Project Overview

In order to create the identity of Eastland, eskimo were asked to completely rethink the role of the traditional shopping mall in community life.

Our response to this brief was to develop a creative platform that centered around the notion of ‘Coming Together’; illustrating Eastland Shopping Centre as the magnetic heart of the region.

Accompanying the brand platform was an extensive, highly emotive range of brand assets, spanning moving image, campaign imagery, hoardings, a leave-behind leasing broadsheet, stationery and numerous digital elements. These powerful visual experiences – grounded not in commerce, but in human relationships and meaningful interactions – enabled QIC to confidently showcase its new vision to the world.

Project Commissioner

QIC

Project Creator

Eskimo

Project Brief

The future of retail is changing, and QIC wanted its Eastland Shopping Centre to lead in this movement. QIC wanted to create a more sophisticated retail venture for the region – not simply building a place to shop, but building a community.

By creating engaging experiences – from health and beauty rituals to dining, local produce and covetable, curated fashion – the revitalized Eastland would align with an evolving urban community, enhancing human relationships and new discoveries.

QIC asked eskimo to develop a unique positioning, personality, and suite of highly emotive visual experiences to capture this vision, and communicate Eastland to business partners and the local community.

Project Innovation/Need

eskimo wanted to find a way to create a personal, community feel, and at the same time elevate the profile of Eastland to a more luxurious offer.

Firstly we devised a graphic language that expressed the idea of 'Coming Together' by examining the wordmark. The letters T and L are transformed into brackets, a way to pull together the versatile offers Eastland would bring to its community and its efforts to enrich everyday life. Textural, timeless and tailored, a monochrome suite of photography elevated Eastland, positioning the destination as luxury and aspirational. A signature weave was developed as an additional representation of Melbourne’s interwoven social fabric, a means to represent connectivity and the diverse local community. This graphic device could be extended to numerous applications, from large-scale interactive experiences to finer details and finishes. Expressive, painterly brushstrokes completed the mature design system, adding an artistic depth to Eastland’s celebration of community.

Design Challenge

The challenge for eskimo was to constantly find ways to break the conventions of traditional shopping centre communication.

We accomplished this in the design system by adding layers of artistic brush strokes and graphic weaves, adding depth that interacted fluidly with our imagery. The photography itself moved beyond pure retail, where we turned everyday items into white works of art – pasta, flowers, homewares.

Instead of a traditional retailers brochure, we developed a broadsheet which felt like a community newspaper, rich with the cultural experiences that the new Eastland was going to deliver.

The result was a rich suite of collateral, where every expression was unique and unexpected yet overall felt from the same place, mirroring the characteristics of a community.

Effectiveness

"The new identity for Eastland has allowed QIC to create new and engaging conversations with benchmark Australian and international brands, far beyond what has been capable in the past. Eskimo have created a brand which elevates our positioning within the retail B2B market, and therefore will enable us to elevate our offer to our customers"
Ivana Miletic, Product & Brand Director