Cultural Centre

Atmospheres for
Artists and Art Lovers

2017 — 2018

Cultural Centre Mark

The Cultural Centre ● Photo: Ona Janzen

A little over five years ago, the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre — or The Cultural Centre as it’s more commonly known— was opened to the public. If you stand right in the middle of it, you have the main street of Katoomba to the east, houses to the west, the former power station (and current Carrington Hotel) to the south, and before you in the north is the endless expanse of the Jamison Valley. It’s quite a sight, and makes this venue the literal centre of culture in the region.

Heath began working with the Cultural Centre team in 2017 on a variety of projects, largely focused on formalising venue’s identity, assisting with brand positioning, copywriting, and designing new communications materials for both print and digital. This work is ongoing, currently undertaking live pressure tests with the team as the new look and feel is rolled out.

The Local Context

Built on the highest point in Katoomba with panoramic views of the World Heritage area, The Cultural Centre links the main shopping precinct on Katoomba Street through enhanced pedestrian connections. Being the first publicly owned and managed, purpose designed facility of the arts to be constructed in the Blue Mountains, it is expected that the development will significantly contribute to the improvement of the economic health and cultural vitality of the Blue Mountains and the surrounding regions.

To date, the venue has hosted some of the most significant exhibitions and events that the region has ever seen, including a David Hockney retrospective, and a stunning collection of land art from the John Kaldor Family Collection. Additionally a wide range of local talent is regularly displayed throuought the year.

Exhibiting Artist: Nicole Welch

Exhibiting Artist: Richard Long

Exhibiting Artist: David Hockney

Exhibiting Artist: Cicada Press

Exhibiting Artist: Karen Miranda Abel

The Cultural Centre isn’t just a gallery though. In fact the City Art Gallery is just one facet. Contained within the same building is also the World Heritage Exhibition (a permanent and interactive A/V installation), the Katoomba Library, the Cultural Centre store and cafe, as well as variety of viewing platforms, gardens, and sculptural works located on the grounds As such, Heath’s work quickly expanded into developing a comprehensive branding system that would encompass all these different touchpoints. Born from the new “square” logo came a bespoke set of symbols for each related venue and event type, under the umbrella “Blue Mountains Cultural Spaces”

Cultural Centre Logo

Blue Mountains Cultural Spaces

Among the many challenges of this project were the fact that a colour palette was mandated by the local council (who oversee operations) and the fact that the new identity had to co-exist with the old, as in some cases it will still be used in various forms, including sigange, for the time being. Despite these restrictions, Heath set about bringing in new clarity and sophistication for how the venue thinks and talks about itself.

Cultural Centre Information Flyer

Exhibition Opening Flyer

Letterhead

Membership Card

As part of this branding and strategy work, Heath comissioned regular collaborator Ona Janzen to take a new suite of images of the venue and its activities, which the Cultural Centre team can then use in promotional campaigns and social media.

Reception
● Photo: Ona Janzen

Local wares at the store
● Photo: Ona Janzen

Local wares at the store
● Photo: Ona Janzen

Workshop
● Photo: Ona Janzen

Gallery Cafe
● Photo: Ona Janzen

Among the many tools and templates that Heath created for The Cultural Centre team are a new website, merchandise design, social media templates, and pieces of copy that speak to the local context and flavour of this venue.