I re-positioned the branding to reflect Welcome to Country’s key message of “vibrant, living culture” and “connection.” The website enhanced user engagement by using a flat site structure, custom tags, and search functionality, allowing users to discover new regions and activities.

Welcome to Country is a not-for-profit company supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. Their platform supports and markets small tourism operators, while increasing awareness of these unique experiences among Australians.

Challenge

Customers did not associate many regions in Australia with Indigenous culture. This lack of recognition limited the visibility and appreciation of Indigenous tourism experiences, impacting the businesses supported by Welcome to Country.

As the Product Designer in a three-person team reporting directly to the CEO, I was responsible for all stages of design from branding to UX and UI design. I aimed to create an engaging and respectful digital experience that honoured the beauty and vibrancy of humanity’s oldest continuous culture.

Approach

I grounded the brand in hand-drawn assets provided by Gilimbaa, an Indigenous-led design agency. Using a minimal design aesthetic with organic morphing shapes, I re-positioned the branding to reflect the core messages of “vibrant, living culture” and “connection.”

The original logo mark referenced the Australian sun. Being non-Indigenous, I wanted the aesthetic to be respectful of Gilimbaa's vision. I used images of sunrises and sunsets all over Australia to build the reference colour palette.

Employees had a say in creating their business cards - each one featured a unique section of the journey map. When placed side-by-side, they add up to the full picture.

Product Design

Australian tourism has a lot to offer, but how do you highlight its cultural diversity? Our research revealed customers did not associate many regions with Indigenous culture. To solve this we kept the site structure as flat as possible. First, we grouped experiences into collections, then built a custom tagging language and search functionality using Algolia.

While researching competitor designs I noticed they used more traditional square imagery. To highlight Welcome to Country's authenticity, I used organic morphing shapes.