Dunedin’s much loved, iconic George Street is undergoing a revitalisation. The two-year project will see infrastructure upgraded below ground, and a vibrant new city centre including public spaces, artwork and significant plantings developed above ground.

A project of this scale always results in significant disruption to residents and businesses. To mitigate this disruption, the Dunedin City Council chose Walsh & Beck to manage communications to the public and support businesses throughout the construction phase, enabling businesses to communicate with their customers, and the public to plan their travel and avoid delays.

Our team is focused on bringing positivity and enthusiasm to this project by creating positive, engaging visual communications that allow people to understand the George Street vision, and what they should expect in the coming months and years. We have developed the Totally Georgeous brand and campaign and collaborated with Ngāi Tahu artist Ephraim Russell on visual elements such as signage and wayfinding. We developed regular marketing campaigns to support community communications and assisted with business support in the form of a guide and collateral for businesses. The interior and exterior of Pītau Whakatipu – The Project Office, was designed by our team as were the communication tools such as staging maps and timelines to assist the public and businesses to understand the process.

Working alongside the DCC, mana whenua, Isaac Construction, and Jasmax we’ll be using a range of technology and tools to continue to engage with the public and businesses to make sure they’re informed every step of the way, while the project team work to create a better, brighter George Street for everyone to share.

We are currently working on documenting the project through a series of video-shorts to help the public understand the process of the project, key features, and the cultural narrative.

Keep an eye out for developments as the project team work to make a Totally Georgeous Central City.