Decolonising Design in Aotearoa: From the Studio to the Archive and back again

This essay by Kerry Ann Lee and accompanying illustration by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White was originally published on katoitoi.nz as part of a commissioned series of essays, interviews and artworks commissioned by Creative New Zealand for our 2020 pilot of the Aotearoa Design Archive. Dear Young Designer, I wonder if what you originally pictured yourself […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — Mac’s Seltzer, Dow Goodfolk

Dynamic and delightful, this Fresh From the Field features Dow Goodfolk‘s work for Mac’s Seltzer, which will have you smile while you sip! The Brief / project Kaupapa:Following seltzer’s runaway success in the USA and building on their reputation for being an imaginative bunch, Mac’s – New Zealand’s number 1 craft beer brand – decided […]

4 years ago by

5 minutes with… Nikki Kennedy of TapuTapu Designs

Design has the potential to affect change, and Waikato-based Nikki Kennedy of TapuTapu Designs (www.taputapu.co.nz) is using her design practice as a tool to revitalise te reo Māori, craft beautiful items for our homes and contribute positively to our national language, culture and taiao (environment).    Kia ora Nikki tell us about your creative background: […]

4 years ago by

Women in Design… Julie Bénard, typeface

DA speaks with typeface’s Julie Bénard about language barriers, burnout, her pathway to typeface, we learned about the mahi she is proud of, exceeding client expectations, the skills she is keen to develop, fostering innovation in her work and ambitions for the future.   What led you toward design? From as long as I remember, […]

4 years ago by

On Innovation

This article was written by Lee Parkinson, Strategic Director at Strategy Christchurch for Kātoitoi.nz Much has already been said by many (including myself), about 2020, the year that was. In my earlier essay, I spoke about the impact that the year of COVID19 had on design in Aotearoa. We saw a changing of attitudes, cultural […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — Avalanche by Curious

The shape grammar of letterforms provides fertile territory for visual metaphor. The Apex of an A creates a pinnacle, an opportunity embraced by Curious in their revitalisation of the Avalanche brand. This Fresh from the Field showcases a playful approach to typography, fine grain texture, and playful illustrations, immediately reinvigorating this recognised identity. The Brief: […]

4 years ago by

Brave UX with… Brendan Jarvis

We know the design community is constantly seeking out new ideas, looking for ways to learn, hear from our peers and advance our thinking. Listening to podcasts is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to do all of the above and the DA team is hooked! One of our recent binges is from […]

4 years ago by

Meet our friends… Dow Goodfolk’s Ben Dean

We love the opportunity to get to know our DA friends better, so we’re happy to get the chance to speak with Dow Goodfolk‘s Studio & Production Manager Ben Dean. We spoke to Ben about his career trajectory, the Dow Groups production set up, the print finishes and technologies he is excited about, the work […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — Raise the Standard, by Strategy Creative

Ahead of our June 16 Workshop: No signal found – creating great campaigns without TV in Wellington we asked facilitator Chrissie Malloch to share a recent campaign Strategy Wellington was proud of. The Raise the Standard project is exemplary mahi, striving for social good outcomes through crafted storytelling.   The Brief:  A healthy home is […]

4 years ago by

Paving the Digital Career Path for Māori and Pasifika Talent

Māori and Pasifika only represent about 2% of those working in the creative tech sector, yet form a larger part of the population of Aotearoa, especially in diverse Tāmaki Makaurau.  On Wednesday 26th May, Media Design School hosted a platform at their innovative new campus in Wynyard Quarter to kōrero and talanoa about ways Māori […]

4 years ago by

Daylight Creative is a spinoff of The Spinoff

While 2020 was undoubtedly challenging there were beacons of light and lots of silver linings to emerge from the darkness. One such beacon was the amazing and imperative work Toby Morris and Dr Siouxsie Wiles created for The Spinoff. During the early stages of the pandemic, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, an acclaimed science communicator, collaborated with […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — Round Theory Wines, by ONE Design

The 2020 Kātoitoi submissions highlighted environmental stewardship at its core of a lot of the mahi our community produced last year. One of the projects that stood out to the DA team was Round Theory by ONE Design. Circular in its thinking and execution, Round Theory Wines treads lightly while making a big impact. The […]

4 years ago by

Kaiwhakanikoniko – kōrero with… Bonnie Brown

Kaiwhakanikoniko – kōrero (Speaking with Katoitoi’s graphic artists) Kātoitoi commissioned a number of Kaiwhakanikoniko (graphic artists) to visually interpret the written essays sitting within the project. We speak to three contributing illustrators: Bonnie Brown, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White and Joseph Carrington about their vibrant careers so far, where they draw their creative inspiration and some […]

4 years ago by

5 minutes with… Chrissie Malloch

Ahead of our June 16 Workshop: No signal found – creating great campaigns without TV in Wellington we spoke with facilitator Chrissie Malloch to learn about her background, common campaign misconceptions, the work she is proud of – and what participants can expect from the Wellington event. Register Now   Can you describe the creative […]

4 years ago by

Under the Hood Online Webinar Recap – May 2021

With thanks to G.F. Smith and Paper Source, you are invited to grab your lunch and join us for an online conversation This month’s event is a little different; with Peter Radich sharing a paper-based design project; then Jutta from G.F. Smith will share the latest on colour trends, along with a Q&A session with […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field… Through That Which Separates Us

DA is a huge fan of Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho‘s work, which has strong currents of social good, inclusion and equity throughout. We enjoyed collaborating with them on the 2020 Field Guide, and are in admiration of all the mahi Huriana is producing. Their latest piece to catch our eye was the striking cover design of […]

4 years ago by

Auckland Festival of Photography

The 2021 Auckland Festival of Photography (now in its 18th year) is a city-wide contemporary art and cultural event which takes place within Auckland’s major galleries, project spaces, non-gallery venues and public sites during June each year. The programme includes a mix of emerging and established artists and comprises existing works and creation of new […]

4 years ago by

Women in Design… Rosalind Clark, typeface

We love the opportunity to get to know our DA friends better, so we’re happy to get the chance to speak with typeface’s Rosalind Clark. We spoke to Rosalind about her pathway to typeface (and the challenges of being self-employed), we learned about the culture of the practice, her methodology and multidisciplinary output, the mahi […]

4 years ago by

Getting Under the Hood… Peter Radich

Ahead of our next  Under the Hood event, (May 26 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm) we learnt more about one of our presenters: Peter Radich an accomplished commercial designer based in the Bay of Plenty. We spoke about Peter’s background, the catalysts for his founding PRD, his personal design philosophy, breaking up the work […]

4 years ago by

Preserving a cultural moment in time

Seen through design artefacts and the kōrero around them, Kātoitoi preserves the collective feelings of Aotearoa in the year 2020 and brings other people into that space to experience it. Designers have an innate ability to capture feeling, and this archive will forever preserve our collective feelings in 2020. Kātoitoi sits as a repository of […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — He Korowai Oranga by FLY

Ahead of our upcoming Te Ao Māori and Designing a Culturally Authentic Aotearoa events in Auckland and Wellington, we invited workshop facilitator Johnson Mckay, to share some recent mahi. Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health commissioned Fly to bring He Korowai Oranga to life. The strategy delivers long term healthy futures for Māori, Johnson and his […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — GSM16

This Fresh from the Field features the latest edition of GSM magazine, a bi-annual publication produced by BJ Ball Papers dedicated to celebrating graphic design in print right here in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The Brief: Launched in 2014, GSM magazine has been developed to be a reference tool pitched at both the visual communication and […]

4 years ago by

5 minutes with… Matthias Bucher

Scrolling Linkedin recently a bright bold and brilliant billboard for The Safe Space Alliance caught our eye. We reached out to NZ Aids Foundation designer Matthias Bucher to learn more about the billboard (& the community response), the important work he is doing, the shape of the NZAF creative team and Matthias aspirations for the […]

4 years ago by

Follow the paper trail: publications in the archive

What does it mean to be ‘bookish’ in these days of Hypertext? I think of ancient stories carefully transcribed as words and images onto vellum. Bound into a unique volume, they survive the ages by bunking with other rare and antiquarian books inside a climate-controlled library somewhere. I also think of our World Wide Web, […]

4 years ago by

Fresh From the Field — Deja by Milk

This Fresh From the Field features a zero waste pet food with a confident yet playful design outcome from Milk. Designing for both pets and planet, the shape grammar of the Deja workdmark is an intelligent nod to the end consumer as the “face of the brand”. With illustrations punctuating the optimistic green typography, the […]

4 years ago by