Novella
Novella is a new neighbourhood for Mickleham by Pask. From strategy and design to the roll-out of digital, printed and on-site assets, Seesaw was engaged to deliver a brand that stands apart in a crowded landscape. With Stage 1 almost sold within weeks of the campaign launch and Stage 2 due to commence, the brand has built on Pask’s legacy of considered masterplans in Melbourne’s booming northern suburbs.
In literary terms, a ‘novella’ lies somewhere between a short novel and a long short story. The positioning of Novella as a place to ‘write your next chapter’ saw this theme extended through positive and forward-looking storytelling, capturing the excitement and deeply personal connection of having a place to call home.
Brand Identity
Printed Collateral
Strategy
Copywriting
Larry Vila Pouca
We brought illustrator Alice Oehr on board to capture Novella's character. Emphasising inclusivity across ages, cultures, body types and family structures, the illustrations represent an authentic yet aspirational picture of Mickleham. A suite of layered compositions was created, with individual characters and scenes also supplied as spot illustrations. This flexible system allowed elements to be combined, isolated and adapted across print, digital and spatial applications.
Masterplanned communities such as Novella are marketed over several years and multiple land releases. Our printed applications therefore needed to remain relevant and flexible throughout the life of the project. The hero piece is the brochure, featuring a three-quarter Colorplan Rust wrap that partially conceals the cover image while providing a practical pocket for stage release flyers and other material. The brand was extended across a printed collateral toolkit, including Living Design Principles documentation, stage release flyer templates and masterplan collateral.
The Novella display suite demonstrates the importance of first impressions. Colourful flags and signage signal its presence on arrival, before a landscaped pathway leads visitors towards the building, where illustrated Novella families appear as decals across the glass. Built on site by ARKit, the warm interior brings the brand palette to life through timber floors, furniture and finishes in rust, purple, green and cream. Lightboxes share the Pask and Novella stories, while Mapovis is integrated into the main table to help buyers navigate available land. Looking out to the fields beyond, it’s easy to imagine calling this new neighbourhood home, and writing your family’s next chapter at Novella.
For the brand’s photography, James Geer captured a warm and authentic vision of family life at Novella. Moving beyond conventional property imagery, diverse talent, natural compositions and expressive gestures give the campaign a refreshingly honest and human quality. From breakfast in the backyard to playtime in the living room, familiar scenes were shot from unexpected angles, with light, shadow and texture adding depth. Videographer Justin Kane joined Geer on the day, bringing these family moments to life through film.
With first home buyers as a key audience, the Novella website needed to educate, reassure and inspire potential buyers while guiding them toward booking an appointment at the display suite. Mapovis integration lets users explore current land and house-and-land availability for each stage release, while a dedicated buyer portal provides regular updates on the community's progress. Our broader digital toolkit developed for Pask and their agents included eDM templates, digital advertising, social media tiles and video edits tailored to specific social posts and campaigns.
