A flag for Gippsland...

Fun fact — our vast region Gippsland shares an equivalent land size to that of Switzerland. Yep. At 41,556 km2, we're a shade larger than our Swiss counterparts, sized 41,285 km2. Known globally for mountain peaks, fancy watches and Milka chocolate, Switzerland's identity can be summed up with an incredibly simple yet powerful device: A white cross on a red square.

And so begs the question: What of Gippsland's identity? Can we sum up our collections of towns, landscapes and characteristics in one simple graphic?

As readers may know, Gippslandia is a publication born from my design studio, The View From Here in Traralgon. To ponder this topic further I invited my network of designer friends (including other local studios, former locals, and outsiders) to provide a response: a flag, emblem or motif that Gippsland can get behind as the Swiss do their Swiss Cross. Though my studio refrained to submit in this edition, we received a cheeky mention. It’s a collection of entries more diverse than anticipated. We may not all agree on the outcome this time, but it’s a dialogue we intend to continue. 1 — Tristan Hewatt / UX Designer, Melbourne & overseas "Gippsland is difficult to capture in a single image. I decided to simplify the geography and local shires of Gippsland with squares and rectangles, each with its own unique identity adding to the whole. A magnificent piece of land with endless opportunities to sit in front of a campfire with a cup of tea... or a scotch. We Are Gippsland." 2 — Craig Brown / Arteria Studio, Bendigo "I've included a spot/circle motif referenced from ferns and bracken and appropriated it through the geographical boundaries of Gippsland. This has been further broken down into a parent and child system, bringing a bit more flexibility to the suite. The palette was defined from my own perceived differences in the visual character of those sub-regions and their defining qualities, and finally, the typography is clean and humble, tracked wide to create a feeling of space and calm." 3 — Andy Murray / With Gatsby, Melbourne "Lakes Entrance is a second home to me. Driving from Melbourne in my Toyota Avalon, I'll stay in the same wooden house my grandparents stuck on an oversized truck, cut it half, and put back together again in the 80s. Boats are not so different. Waters rise and fall, but the ritual stays the same." 4 — Merryn Padgett / Brand Nirvana, Bairnsdale "Diverse history, natural assets. Human potential. Sparking connection. Individual consciousness. Innovation. Creation. Exploration. Legacy. Expansive collective impact, social capital. Micro-meso-macro. Unified wisdom. Collaboration. Dreaming. Experiencing. Inclusive, progressive. Receptive. Sustainable. Brataualung. Brayakaulung. Tatungalung. Brabralung. Krauatungalung. Six municipalities, five clans. One region. Aligning. Gippsland’s future motif." 5 — Brendan Hibbert / BHD Design & AGDA WA, Perth "I feel it has a future-focused message. Perhaps not what you are after in terms of a visual response… Or branding. Or flag. But, it came from a bright, positive place, a genuine hope for the future – ‘Farewell Fossil Fuels’." 6 — Matthew Brown / ANZ, Melbourne "As a UX Designer, we spend most of our days standing in front of a whiteboard sketching. Testing concepts with stakeholders, noting down pain points, issues etc. With your project, I thought I would treat it just like a project at ANZ by conducting a quick workshop. I asked participants what they knew about Gippsland. Some quick desk research was conducted via Google and Twitter. Once completed we identified the issues (Logging / VLine) and the opportunities (Renewable Energy Grants / Agriculture and Tourism). The next steps would be to continue research by getting out there and speaking to people from Gippsland, Melbourne and beyond to test our assumptions." 7, 8, 9 & 10 — Hannah & David Constantine / Pleasure Projects, Hawthorn "Regional Development Victoria has identified that growth in Gippsland's food production and tourism are key to the area's future prosperity. We thought a single letter could come to represent all the good produce that comes from Gippsland. Milk, cheese, meat, fresh veg, fine beers and wines. Look for the G." 11 — Yong Ho Moon & Francis Lim / Futureinform, Melbourne "Creative endeavours thrive independent of place and structures. While many of us creatives toiled in urban/suburban surrounds, we often think what it must be like to create on the other side. The view from here is of course not THE view from there. We are thrilled to contribute to Gippslandia's birthday issue, and we wish the magazine many more birthdays to come." For those of you that are more interested in the design process, we've included the full submission from Craig Brown of Arteria Studio so that you can explore the development of his logo.