One of Helensville’s best known historic buildings is to become the town’s new icon.
The old Post Office building on Commercial Road is featured on the town’s new branding, which will begin appearing on signs and tourist attractions around Helensville from March onwards.
The post office, built in 1911, is just one of many historic buildings that give Helensville its special heritage identity that artist Fiona Whyte was commissioned to capture in the new branding.
The image of the post office is accompanied by the words, “Yours to discover” to reflect the diverse range of attractions Helensville has to offer visitors who are prepared to invest some time discovering the town.
The logo depicts the Post Office building placed on a curve to symbolise the coast and also the gentle slope at the entrance to the town. The blue curve is also representative of the Kaipara River, a key geographic feature of town.
Local residents and businesses identified the need for Helensville’s identity to be reflected through branding around the town during consultation at public meetings.
The Helensville Business Association and Rodney District Council invited a wide section of local representatives and other key stakeholders to contribute their ideas for new look branding. Council staff assisted with facilitating these discussions.
The Council and Business Association were fortunate to have the assistance of Eric Thompson, a senior tutor from the Massey University School of Design who helped with identifying the town’s defining features and translating these into visual elements which shaped the design brief. The key design elements which the logo needed to reflect were identified as creativity, community and heritage.
Artist Fiona Whyte was then chosen to develop the design for the brand. Fiona lived in Helensville from 1999 until 2008, and her work has featured in New Zealand House and Garden magazine. Fiona is also listed in the New Zealand Who's Who Guide to Art, Architecture, Crafts and Design.
The Helensville District Business Association are the ‘owners’ of the new brand. Association President Sarah Legg says that having the new brand is a huge asset to the town and associated community groups as there is the opportunity to use it for town signage, promotions and flags and in conjunction with existing community group logos. Eric Thompson will help monitor that the brand is being consistently.
With the new branding in place to attract visitors to Helensville, the many attractions of the town may no longer remain a well kept secret.