A digital invite to one of the world’s most liveable cities.
The Request
With a goal of increasing residency, Brand Canberra engaged us to develop a website as advanced as the city itself. Our charge was to amplify local voices and stories to inspire people to relocate to Australia’s national capital.
The Result
Powered by thoughtful design, cutting-edge website development, and content discoverability, we transformed Canberra.com.au—the first port of call for future residents—into a digital celebration of the innovation, opportunities, and stories of the city.
Recognised as one of the most innovative cities on the planet, Canberra is the perfect place to live, work, and study. We delivered a website that communicated this message loud & clear.
Ask any Canberran and they’ll tell you Australia’s capital city is so much more than the nation’s political centre. With a name derived from the Ngunnawal word for “meeting place,” Canberra’s charm not only lies in the beauty of the region, but in the city’s infrastructure, resources, values and, most importantly, people.
Together, these people make Canberra a brilliant place to visit, do business, invest, work, and live.
While functional, the previous Canberra.com.au website didn’t promote this message to its fullest potential. Brand Canberra called on us to address issues around the structure, presentation, and access to content and resources, delivering a website that reimagined this digital gateway to the city.
Working alongside our friends at True North Content [LINK], we put ourselves in the shoes of current and prospective Canberra families, students, entrepreneurs, and business owners to design a digital experience that satisfied their needs while also satisfying Brand Canberra’s operational goals.
What you need, when you need it
People aren’t just the heart of the city—they’re the heart of our strategy, too.
By overhauling the site’s user experience to focus on clean, clear presentation of content (combined with powerful Algolia search functionality), we made it fast and easy to find information about local events, scholarships, job opportunities, business resources, migration programs, and more.
Organizing site content into intuitive categories like Work, Study, Do Business, and Live, and incorporating interactive modules such as neighbourhood maps allows users to effortlessly navigate according to their needs.
Compelling Canberra stories
Showcasing the stories of real Canberrans makes a compelling case for why Canberra is the calibre of city it is.
This type of rich content works double duty, engendering pride of place and providing authentic testimonials that support Brand Canberra’s key messages.
To paint an accurate picture of the benefits of life in Canberra, we chose a modern, uncluttered user interface paired with bright, inviting lifestyle photography and design touches.
A better way to browse
Algolia is an Avenue favourite because this lightning-fast, intelligent search module dramatically improves user experience.
No matter where you are on the site, you’re only a keystroke away from real-time results (and your next destination).
Flexibility meets functionality
It’s no surprise that an inventive city like Canberra is constantly changing.
We streamlined the content creation process, making it a snap for the Brand Canberra team to present information in its best light using our library of custom content modules.
Key stats
Since launch, the site has proven to be an engaging experience, attracting target audience visitors throughout the rest of Australia and beyond:
Global website visits (outside of Australia): 33.6% of all traffic
Australian website visits (excluding Canberra region): 46.7% of all traffic
