Australian Railway Association

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) is the peak industry body for rail in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. ARA engaged Voodoo Creative to refresh and revitalise their visual identity. Key aims of the project included:

• A desire to overcome negative perceptions of the rail industry and reposition it as fresh, modern and efficient
• Communicate the professionalism of ARA as the peak body for rail
• Convey the environmentally friendly credentials of the industry and rail as a preferred mode of transport for passengers and freight
• Ensure that the visual identity was suitably flexible and scalable to be executed across a broad range of collateral and media

Voodoo selected a fresh, vibrant colour palette aimed at communicating the modern outlook for the industry and desired brand position. Specifically, a striking green was selected for the primary brand colour to convey the environmentally friendly credentials of the industry.

A modern san-serif typeface was chosen due to its similarities with mid-century rail signage. The open-source licensing and freely available web formats of the typeface ensured that the brand consistency could easily be managed by ARA and their stakeholders.

Rail track line elements, inspired by modern rail maps were adopted as core brand elements and became the inspiration for supporting elements and the execution for collateral. The application of the track lines allows stationery and marketing collateral to be connected via joining patterns. The simplicity of the brand elements has ensured a clean, modern tone.

The fresh new brand has been successfully implemented and has been received enthusiastically by all stakeholders. The ARA now feels that their corporate identity aligns with the Association’s vision, and reflects a positive, modern image to the public.