After a short break we’ve jumped back into the project with some fresh energy, having now completed both the stage one findings and the creative brief. Sifting through all of the discussion so far, we were quite humbled by the response and are really excited by the creative potential that exists in this swirling mix of thoughts, ideas and opinions.

As with anything on our blog, we are really keen to hear your feedback so don’t be shy. We are currently gathering our thoughts and nutting out the plan of attack for the design phase, so stay tuned as things will be heating up in the coming days and weeks.

Click here to download findings document (PDF)

Click here to download creative brief (PDF)

Big thanks to Sebastian for this evocative window into his imagination. www.guerriniisland.com

To add a historical perspective on government branding we spoke to Katherine Hepworth, a Swinburne PHD student who is completing a thesis on the topic.

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Having tapped into a rich mix of local viewpoints, we thought it was time to hear what an identity designer with a true outsiders perspective had to say about the Tasmanian brand. Read more

Elise Archer was elected as an Alderman of Hobart City Council in October 2007 and is a Liberal candidate for Denison in the 2010 Tasmanian State Election. Below is a snapshot of her views on the topic of Tas. Read more

When it comes to legendary Tasmanians, there is probably no bigger name than world champion axemen David Foster OAM. Read more

As a Tasmanian campaigner who’s been a successful catalyst for change over many years, we thought we’d ask Rodney Croome for his perspective on our little project. Read more

Author, historian, researcher, journalist and President of the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian National Flag Association (to name a few of his titles) Reg Watson, was kind enough to give some thought to a few questions I posed to him about our project. Read more

Returning to Tasmania after a year living in shotty Scotland, I was able to catch in one go the whole rebranding episode, viz., I met the symbol with shutterspeed exposure, and naturally that’s the only chance a little symbol gets.  I’m a collector of badges- I have ten though I’ve looked at thousands.  The focus has to be ridiculously efficient, the symbol has to be both feminine and masculine (like a Jungian lolly) and as elemental as Scorpius in the sky, that is, the eye won’t want to join more than seven or ten dots.  Read more

Design is about culture. In the same way that the state of our education or healthcare system tells us a lot about who we are as society, design is also capable of reflecting back to us who we are and what we care about, and the value of things, good and bad. Read more

Just to be clear, I sincerely hope that Cloudy Bay never looks like Noosa, but perhaps it’s inevitable.

I remember the 90s jingle ‘you can make it in Tasmania’… one assumed those responsible ‘doth protest too much’ and tended to lean towards the opposite. We naturally distrust branding – the attempt to create an image for an entity. To bring something or someone back into the world anew, to take an ‘existing’ and move it towards a ‘preferred’, to affect a perceptual shift through the suspension of disbelief. Read more

The notion of branding anything with something extinct is bizarre – especially when it pertains to the erasure of indigenous fauna. And yet there is the mystery aspect, the energy of ‘what if’ of rediscovering, the suggestion of wildness and intrigue that products such as Cascade beer successfully exploit. Ultimately I think The Tassie Tiger remains our most specific and enduring symbol. Read more