City of Launceston Brand - Creative Concept

LAUNCESTON ROUND 03

22.12.20

An Intro In June, City of Launceston kicked off the second phase of the brand project - working alongside us, brand agency ‘For The People.’

Council tasked us with creating a brand for Launceston and the wider region that will help build local pride, drive visitation, increase investment and stimulate inward migration.

Where we started

What you’ll see

Our first step was diving into the Launceston Place DNA research and sentiment analysis.

Over the course of a month we conducted supplementary community research - we held community sessions with key stakeholders, had one-to-one interviews with locals, made friends over coffee dates, introduced ourselves to a diverse range of community groups and continued the conversation online with our very own Facebook Page dedicted to the Launceston brand.

With our Tassie team conveniently located in Launceston, we visited key sites across the region to best understand what makes Launceston distinct from anywhere else in Tasmania... or in the world.

In this online exhibition, you will see the refined creative concept, The Undercurrent. We have brought the concept to life through a set of examples that cover the functional requirements of the new brand - to build local pride, increase tourism and drive investment in the city and the Greater Launceston Region.

What we learned Before we arrived, we knew Launceston city and the Greater Launceston region was a place that boasted extraordinary natural beauty and a small but close community. But after spending time here and digging deeper, we found so much more. We started to get a sense of the overall feeling of the region and the further we explored and the more locals we befriended, we began to understand why locals were so in love with this place. Beneath the surface, it was a place of true community and connectedness, free of big city pressure and with character, charm and real personality.

Over the next few pages you will find the following.

—B rand narrative: a description of the place and sentiment of Launceston and the broader region to set the tone for the creative phase.

—C reative concept: the strategic foundation and theme that has influenced the brand creative.

— Brand creative: initial exploration of how the brand could come to life across key applications.

What’s next?

We’re about 60% of the way through this process — at the end of the exhibition period, we’ll review what we’ve heard and further refine the direction for the brand, creating what we hope will be a brand you feel truly represents you and your community, and you can stand behind proudly - while showing the rest of the world what Launceston has to offer.

Brand Narrative At the centre of everything is community. We’ve always believed this, always lived it. When you step foot in Launceston, the first thing you’ll notice isn’t just the historical architecture, the laconic streets, the 200 year old industry, the heritage-listed sites and abundant nature, or the fabled soils, but an overwhelming sense of connectedness.

From our history, to our land, to our people, this connectedness is what truly binds us and lies at the heart of our city.

Sure, it says City in the title, but it’s a title in name only. Where cities have become crowded, noisy, chaotic, alien, always striving to be the newest, the shiniest, the loudest, Lonnie remains relaxed, bighearted, familiar — a time capsule carefully hidden from the world.

The way it’s always felt down here on the island.

In fact, you could say we’re an alternate-city, an anti-city, a down-to-earth city, the archetype-cityfor-the-growing-slow-city movement. You could say we’re an enclave, a sanctuary, an endless series of serendipitous moments, afforded to those who want to explore and sink into it. You could say we’re a walker’s city, a chancer’s city — one that’s been built patiently to reward patience.

For big cities, time is a master, for us, a servant.

We observe it, let it run its natural course.

This allows for the grapes to slowly ripen to perfection, for roots to take stock and bumper our crops, for ideas to nurture and make firsts, for stories to layer and become monuments. Here a traffic jam is lining up for a coffee at the farmers markets on a Saturday morning, and big city pressure is trying to wrap-up a chat on the street.

However, for us to reach our potential, there are still challenges we must overcome. For far too long we’ve disagreed amongst ourselves, passing the buck and cursing a lack of progress. We’ve ignored our Indigenous past, believing it to be lost - when in fact it’s always been here, alive and thriving.

We’ve stifled our ingenuity, the very thing that made us that city of firsts. We’ve grown further apart, with the divide between the rich and poor becoming wider. And, somewhere along the way, we lost sight of how we tell our story, and what makes our city great.

But, we’ve faced these challenges before, and overcame them by doing what we do best working together, finding a way, making it better.

Lonnie was founded on ingenuity and hard work, and that naturally breeds a certain strength of camaraderie that continues to this day. For centuries, we’ve done it on our own, using our inventiveness to survive and carve-out a place for ourselves.

When we didn’t have electricity, we worked the dams to light the way. When we didn’t have bread, we built the mills that would feed a nation. When the storms came, we sheltered our neighbours until the waters receded. And when the rest of the world was digging up the land and building bigger walls, we kept to ourselves, quietly tilling our soils, turning our mills, building our traditions, opening doors, growing a city into a home.

Because we believe that a city shouldn’t be measured by the loudness of its voice, but the steadfastness of its character. We believe in looking our neighbours in the eye, and not turning away when called upon. We believe we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, but hold ourselves accountable. We believe in not judging the world, but inviting the world in.

It’s this sense of community that drives us, that defines us, that makes us a special kind of city. And we believe that anyone who wants to find their community, is welcome to make Launceston home.

Creative concept: – The Undercurrent

Brand expression

At the meeting point of a river, a gorge and an estuary lies our city. A connected city, a hyperlocal city, a city as a home. We call it Lonnie (or Launnie, Lonny). At first it may seem quiet and unassuming, but the further you dig, the more locals you meet, the more patient you are, the more the city will open up to you. And when it does you will discover the Lonnie locals love. A place where strangers become friends, visitors turn locals, where the farm feeds the table and the gorge fills the breweries.

Like Launceston itself, the brand does not yell, boast or exaggerate, rather it attempts to capture the quiet confidence and authenticity of Launceston and its people. Using a muted color palette, hand drawn illustrations and a community centric photography style, the brand heroes the local always, and represents the cities down-toearth attitude.

Whilst Launceston has nature and heritage in abundance, we believe the city is made not by what meets the eye, but by the stuff that doesn’t - it’s a place that requires you to sink into it and experience it like a local — and when you do, you’ll be taken by a city unlike any other.

The brand idea, The Undercurrent, celebrates what Launceston locals love. The brand serves as a platform, lifting the places, activities, and community attitude of Lonnie to the surface and providing local instruction as to how to experience the place like locals do - to slow down, share, explore and discover.

Understated style

Every-day local language The voice of the brand is the voice of Launceston locals - casual, friendly and conversational. It celebrates the community of Launceston, invites visitors in to experience the city locals love and communicates the laid back, down-to-earth Launceston attitude with the world.

Made for participation This brand is more than a logo. It’s an identity system built for everyone to access, use and make their own.

Building an authentic identity LAUNCESTON

COLOURS

TYPEFACE

PHOTOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATION

Our colour palette is deliberately understated. A calming set, drawn from the nature and fabric of our city.

Whilst there may be many colours to choose from, rarely are more than two used at a time.

Classic, modern and understated. No need to shout, we communicate with clarity, craft and self confidence through these two typefaces.

Lonnie life. We quietly get on with things in this part of the world. The imagery we try capture is the life behind the glitz of any marketing attempt. A behind the scenes take on what we do - we craft, we make, we talk, we hike, we build, we explore, we enjoy.

Laid back, simple and expressive – A sketch. Single colour. Used along with our other elements, tehe illustrations can capture the spirit of life in Launceston at a glance.

RECOLETA

The un-capital city Weakly bread run Cataract Gorge Junction Arts Festival

* Please note that the images and illustrations used throughout this exhibition are indicative of original content to follow during final concept stage.

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FAVORIT

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As a brand made for participation, we also make room for locals to use and add their own handwriting in specific applications.

Tight-knit

Made in Launnie

WELCOME SIGNS

BANNERS

EVENT BANNERS

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BANNERS

WEBSITE

WEBSITE

WEBSITE - CREATE YOUR GUIDE

GUIDES

GUIDES

WAYFINDING

QUARANTINE SIGN

MAGAZINE

LOCAL PICKS

SOCIAL POSTS

TOTE BAGS

POSTERS

MADE IN STICKERS

CLOSED SIGNS

BUMPER STICKERS

HOARDING

BEANIE

THANK YOU