Fresh from the Field — Mental Health Awareness Week by Fly

Ahead of DA’s Auckland workshop Designing a Culturally Authentic Aotearoa this Fresh from the Field features a campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week by Fly.

Combining tikanga Maori, te reo Maori and the latest research into mental health workshop facilitator Johnson McKay (Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui Waikato, Ngāti Porou) owner and Creative Strategist at Fly, created a game changing campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week.

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The Brief:
Fly was asked develop a campaign to engage people in enjoying the benefits of nature to improve mental health. The goal was to engage children, teenagers, young adults, families, schools, work places and anyone in between. So… all New Zealanders.
The foundation of the campaign strategy was a built on the insight that Māori attitudes to the environment would align meaningfully with the rest of Aotearoa and to find that common ground that all New Zealander’s can proudly stand on was essential. The campaign was built on this interlacing of tikanga Māori and research into the “Five Ways” to improve mental health.

The Response:
The core illustration was created by Joe Carrington. Embedded into the work is all Five Ways, anchored within a Maori context. Ranginui is a source of strength and mana as we look to the heavens and it’s beauty and majesty.
Papatūānuku embraces us from below, the source of our food, places to rest, to exercise and to connect with people. The whare nui represents wāhi tapu to Māori, places where one can be in harmony with nature and in connection with whānau and community.

The focus of the campaign was to a provide wide variety of resources for community groups, schools and work places to download and order from MHAW.org.nz. The resources included posters, desktop screen savers, e-mail signatures, Primary School lesson plans, work place activations, social content, web content, t-shirts and many other ways to help Kiwis engage and be part of the week.
Our highlight: the entire team at Mental Health Foundation are passionate, talented experts who bring their various skills and points of view to create something truly beneficial for all New Zealanders.

Contributors:

Strategy – Johnson McKay
Creative Direction – Christopher Gough Palmer
Design Director – Jason Fantonial
Design – Storm Smith
Illustration – Joe Carrington
Campaign Director – Melody Casse, Robyn Gough Palmer