In 2019 Ira was invited under the leadership of Tipa Compain, the Māori Relationships & Policy Manager, to develop a set of principles that define Auckland Transport’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and how Māori values can guide the strategy and direction of Auckland Transport.

We commenced by understanding the 19 Iwi of Tāmaki Makaurau, who each have their unique expression of tino rangatiratanga self determination. The voice of our Māori community identified several principles that define balanced partnership between Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Whenua.

We took guidance from the Auckland Plan, which defines how Council organisations can fulfil Te Tiriti to achieve “Te Puāwai o Te Tāngata” or self sustaining communities. Our unique Public Brand Framework creates a balanced set of principles for Tangata Whenua expectations on public entities and the role of good governance to deliver outcomes for communities. This work led to the first ever set of Māori principles adopted by Auckland Transport as brand values.

Creating a Tāmaki Makaurau narrative and context for a modern and innovative brand expression.

After the values were ratified by the Board of Auckland Transport, we continued to work with Lillian Tahuri, Head of Māori Engagement to develop an artwork that would express the role of cultural values and Te Ao Māori to the work of Auckland Transport.

Inspiring our narrative was the many moana of Tāmaki Makaurau, which is uniquely surrounded by four moana: Te Tai o Rehua, Te Manukau, Te Waitematā and Te Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki. Waka navigation was an important aspect of how Māori connected and maintained relationships. The taurapa, or stern of the waka became our inspiration.

The taurapa has been designed to enable to flexibly across the entire brand system.

Each element of the taurapa artwork was carefully crafted with Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu) and is able to be separated into distinct elements for use within the visual system.

A consistent use of cultural design graphics celebrates a uniquely Tāmaki Makaurau narrative, for a shared identity grounded in Te Ao Māori.