A Design for Life – Melbourne First Aid
Six months on
In early 2009, Melbourne First Aid launched a new brand identity – the product of a successful partnership with graphic designers, Studio Round. Through the Business Immersions program, this client-designer collaboration was able to breathe new life into a vital Victorian business. Six months on, Melbourne First Aid continues to gain market strength, reaping the benefits of a unified and mutually rewarding design partnership.
Melbourne First Aid is a small, family-owned and operated business based in Werribee, Victoria. A relatively young business, Melbourne First Aid has established a niche market in high-quality first aid training. Since registering as a training organisation in 2007, Melbourne First Aid has provided dynamic small class courses to child care centres, schools, workplaces and the general public.
Studio Round is a Melbourne-based design company with an enviable reputation for outstanding design. They pride themselves on having the ability to build solid partnerships with their clients, while developing thought-provoking solutions to their communication problems through creative thinking and mutual understanding.
When Studio Round set out to create a new brand image for Melbourne First Aid, both parties embarked upon a mutual journey of discovery. Studio Round provided much more than a design solution; they worked closely with Melbourne First Aid to coax out and articulate the business’s values and ideal image that the client hoped to attain through its new brand identity.
Melbourne First Aid had a clear idea of how they wanted to appear to their clients, but this wasn’t being projected through their current brand image. Studio Round helped the client to define their strengths, firm up their values and articulate the impact they hoped a new brand identity would have on existing and prospective customers.
Within a 14-week timeframe, Studio Round worked with Melbourne First Aid to develop an authentic brand image and a set of templates and image files that could be used across a range of marketing collateral.
Six months later, this partnership continues to prove that successful design collaboration can provide much needed lifeblood for any business in need of image resuscitation. Melbourne First Aid estimates that revenue from individual sales has increased by 300% since the conclusion of the immersions program.
“Due to the increased number of public sessions, our workload has obviously increased. We now have a part-time trainer, which has freed us up to work more ‘on’ the business than ‘in’ the business.” – Melbourne First Aid
Studio Round’s strategic development workshops will contribute to Melbourne First Aid’s future success as keenly as the new brand image. Each process relies on the other. This collaboration shows that it takes a generous designer and a courageous company to marry the two forms in harmony.
“The immersions program motivated us to use designers. It gave us the opportunity to determine how we present ourselves to others and to test this image with design professionals. Studio Round's brand and image design has provided us with a much stronger professional outlook." – Melbourne First Aid
Images: Above left - Melbourne First Aid's original business card design
Above right - The new business card designed by Studio Round
Click here to download the complete Melbourne First Aid 6 months on case study.
Facts at a glance
Challenge
To create a brand image for Melbourne First Aid that accurately represents the company both locally and to international markets (in particular South East Asia), appeals to target audiences and is able to be used across a range of marketing formats.
Solution
Through consultation with the client, the designer developed a brand image that consistently and accurately conveys the company’s desired image and is suitable for incorporating across a range of marketing formats.
Results
The client now has a set of templates and image files aligning the company’s desired image with communication and marketing collateral. Customers now see the company as being different from its multi-national competitors.
Related links
Melbourne First Aid - www.melbournefirstaid.com
Round Design - www.round.com.au
18 January 2010