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Case studies Mackenzie District Council

Rebranding a district council around reflections on water.

Client
Mackenzie District Council Mackenzie District
Sector
Local government District council
Disciplines
Brand design Logo · voice · personas · brand guide
Engagement
Rebrand Rolled out across the district

The challenge

A district landscape to capture, without picking one view.

Mackenzie District Council (MDC) asked us to help with its rebrand.

The opportunity was a brand that reflected the whole Mackenzie Country landscape rather than any single scene, such as Aoraki/Mt Cook, with a clear voice for customers and stakeholders across the district.

Our community, Our place, Our future.

What we did

We created the brand, its voice and the tools to use it well.

  1. Reflections on water. An abstract logo mark interpreting the Mackenzie Country landscape.
  2. A hardy typeface. Strong and robust, with plenty of character.
  3. Brand voice and personas. Personas for customers and stakeholders across the district.
  4. A new positioning. “Our community, Our place, Our future.”
  5. A brand guide. So staff and suppliers use the brand correctly.
  6. Rolled out across the district. The vehicle fleet, community signage, business cards, and templates for letterheads, cover pages, header pages and presentations.
The brand at work: simple, colourful and easy to recognise.
Templates and stationery for the team.
Brand guidelines so the council’s team can use the brand with confidence.

The outcome

A brand the whole district can see, and staff can use with confidence.

Brand identity

Reflections on water.

Brand guide

For staff and suppliers.

District-wide rollout

Vehicles, signage and templates.

Let us know how we can assist your business today.

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Most of these started as one job.

Our work

Brand strategy

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A new brand and website that show a renovation team's full range, and make it easy to start a project.

Built to show the work

Design

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Making a high-country trail easy to plan, and safer to ride.

Helping riders plan and safely enjoy a high-country mountain bike trail.

One place to plan the ride

Design

CoolTranz

Bringing a company’s rich history and community spirit into its new headquarters.

Telling a company's history on the walls of its new headquarters.

A company’s history, built into its walls

Design

Hiko Power Engineering

Turning a technical product catalogue into one that tells stories.

Turning a product catalogue from a specification document into stories.

From spec sheet to story-led catalogue

Design

Christchurch Boys' High School

Weaving a school’s visual history and culture into its classroom windows.

Weaving a school's history and culture into its windows.

Five years of windows

Brand strategy

Anthem Partners

Creating a bold brand for an advisory firm that’s anything but average.

A brand that's anything but average for an advisory firm.

Rolled out end to end

Brand strategy

Puraz

Launching a superfood range that speaks to a younger audience.

Creating a superfood range from the very beginning, for a younger audience.

A full range, created from day one

Design

Puraz

Refreshing a wellness brand’s website for a fast-moving industry.

A refreshed, easy-to-shop website for a collagen and wellness brand.

A website built around product benefits

Brand strategy

Wolfbrook Property Group

Giving a property group a brand with elegance and strength.

A classic, confident brand for a property group making its mark.

A ‘W’ seen across Christchurch

Tools & resources

Find out what
your marketing is actually missing.

A short diagnostic built from the same questions we ask in a first client meeting. Six minutes, no sales call attached — you get the scorecard whether you talk to us or not.

Browse tools & downloads

Marketing efficiency assessment

How much of your marketing budget is actually working?

Fifteen quick questions about how your marketing is set up and managed. At the end you'll get a score, a breakdown of where you stand, and your three biggest opportunities to improve.

Takes about 3 minutes. Be honest - a flattering score helps nobody.