Speaking in Colour

100% Aboriginal owned and operated provider takes its place as a recognised cultural institution

Case study

Speaking in Colour is 100% Aboriginal owned and operated Cultural education provider. Founded in Newcastle NSW by Cherie Johnson, a Gamilaroi and Weilwun woman, the organisation exists to deliver immersive, localised and authentic educational experiences to various audiences, from preschool-age children to large corporates.

Although Speaking in Colour is well-established, it is competing In a marketplace that is growing and includes businesses that are not Aboriginal owned.

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Background

Speaking in Colour is a fast growing business that has responded and adapted to meet market demand very successfully. Founder Cherie Johnson has a grand vision for the organisation, but the organisation needed to solidify its foundations and strengthen its brand position and stakeholder engagement.

Objective

To achieve consistent growth in a competitive market place, including businesses that are not Aboriginal owned, it was important for Speaking in Colour to develop a brand identity that had strong Aboriginal foundations, whilst also communicating in a way that their corporate clients understood.

Target Audience

Schools, local councils, corporate organisations and government bodies.

Consumer Proposition

Connecting people to culture.

Desired Consumer Response

‘I want to engage Speaking in Colour to help my organisation’.

Creative Solution

Our aim was to give the Speaking in Colour brand a bold overhaul - to elevate so it would be recognised as a professional cultural institution. We worked tirelessly and put together a presentation we were happy with - but we weren’t, so we consigned the presentation to the bin and started from scratch again.

The key insight was the name of the business ‘Speaking in Colour’ it has a direct link to the oral tradition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The logo emphasises this theme, and the speech bubble graphic is playfully used across collateral, accompanied with a bold colour palette to compliment the traditional colours of red, black and yellow.

As Speaking in Colour engages across many audiences, from schools, to corporate business to community we created a range of collateral and brand expression to meet each of these target markets, eventually leading to the production of: staff uniforms, totes, lanyards, staff uniforms, tracksuits (for their cultural camps), bucket hats, visors, travel mugs, water bottles, swing tags, stickers, business cards, brochures, pull up banners, marquee, and custom tissue paper for wrapping items sold in their new online web store.

Interested to learn more? Take a look at our Spreadable video where the owner of Speaking in Colour and Headjam's Chief Creative Officer, Sarah Cook, chat about the creative process.

This project was listed as a 2022 Finalist in the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA), in the category of Design for Good – Social & Community.