Otago’s Marketing Director Hone Paul (third from left) with the Future Students Marketing team at the Best Design Awards, alongside agency partner Designworks and cultural partner Ephraim Russell.
Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka came up trumps at the recent Best Design Awards, winning four awards across three categories.
Tuakiritaka, Otago’s rebrand, was recognised with a gold in category Graphic – Large Brand Identity and silver in category Toitanga.
The Down For It campaign won silver in the Moving Image – Motion Design & Animation category. The University’s bespoke font, Wickliffe Type Family, was also awarded a silver in the Graphic – Design Craft category.
Otago’s Marketing Director Hone Paul says the awards are a huge honour and a first for the University, recognising Tuakiritaka as amongst the best of Aotearoa’s design excellence.
“For this mahi to be acknowledged alongside leading and innovative New Zealand brands, and previous gold award winners, like Blunt, Stuff and Jasmax is great recognition of all the talented collaborators that worked on the Tuakiritaka project.
“Significantly, this kaupapa would not have been possible without the collaboration of mana whenua, whose mātauraka enabled the creation of our new identity.”
Otago’s new tohu and ikoa Māori were launched at a dawn ceremony in May this year.
The Toitanga award, a special category which acknowledges the unique lineage and origin of Māori storytelling and artistic expression, recognised Tuakiritaka’s collaborative process with mana whenua in creating a brand identity that celebrates Otago’s Indigenous culture, heritage, and sense of place.
“To be recognised in this category is hugely rewarding,” Hone says.
“We are proud and grateful for the collaboration and partnership with mana whenua throughout Tuakiritaka.
“Their generous contribution of time and sharing of whakapapa, history, reo Māori and narratives of their Takiwā ensured what was created in our new tohu and ikoa Māori was an authentic representation of our shared identity as a University and our special place in the world.”
Otago’s Future Student Marketing Manager Lucy Bell says the Down For It campaign, which won a silver award, builds on the kaupapa behind the University’s new ikoa Māori, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka – a metaphor meaning “a place of many firsts”.
“The campaign acknowledges that for many students, their Otago journey starts when they physically make their way to campus ahead of the academic year, and acts as a wero of what lies ahead at university.
“Down For It uses footage of real first-year students making their way to Otago, with design and animation building the story and sharing additional elements of the Otago experience.”
Hone says the awards are all down to the mahi of many coming together.
“The awards are a testament to those who worked passionately on this kaupapa, including kaimahi here at Otago and the creative teams that worked alongside us.”
The Best Design Awards are Australasia’s largest annual showcase of excellence across graphic, digital, motion design, product and spatial design.
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