Working with the West Coast Council, tourism operators, and the regions 4,000 residents, the project set a new standard for comprehensive community consultation and regional branding in the local government and tourism sector over the course of a 10 month period. The new brand identity embraces the West Coast’s confronting history in a story that distinguishes it from the rest of the country. A whole of region brand was needed to shift perceptions about the area. The Identity took an open and inclusive approach, through an open source brand system that the entire region and community could utilise, to tell their own stories that collectively shape a cohesive identity for the region. Building an open source brand identity meant the identity system needed to be highly accessible and usable by any of the West Coast’s residents, tourism operators and business owners in the West Coast. We created a set of identity elements that allow a multitude of anecdotal, distinctly West Coast messages to be expressed. Coupled with a bespoke typeface, iconography, and a photography library that defies the usual tourism imagery, the region can convey a coherent narrative and regional style, whilst maintaining the individual personality of each town, business or initiative.