Creating a visual identity for a new Division within the Department of Defence
Graphic design
Strategic communication
Change management
Challenge
When the Military Personnel Division (MPD) was established in July 2023, it brought all human resources functions across Navy, Army and Air Force together under one roof for the first time. It was a landmark change, and it needed to look like one.
The new Division required a visual identity that worked on three levels: signalling change to the broader Defence enterprise, giving a diverse internal workforce of APS staff, ADF personnel and contractors something to identify with, and building trust that would make communications and engagement land with 80,000 ADF personnel.
Approach
We built MPD’s visual identity as a deliberate extension of the ADF brand. The design incorporated the ADF ribbon with three service colours into a clean MPD wordmark, with purple representing the joint force communicating integration clearly and providing a sense of unity and reassurance from day one.
A professional photoshoot with ADF and APS staff put the people of the Division front and centre, creating unifying imagery that reinforced MPD’s mission to generate warfighting capability and take care of their people. Alongside this, we created illustrated service hat assets, a timeless motif representing each of the three services that could be used consistently across communications over time.
The identity was applied across a full template suite including; PowerPoint presentations, email signatures, reports, letterheads, business process maps, and plan on a page templates. It was rolled out across every touchpoint the Division had with the workforce and the rest of the Department.
Impact
MPD launched with a clear, cohesive identity that worked for every audience.
Staff had a brand to work with and belong to. The Department could see that something had meaningfully changed. And the ADF workforce experienced a Division that across every communication, every platform, every format looked and felt like one.
The Department could see that something had meaningfully changed.
More of our work with MPD
Facilitating two-way engagement through a live-stream webinar series for the Australian Defence Force
As the Military Personnel Division (MPD) introduced new policies, processes, and systems to an ADF workforce of 80,000 people, one-way communication wasn’t enough.
Driving digital adoption through strategic change communication
As the Military Personnel Division (MPD) introduced new policies, processes, and systems to an ADF workforce of 80,000 people, one-way communication wasn’t enough.
Six branches. One new Division. No single source of truth.
When the Military Personnel Division (MPD) was established in July 2023 bringing Navy, Army, Air Force and enabling support HR branches together under one Division, its intranet didn’t reflect the change.
Providing strategic communication for a major Defence workforce transformation
When Military Personnel Division (MPD) was established, it undertook a major workforce transformation overhauling systems, processes and policies simultaneously, across four service cultures and an intergenerational ADF workforce the internal team needed two things from the outset: a robust communications strategy and the surge capacity to deliver it.
Simplifying complex processes into content the workforce can understand
The Military Personnel Division (MPD) manages complex career management processes for Australia’s entire ADF workforce. As those processes changed and evolved, the Division faced a persistent challenge: how do you help thousands of sailors, soldiers, and aviators and their commanders genuinely understand multi-step, policy-heavy processes without relying on the lengthy documents?
Simplifying complex processes with animated videos
Australian Defence Force personnel needed a clear and engaging way to communicate new human resources processes to a diverse, multigenerational workforce. These processes were often complex, involved multiple stakeholders and were prone to misunderstandings.