Into the next chapter: Refreshing our brand

Jimbour House

They say change is as good as a holiday, and at Jimbour, we welcome both. 

The grandest of all the mansions built on the Darling Downs in the late 1800s, Jimbour has long been a significant landmark for the region, as well as a place of rare beauty – especially since its restoration by the Russell family in 1925. 

The Jimbour residence and gardens have served as a significant landmark for the region for over a century, but in that time, our presence in the community, the events we host, and the services we provide have changed. 

That’s why we decided it was time to refresh the Jimbour brand to accompany us into the next chapter of the Jimbour story.

The logo 

The previous Jimbour logo featuring the House illustration was appropriate when Jimbour House was essentially the only element of our brand, but as we’ve had the opportunity to grow and feed premium cattle on our property, grow grapes for wine making, and host once-in-a-lifetime events on our grounds, the House no longer encompasses all that Jimbour has to offer.

For this reason, we decided to remove the house illustration from the core Jimbour logo, so it could sit alongside our beef and wine products and our events brand, which connects us with our community throughout the year and attracts life-long friends through private and corporate events. 

“Our purpose is to ensure that the community can share the tranquility and vision of excellence that Jimbour represents,” says Jimbour owner David Russell. 

“As time passes, the way in which that sharing occurs will change – be it from visitors flying in, to family occasions such as weddings, enjoyment of our produce, leading edge corporate engagements, and in due course, glamping and accommodation development. 

“We are particularly pleased to be able to partner with the Western Downs Regional Council and the Queensland Music Festival for events such as Opera at Jimbour and Big Skies, and with the Dalby Arts Council for their regular presentations. We look forward to sharing all these with an ever-growing community of friends at Jimbour.” 

The supporting elements

A custom-made typeface was created by pairing bold, structured letterforms with a handful of soft curves to create a sophisticated bespoke typemark. It speaks to both the history of the property and the modern romance of the people and places it represents. 

We paired this new logo and typeface with a colour palette inspired by the earth around us and the history that Jimbour embodies.

Casting your eyes around the property, you’ll see our brand colours unfurl before you – the soil, the trees, the sky at dusk and dawn, our graceful residence, and more.

While the Jimbour residence no longer features in the logo, it will still be a part of our brand moving forward. A number of hand-drawn illustrations represent the Jimbour house and property such as the Bunya Pine, a tree native to the Western Downs area; the Jimbour house; sorghum that is often grown on our property and surrounds; and palm fronds which are also found throughout the region and property. 

The next chapter 

Jimbour owner David Russell says the brand refresh is the next logical step in the property’s evolution.

“Custodianship of a property such as Jimbour carries with it an obligation to maintain the vision of excellence which inspired its construction,” he says. 

“From its earliest days, Jimbour has been a centre of innovation and leadership, be it the racing industry, the eradication of the prickly pear, or the building of local enterprise. Its custodians have always sought to make Jimbour a focus of productive enterprise and community engagement. 

“The ways in which these objectives have been pursued have necessarily developed over time, as has the community which Jimbour serves. Advances in communication – initially in the form of railway and roads, more recently in the form of aviation and now the internet – have changed both Jimbour’s communications range and delivery mechanism.

“Our first venture into branded products came with our entry into the wine business in 2000.  The house was very much the symbol of the brand, both for the wine itself and the associated product range. Opera at Jimbour joined our existing cultural events in 2003. Later on, we decided to bring other activities, which had always been part of the Jimbour experience, within the scope of an all-encompassing Jimbour brand.

“In 2014, my son Andrew developed a paper on the topic for our directors which comprehensively addressed our approach to these activities. In 2020, Imad Khalife initiated the idea of a separate business division, which included the hiring of new management, an integrated website and social media development with the aim of refreshing and repositioning the Jimbour brand to scale our reach. Now, we look forward to rolling out our new company image and expanding our offering.”

Neredith Elliott, Jimbour’s General Manager for Hospitality and Tourism, says the new look reflects an exciting new era for the property, which underwent a refresh of its own in 2020. 

“For most of the year our house and garden were closed to the general public, during which time the team were able to concentrate on repairs and maintenance with a key focus on rejuvenating the vegetable garden,” she says. 

“Regional tourism is now flourishing, with many travellers choosing to explore their own backyard, and enquiries for weddings and events in 2022 are booming. At Jimbour, we are focused on an extraordinary year ahead and can’t wait to open our doors fully, captivating our guests with new experiences, bespoke events and unforgettable moments.” 

Learn more about Jimbour’s new direction at jimbour.com 

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