LGx 2024 Awards Citations

LGx Awards for Excellence in Local Government Communications

Best Graphic Design

Creative and effective graphic design is critical for Queensland councils to effectively communicate with their diverse communities.

And the bar has been raised, with entries in this category more than triple last year, so judging was done against three criteria: clarity, accessibility and adaptability.

Clarity – whether it's in a public notice, safety alert or a community event invitation – ensures messages are easily understood. Judges looked for readability, using clear typography and stand-out (but not eye-watering) colour schemes.

Accessibility is equally important, with designs tailored to be inclusive of all audiences, including people who are visually challenged or where language is a barrier. Smart use of icons, clear language and adaptable formats are key here.

Adaptability allows councils to maintain consistency across different platforms, from printed materials to digital content.

A well-defined visual identity – using consistent colour palettes, logos and graphic elements – strengthens brand recognition and trust within the community.

This year’s winner utilised simple design and clever use of colour and icons to create a suite of materials that will be extremely effective in disaster management. That these materials were entirely created and designed in-house speaks volumes for Council’s resourcefulness and understanding of its community’s needs.

In a region that is frequently on the receiving end of severe weather events, it is crucial for this council to quickly share important information and alerts to ensure community safety.

To make its materials instantly recognisable and to provide a cohesive, updated look – while distinguishing its disaster communication from regular council information – the comms team developed and launched new templates, a set of icons and colour themes to represent different disaster types.

The resulting graphic design not only communicates effectively but also fosters a strong sense of connection, helping the community navigate Council’s wide range of emergency documents more easily.

The 2024 LGx Award for Best Use of Graphic Design goes to Lockyer Valley Regional Council for its disaster management rebrand.

Best Council Communications Team [>5]

Funnily enough, the winner of the Best Council Communications Team [>5] award could almost have won the five or fewer category, as this tight-knit group of dedicated professionals numbers just six – though across four FTE positions.

They create accurate, relevant and innovative comms for council staff and the wider community through website and social media content, beautiful photography and videography, print media, external media management, internal newsletters and, vitally for this region, coordinating disaster communications.

Though each team member has a specific skill set, they frequently step outside their main responsibilities to assist their colleagues, embodying a collaborative approach in a field where stress and strain frequently arise from unpredictable and last-minute – and always urgent – requests.

This team has – has earned – some respect, too. It isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo and offer well-reasoned advice to Council’s leadership. A case in point was when they advised the mayor about reducing posts on her preferred social media platform – a potentially risky move that paid off because of the team's established credibility and reputation for sound judgment.

Natural disasters are an all-too-familiar threat for this region and, as a former regular emergency broadcaster, I wanted to touch on how this council comms team responds to disaster activation, suiting up as the ‘Public Information Unit’ and prioritising disaster comms.

Despite personnel movements, the team makes a concerted effort to ensure it has the depth of knowledge, experience and availability to get the job done for the community. The region’s geography means that flooding can cut roads quickly, isolating team members at home or the office, so they have evolved their approach to have at least one team member in the Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC) as much as is possible, with other team members providing support from remote locations.

For some, this remote support might mean being on call from home throughout the night while also caring for their children. For others, it can mean sleeping on a couch in the office to ensure they’re not cut off from their next shift. (The glamour, hey?)

Finally, this team's personality contributes to its success. They are known for their cheerful demeanour and camaraderie, embodying and furthering Council's corporate values. The respect they’ve garnered from elected members, senior officers and regional journalists speaks volumes about their professionalism and effectiveness.

The winner of the 2024 LGx award for Best Council Communications Team [5 people or more] is Lockyer Valley Regional Council.