Central General Practice

Placing the story of care in
the heart of Mansfield

Scope
Identity, Service & Design Strategy

Team
Bec Nally, Creative Director

Client
Central General Practice Mansfield

—
2024

Central General Practice (CGP) Mansfield is a long-standing rural healthcare provider, woven into the fabric of the Mansfield community, on Taungurung Country, over 30 years. As Mansfield faces rapid growth and demographic shifts, CGP recognised the need to develop a visual identity that could honour its legacy while welcoming a new generation of patients and services.

CGP engaged Public Journal to lead a communication design approach that would reposition the practice as a trusted and future-ready health service, deeply embedded in place. The new brand identity needed to resonate with both long-time locals and new residents arriving from metropolitan areas, providing flexibility, clarity, and continuity across all touchpoints.

Central General Practice (CGP) Mansfield is a long-standing rural healthcare provider, woven into the fabric of the Mansfield community, on Taungurung Country, over 30 years. As Mansfield faces rapid growth and demographic shifts, CGP recognised the need to develop a visual identity that could honour its legacy while welcoming a new generation of patients and services.

CGP engaged Public Journal to lead a communication design approach that would reposition the practice as a trusted and future-ready health service, deeply embedded in place. The new brand identity needed to resonate with both long-time locals and new residents arriving from metropolitan areas, providing flexibility, clarity, and continuity across all touchpoints.

Central General Practice Mansfield

Public Journal approached the work by listening to the CGP team and understanding the unique social dynamics of Mansfield. CGP's role in the community extends beyond clinical care — it is a relational hub, a place where trust is built over decades.

The last thing the practice needed was some flash design work from Melbourne—detatched from the real people living and working here. Finding an authentic voice became about listening and gathering threads.

Public Journal approached the work by listening to the CGP team and understanding the unique social dynamics of Mansfield. CGP's role in the community extends beyond clinical care — it is a relational hub, a place where trust is built over decades.

The last thing the practice needed was some flash design work from Melbourne—detatched from the real people living and working here. Finding an authentic voice became about listening and gathering threads.

View of Mansfield district from Mount Buller / Warrinebut (Bulla Bulla means 'Good' in Taungurung)

The design process was guided by conversations with CGP's leadership team, who brought sensitivity to the legacy of the practice while seeking a bold, adaptable future. Throughout, Public Journal remained committed to CGP's core values of Care, Culture, and Community, ensuring the visual identity would reflect the practice's dedication to compassionate, individualised care; a supportive and inclusive workplace; and an active contribution to community wellbeing.

Equally, the service design process focused on how the new clinic could best support the patient journey, the work of the clinical teams, and the daily rhythms of care. The new facilities were not simply an infrastructure upgrade—they were designed to better hold the growing demands on rural healthcare while continuing to feel local, known, and deeply attuned to the community.

CGP's distributed model supports a wide range of care—from general consultations and obstetrics to anaesthetics, skin procedures, wound care, vaccinations, travel medicine, pathology, and the Health Optimisation Program.

CGP’s service design prioritises flexibility, proximity, and relational care, ensuring that patients can access support where and when they need it. The new clinic further supports this by offering a calm, well-structured space that enhances the patient experience and makes it easier for clinical teams to work collaboratively.

The practice’s ability to meet people where they are—whether that is in a remote township, a school campus, a hospital ward, an aged care facility, or within the new central clinic—reflects a sustained commitment to community-centred health.

The design process was guided by conversations with CGP's leadership team, who brought sensitivity to the legacy of the practice while seeking a bold, adaptable future. Throughout, Public Journal remained committed to CGP's core values of Care, Culture, and Community, ensuring the visual identity would reflect the practice's dedication to compassionate, individualised care; a supportive and inclusive workplace; and an active contribution to community wellbeing.

Equally, the service design process focused on how the new clinic could best support the patient journey, the work of the clinical teams, and the daily rhythms of care. The new facilities were not simply an infrastructure upgrade—they were designed to better hold the growing demands on rural healthcare while continuing to feel local, known, and deeply attuned to the community.

CGP's distributed model supports a wide range of care—from general consultations and obstetrics to anaesthetics, skin procedures, wound care, vaccinations, travel medicine, pathology, and the Health Optimisation Program.

CGP’s service design prioritises flexibility, proximity, and relational care, ensuring that patients can access support where and when they need it. The new clinic further supports this by offering a calm, well-structured space that enhances the patient experience and makes it easier for clinical teams to work collaboratively.

The practice’s ability to meet people where they are—whether that is in a remote township, a school campus, a hospital ward, an aged care facility, or within the new central clinic—reflects a sustained commitment to community-centred health.

Appointment Cards

Envelopes

Notepads and Envelopes

The communication design is not a static solution but a responsive framework that can grow alongside CGP’s evolving services. The logo system allows CGP to flex between formal and informal settings, supporting both community recognition and internal shorthand.

The design accommodates CGP's umbrella approach to allied health, creating pathways for future brand extensions without diluting its core identity. By centring the story in place, the brand becomes more than an aesthetic update — it becomes a vessel for CGP's community-centred philosophy.

The communication design is not a static solution but a responsive framework that can grow alongside CGP’s evolving services. The logo system allows CGP to flex between formal and informal settings, supporting both community recognition and internal shorthand.

The design accommodates CGP's umbrella approach to allied health, creating pathways for future brand extensions without diluting its core identity. By centring the story in place, the brand becomes more than an aesthetic update — it becomes a vessel for CGP's community-centred philosophy.

The new identity system offers a place between past and future. The brand pattern is a soft abstraction of Mansfield's mountain ranges, rivers, and high plains, positioning the practice not just geographically but relationally at the centre of community care. This visual story anchors CGP in place, creating a recognisable symbol that speaks to the lived experiences of the people who pass through its doors.

Public Journal developed a dual logotype system: the full name, Central General Practice, for formal communications, and the CGP monogram for internal references and allied health extensions.

La Nord, the selected typeface, is a contemporary sans-serif designed by Raoul Gottschling, notable for its distinctive, tightly curved lowercase 'a' and subtle quirks that give the type a unique personality while maintaining clarity. Its forms offer a balance of approachability and quiet sophistication, supporting the brand's intention to feel both in tune with the times and deeply human.

The grey and green colour palette is intentionally restrained, providing a calm, grounding foundation in response to the local landscape.

The new identity system offers a place between past and future. The brand pattern is a soft abstraction of Mansfield's mountain ranges, rivers, and high plains, positioning the practice not just geographically but relationally at the centre of community care. This visual story anchors CGP in place, creating a recognisable symbol that speaks to the lived experiences of the people who pass through its doors.

Public Journal developed a dual logotype system: the full name, Central General Practice, for formal communications, and the CGP monogram for internal references and allied health extensions.

La Nord, the selected typeface, is a contemporary sans-serif designed by Raoul Gottschling, notable for its distinctive, tightly curved lowercase 'a' and subtle quirks that give the type a unique personality while maintaining clarity. Its forms offer a balance of approachability and quiet sophistication, supporting the brand's intention to feel both in tune with the times and deeply human.

The grey and green colour palette is intentionally restrained, providing a calm, grounding foundation in response to the local landscape.

The communication design actively strengthens CGP's position as a vocal advocate for locally governed healthcare, particularly important in a rural context where pressures to centralise services are growing. CGP’s new visual language offers quiet resistance to homogenised, corporate healthcare branding, instead amplifying the significance of place-based care.