Black Rock Gets the Spotlight
How do you explain a complex water treatment facility to the community it serves—and make them care? Barwon Water’s Black Rock precinct is one of the most advanced water and resource management sites in regional Victoria, but despite its impact on water sustainability, organics recycling, and climate resilience, community understanding of its role remained limited. Barwon Water needed to raise awareness and build water literacy, not just about the what of Black Rock, but the why. Why it matters for future water security. Why it’s central to a circular economy. Why its story is everyone’s story.
Through early engagement and immersion in Barwon Water’s vision, Hive recognised that the challenge wasn’t simplifying the science, but humanising the story. People care about the environment, the future of their community, and the legacy they leave for future generations. The Black Rock precinct isn’t just infrastructure—it’s a symbol of innovation, stewardship, and regional pride. To build understanding, we needed to connect the public to that deeper narrative with design tools that could make it tangible and inspiring.
Hive delivered an integrated creative response that translated complex infrastructure into an engaging public narrative. We began by shaping a clear and compelling brand identity for the Black Rock precinct, supported by a flexible visual treatment that guided the look and feel of all campaign materials. This was brought to life through a narrative booklet designed for both digital and print use, supported by a short-form video and a curated image library that captured the scale, purpose and character of the site. To ensure consistency and ease of use, we developed a suite of adaptable templates and a supporting asset library, enabling Barwon Water’s teams to extend the campaign across internal and external channels.
These assets were applied to key engagement platforms, including an updated Your Say page, creating a seamless and accessible experience for the community. Throughout, our focus remained on creating work that not only informed, but invited ongoing engagement and strengthened the region’s connection to its most vital resource.
Textured shapes reflecting ripples in water reflect movement, innovation and environment.
The narrative booklet is a visually engaging, multi-purpose tool designed to tell the story of the Black Rock precinct in an accessible way
The asset library was applied to the YourSay page, expanding campaign imagery to Barwon Water's digital engagement hub.