design.GADOURY, Ginette (éd. et dir.) "GSM Design/Aménagement, communication visuelle et exposition, inc." Intérieurs, février 2001, p. 44. The firm, operating at the time under the name GSM Design/Aménagement, communication visuelle et exposition inc., specialized itself and began to deal with an international clientele and competition.
The interior design department of GSM Design built its reputation on its adaptability to cultural realities, allowing it to work on a variety of projects ranging from a Jewish community centre (CJA Federation, 1997–2000), to the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson Communications, or the National Bank of Dubai.GADOURY, Ginette (éd. et dir.) "GSM Design/Aménagement, communication visuelle et exposition, inc." Intérieurs, février 2001, p. 23
Meanwhile, a series of successes in exhibition design, including the invention of the multimedia show for the Louis St-Laurent National Historic Site (1982) and Memories at the Musée de la civilisation de Québec (1988), an exhibition that redefined the visitor’s role as an actor rather than a mere spectator, allowed the exhibition design department of GSM to take flight. In parallel, the company reduced its services in visual communications, limiting itself only to the graphics necessary for their interior design and exhibition design projects.GADOURY, Ginette (éd. et dir.) "GSM Design/Aménagement, communication visuelle et exposition, inc." Intérieurs, février 2001, p. 48
Starting in 1992, GSM Design began to collaborate with TBY, a company specialized in the management of shows founded by engineer Pierre Royer and lighting designer Vincent Brie,DANSEREAU, Suzanne. "M2C1, ou la production québécoise à saveur mondiale." Les Affaires, 31 mai 2003, p.25. working together to create a multimedia show for Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal’s museum of history and archaeology, in 1992. In 2001, Vincent Brie, Pierre Royer and Yves Mayrand created a new company, M2C1 (for "measure twice, cut once") whose mandate was to oversee the construction and installation of equipment for shows, exhibitions and fairs. In this way, these three companies collaborated on a variety of projects, including the design, manufacture and installation of the City Museum of Washington, D.C. in 2003.GUY, Chantal. "Le City Museum de Washington fait appel à des Québécois." La Presse, 29 mars 2003, D15.
In order to offer their clients specialized turn-key services, GSM Design separated itself from the interior design department in 2002 to become GSM Design Expositions. In 2004, they also created Kleio Systems to develop new technologies related to the field of exhibitions. M2C1 and Kleio Systems were renamed GSM Build and GSM Products respectively, and GSM Media was created in 2005. TBY was subsequently fused to GSM Build. This new group of companies was then capable of offering turn-key solutions, including the design, management, construction, installation and maintenance of exhibitions.
In 2003, GSM Project had no projects in Montreal and 98% of its business was outside of Canada.CLOUTIER, Laurier. "Dessine-moi un musée: le plus gros contrat de l'histoire du Groupe GSM, de Westmount." La Presse, 10 novembre 2005, Affaires 5. After completing renovations on the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore, GSM Project established an office there and was offered the mandate of creating the new National Museum of Singapore which opened its doors in 2006 and won them several prizes, including the Design Exchange Awards Silver Prize in the Interior Design - Temporary of Portable category in 2007 for the Living GalleriesCanadian Architect. «Daily News: Design Exchange Award winners announced.» Canadian Architect. Last modified Dec. 4th, 2007. http://www.canadianarchitect.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000072924&issue=12042007&PC=CA Retrieved August 24th, 2010. and the Graphex 2008 Prize of Excellence for the Singapore History Gallery.Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. «Graphex 2008 Awards of Excellence.» Graphex 2008. Last modified 2008. Retrieved August 24th, 2010.
In 2005, GSM Project obtained a contract to design, install and maintain the observatory, interpretation centre and the multimedia experience inside the elevators of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, inaugurated in Dubai in January 2010.Radio-Canada avec Agence France-Presse, Associated Press et Reuters. "Un record tombe à Dubaï." Radio-Canada.ca In 2007, GSM Project established a representation in Dubai.BARIL, Hélène. "L'expertise québécoise au sommet de la plus haute tout du monde." La Presse, 1 décembre 2006
In honour of its 50th anniversary, the company renovated its image. Operating since 2008 under the name gsmprjct°, this group has more recently participated in the creation of Espace Montréal at the Universal Exposition in Shanghai that showcases the Saint-Michel environmental complex in Montreal as an example of sustainable urban development.Ville de Montréal. «Espace Montréal: Using the CESM Story, Compare That of Modern Montreal.» Ville de Montréal. 2010. http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/shanghai_fr/media/documents/FicheEspaceMtl_3_langues.pdf Retrieved August 24th, 2010.
In September 2022, the corporate entity GSMPRJCT Creation declared bankruptcy. https://www.insolvencies.deloitte.ca/en-ca/pages/GSMPRJCT-Creation-inc-(EN).aspx?searchpage=Search-Insolvencies.aspx&Source=GSMPRJCT-Creation-Inc.aspx Since then, GSM has reopened under new management and continues to operate in the field as GSM Studios. "gsm project devient GSM Studios" Grenier aux nouvelles, March 20, 2026, under the Humanise Collective.
Landmark projects
Industrial design Montreal Metro Cars, 1962 Taxi GSM, 1975 LRC Train, Transport Canada, 1977 "Simms System 2000" Paint roller, T.S. Simms & Co., Ltd., 1979 "Versatile 1150" Tractor, Versatile Farm Equipment, 1978
Visual communications Signage for the Montreal Metro, 1962 Mirabel Airport, 1974 Quebec Provincial Parks Signage, Ministère du Tourisme du Québec, 1979 Maison du Citoyen (City Hall), Hull, 1984 Annual report, Ciment St-Laurent, 1987 Nordair branding, 1984 Signage for the Sheraton Centre, 1982–1983
Interior design Le Méridien Hotels, Houston, San Francisco, Mexico City, Kuwait, 1985 National Bank of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 1992–1998 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, Montréal, 1995–1996 CJA Federation, Montreal, 1997–2000 du Dubai Headquarters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2007
Exhibitions
Man and Life Thematic Pavilion, Expo '67, Montreal, 1967 Belgian Pavilion, Expo '67, Montreal, 1967 Louis St-Laurent National Historic Site, Compton, Canada, 1982 Canadian Pavilion, Expo '86, Vancouver, Canada, 1986 Memories, Musée de la civilisation, Québec, Canada, 1988 Montreal, a Crossroads of Culture and Trade, Pointe-à-Callière Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, Canada, 1992 Oceania Virtual Reality Pavilion, Expo '98, Lisbon, Portugal, 1998 Montreal, Tales of a City, Pointe-à-Callière Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, Canada, 2000 Montreal Science Centre (iSci), Old Port of Montreal, Canada, 2000 The Mysterious Bog People, Travelling Exhibition, 2002 The Adventure of Electricity, Electropolis: Museum of Electrical Energy in Mulhouse, France, 2001–2003 City Museum of Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., USA, 2003 Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, 2003 National Museum of Singapore, Singapore, 2006 Musée historique de la ville de Strasbourg, France, 2007 Passagers/Passengers, Musée de la civilisation, Québec, Canada, 2008 Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology, world tour, 2011 Ajax Experience, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2011 Star Wars Identities, world tour, 2012
Recent projects At the Top, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2009 Being Irish O’Quebec, McCord Museum of Canadian History, Montreal, 2009 Aqua, Travelling Exhibition, One Drop Foundation, Montreal, 2009 Espace Montréal, Expo 2010, Shanghai, China, 2010
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