Overview and result
The State Government of Victoria, in partnership with the City of Melbourne, secured the rights to the .melbourne Top-Level Domain. ARI Registry Services was appointed to manage all functions of the namespace on behalf of the Government. The brand needed an identity to represent everything that is loved about Melbourne and communicate the benefits of a local Top-Level Domain. The identity developed was simple, clean and timeless capturing the many facets of Melbourne while communicating the functionality of a Top-Level Domain.
The challenge
Create a brandmark that could communicate the relatively new concept of a Top-Level Domain clearly. The brand needed to communicate all things Melbourne in a way that didn’t intrude on the existing Melbourne place brands. It was necessary for the identity to be simple enough to work with partner brands that would adopt the new domain name without overpowering their brand.
The solution
The best way to communicate all that Melbourne has to offer was to use the word ‘Melbourne’ in a simple, elegant, forward-thinking typographical mark. The identity uses a font that provides strong visual recollection while not being over-styled. It is identifiable without being intrusive or creating visual conflict with partner level brands.
When researching other new and existing Top-Level Domain logos, we noticed they all followed a very simplistic solution of the ‘dot’ followed by the domain name. With such a new program where public awareness is minimal, we felt that this was not enough. Our solution needed to clearly demonstrate what the product is.
‘www’ signals to the world that an internet address is being communicated. The graphic expression of Melbourne as a web address has highlighted and energised the www. It symbolises the availability of a new format, one that puts Melbourne front and centre. It has been expressed in the form of a web address to highlight that .melbourne is a Top-Level Domain just like .com, .net or .au.
The colours were selected to represent a blend of the cultured vibrancy and edgy sophistication that is at the heart of what represents Melbourne online.
The end result was that the .melbourne brand was able to differentiate itself during a time when hundreds of new Top-Level Domains were launching in a highly competitive market. This innovative approach to branding positioned .melbourne as one of the leading city-based Top-Level domains in the world.
How we helped .melbourne
Identity development, visual language development.
Client testimonial
“Truly Deeply balanced the challenges of launching a new city brand against complementing existing assets in the brand strategy for .melbourne. The end result was an approach that positioned the product as a leader in its field while satisfying the expectations of our many stakeholders.”
– George Pongas, General Manager Naming Services, ARI Registry Services
But wait, there’s more…
The branding system developed for .Melbourne considered the opportunity to expand the brand product offer to other cities such as Sydney:
