A national identity with a local heart, reimagining Charter Hall’s retail portfolio across more than 55 locations through the people and communities that define them.
Scale usually demands standardisation. For Charter Hall’s retail portfolio, we saw an opportunity to let local differences lead. Across urban, rural and coastal Australia, these centres are where people nourish their families, catch up with old friends and find a familiar face behind the counter. Those everyday interactions became our starting point, informing an identity that recognises the significance of a local shopping centre in the life of its community.
Our Approach
Year Completed
2026
The visual language draws on the nostalgia of Australian shopping: docket stubs, promotional stickers and roundels, reinterpreted as a flexible family of graphic devices. These familiar forms provided the foundation for a suite of hand-drawn illustrations, communicating key information and supporting understanding for community members with low vision or limited English. Alongside expressive typography, colour, on-site photography and a relatable tone of voice, they create a shared language with enough character and flexibility for each centre to remain distinctly itself.
Our Approach
The visual language draws on the nostalgia of Australian shopping: docket stubs, promotional stickers and roundels, reinterpreted as a flexible family of graphic devices. These familiar forms provided the foundation for a suite of hand-drawn illustrations, communicating key information and supporting understanding for community members with low vision or limited English. Alongside expressive typography, colour, on-site photography and a relatable tone of voice, they create a shared language with enough character and flexibility for each centre to remain distinctly itself.
Year Completed
2026
In Summary
Extending across campaigns, social, signage, wayfinding and digital, the system gives internal teams clear parameters, adaptable templates and asset libraries to create confidently and respond locally. Three master website schematics reflect urban, rural and coastal settings, while a downloadable Pocket Guide invites people to discover local tenants, attractions and events. Our partnership has since grown to encompass further individual centre identities across Australia, key seasonal campaigns and custom-built interactive spaces within their centres. We thank Charter Hall for their trust and continued dedication to leading with community, giving this work room to grow alongside the people and places it represents.
