Our Story
Asher deGroot and Tracey Mactavish created MOTIV in 2017 committed to their shared belief that thoughtful design connects people and transforms communities. Friends and former colleagues, the pair met in 2008 while working at the same design firm and tackling the renovation of the City of North Vancouver Civic Centre Renovation, a project that went on to receive the Governor Generals Medal and a Lieutenant Governor Award, among others.
Our name captures our passion for design to have impact. We are drawn to projects and clients that are seeking positive change within their communities.
The “O” in MOTIV’s logo represents a ripple effect - of people, of projects, of communities. We believe that no person or project exists in isolation and that caring about a place requires acknowledging and leveraging both dependencies and impact on the bigger community. This requires taking the time to understand inherent potential of people and projects and to utilize the kinetic energy specific to a project to effect change.
motif noun - a distinctive and recurring form, shape, pattern, etc in a design
motive noun - a reason for doing something, incentive
adjective - (of power or force) causing movement or action, prompting to action
