It’s always an issue when multiple stakeholders with different agendas need to be engaged under a single brand identity. Accommodating five stakeholders; the Departments of Premier and Cabinet, Immigration, Education, Economic Development and Tourism, was always going to be a challenge.

However, at launch, that list had grown to one hundred and thirty-eight stakeholder groups representing the diverse interests of government, business, investment, immigration, tourism, education, festivals and events. Additional to this, Melbourne is a city with no obvious single identifying landmark that might symbolise the location.

Compounding the difficulty came the need to have both the capital city and state names viewed as the same logotype, as they were interchangeable elements in any communication. The broader visual language embraced the need to acknowledge one topic or a combined number of similar or different stories.

The idea of a never-ending book form that could be skinned and reskinned with appropriate topical images, provided a distinct and recognisable form for changing messages. And, while the content could not always be controlled, the symbolic format connected the subjects in still and animated applications.