Behind the City of Perth’s logo designed in partnership with Block and Nani Creative
In an Australian first, the City of Perth became the only capital city to adopt, as its logo, a symbol of true reconciliation – a mark created hand-in-hand with Whadjuk Noongar Elders. Block teamed with Nani Creative to design the logo which was launched late last month by the City of Perth.
In 1962 the world watched as the Perth community gathered to welcome in the Space Age, to illuminate the night sky, to help guide the first American to orbit the planet, John Glenn, on his journey across the stars. He looked upon us and declared us the ‘City of Lights’.
Launched on the 60th Anniversary of this flight, the City of Perth logo draws inspiration from Noongar Elder Aunty Margaret’s “Crochet shield in Aboriginal colours” and the paintings of late Western Australian artist Howard Taylor, along with the physical attributes of the city.
Block, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Mark Braddock, said: “It is quite literally a symbol of inclusion. It is a uniquely Western Australian interpretation of light – representing both its physical and metaphoric characteristics.”
“Often branding concerns itself with a narrow band of on-trend aesthetics, but occasionally a project comes along that transcends the traditional purview of ‘branding’ to represent something far bigger than a ‘corporate identity.’”
Braddock said it was a pleasure to partner with Nani Creative to co-create the City of Perth’s first-ever logo – a logo that will form the foundation for a comprehensive brand identity.
The resultant symbol was created with extensive input and leadership from the City of Perth Elders Advisory Group and Noongar leaders Barry McGuire and Dr Richard Walley OAM, with the cultural consultation being led by Nani Creative’s Kevin Wilson.
Braddock said: “The logo is a symbol for today, with a nod to our shared history and our bright, bright future.”
“Until 1954, Aboriginal people were required to always carry a ‘Native Pass’ if they wanted to enter the city of Perth for any purpose, including work. It is extraordinary that a place from which the Elders were once barred because of their Aboriginality, in a state that once refused them permission to walk their Country as their ancestors had done for millennia, will now be represented globally by a symbol that has been endowed with so much meaning by the Elders of Boorloo. It is a symbol that speaks to their love and continuing guardianship of the land and Boorloo’s connection to the sun, land and water.”
