Hi my name is Brooke and I’ve worked with Dungog Shire Council for the last five years in the marketing and communications space.
I’ve taken over Council Connect this week to present to you the story behind the new brand, why it was decided that now is the time for change, and how the brand design came about.
You may have seen from the videos the Mayor has posted lately that government advocacy has become a major priority for Council. The reality is that Council relies heavily on receiving funding from the state and federal governments to be able to conduct maintenance and upgrades across the Shire. Sometimes this process can be competitive, as Councils are competing for what funding is available.
The Government’s focus is very much on growth, particularly around housing, and we felt that when you looked at Dungog’s foundational brand against that of other Council’s, we were not standing out as we would like to, and the design did not reflect the Dungog Shire of today.
It’s also worth noting that in our recent community survey, the community told us that they want us to be more bold and progressive, while preserving everything that makes the Shire so special.
So, 5we felt it was time to create a fresh identity that better reflects the Council we are today, and the direction we’re heading in for the future.
But we also knew that whatever we created needed to still feel like Dungog.
The process began with a workshop with our Councillors, where we talked about what makes our Shire distinctive and, importantly, how we wanted Council to be seen.
From that conversation came a clear direction: a brand that felt progressive, bold, professional, contemporary and optimistic, while preserving our geographic routes and connection to our natural environment.
From there, we developed the creative brief.
We wanted something clean and contemporary, but not overly corporate. Something memorable, adaptable and more importantly, easy to recognise as Dungog Shire Council.
It also needed to work in the real world – on everything from a Council vehicle or Hi Vis vest to a Facebook post, website or community notice. One thing that we struggled with a lot with the old logo was the illegibility of the writing – particularly on smaller signage and uniform embroidery.
And we wanted a colour palette inspired by the natural environment of Dungog Shire.
This is where the story behind the new logo really comes to life.
Three ideas sit at the heart of the design: our rivers, our rolling hills and weaving patterns.
Our rivers represent the waterways that have shaped our towns and villages and are so important to farming and recreation.
Our rolling hills are one of the most recognisable features of Dungog Shire – that beautiful rural landscape that surrounds us wherever we go.
And the weaving pattern represents connection – our communities, industries, towns and villages all coming together as one Shire.
We also looked at how other councils across NSW and Australia are presenting themselves today.
What you can see is a clear move towards simpler, more contemporary identities that work much better across digital platforms as well as traditional Council applications.
And this is where all of that thinking came together.
Our new Dungog Shire Council logo takes those elements of landscape, water and connection and brings them together in a simple, contemporary design.
It’s colourful, distinctive, and most importantly, it gives us a brand that we can really make our own.
Of course, a brand is about much more than a logo.
These examples show how the identity starts to come to life across everyday Council materials – from our letterhead and business cards to publications and media releases.
The idea is to create a consistent look so that when you see something from Dungog Shire Council, you immediately recognise it as ours.
It means we now have an identity that can evolve and be creative, while still being recognisably Dungog.
Cost has been a significant consideration in the development and implementation of the brand. We purposely kept costs to a minimum, and the rollout is being staged, so physical items will transition to the new brand as they need to be replaced. Digital assets that don’t require printing or cost to change over will happen sooner.
So that’s it from me. I hope I’ve been able to articulate why we felt that now is the time for change, and how the new brand is about celebrating what makes Dungog Shire special, while also giving Council a fresh identity for the future.
We know our community cares deeply about Dungog Shire and how it’s represented – and we hope that, as you start to see the brand come to life, you’ll see the story of Dungog Shire within it too.
Thanks for listening.
