To mark the 125th anniversary of Australia’s Federation, Cumberland City Council sought a visual language that could honour local history while speaking to the diversity and lived experience of its contemporary community.

The challenge was to create a unifying hero image and heritage trail map that could operate across multiple platforms — teardrop flags, print, digital, and public-facing environments — while remaining accessible, inclusive, and immediately recognisable as Cumberland.

The work needed to balance historical depth with clarity and warmth: celebrating heritage without nostalgia, and civic pride without exclusion.

Above all, the visuals needed to hold many stories at once — reflecting a place shaped by migration, culture, industry, and community gathering.

Cumberland City Council engaged Sydney-based collage artist Kubi Vasak to develop the hero illustration and heritage trail map as a single, cohesive visual system for the 125 Years of Federation program. Working within Council brand guidelines, the strategy layered local landmarks, symbols, and narratives to express unity through accumulation rather than a singular story.

Background forms were drawn directly from the topographic contours of the Cumberland region, grounding the work physically and conceptually in place while introducing movement and continuity that echoes the area’s evolving story. To balance heritage with celebration, the colour palette was drawn from Cumberland Council’s branding, infusing the compositions with warmth, vibrancy, and inclusivity while maintaining strong civic recognition.

Federation is reframed not as a distant national milestone, but as a lived, local experience — shaped by landscape, people, and shared history — with clarity, accessibility, and legibility guiding all design decisions.

The visual identity draws on Cumberland’s architectural, cultural, and natural markers — weaving together heritage buildings, community spaces, and nationally significant symbols such as the flannel flower.

Collage and analogue techniques are used to suggest connection, layering, and continuity across time. Historical and contemporary elements coexist within the compositions, reinforcing the idea that Cumberland’s identity is not fixed, but continually shaped by the people who live there.

The hero illustration was developed as a flexible centrepiece, designed to scale across teardrop flags, print collateral, and digital platforms while retaining clarity and visual impact.

The heritage trail map extends the same illustration language into a functional and educational format, guiding residents and visitors through key local landmarks including Linnwood House, Boothtown Aqueduct, Granville Town Hall, Rookwood Necropolis, and Lidcombe Hospital.

Together, the hero image and map function as both celebration and invitation — encouraging exploration, learning, and participation.

The project delivers a cohesive civic visual identity that anchors Cumberland City Council’s 125 Years of Federation program in place, people, and shared history.

The program’s visual language transforms heritage into something accessible, contemporary, and community-led — strengthening local pride while making Cumberland’s past and present visible across public spaces.