This story was originally published by the Manukau Courier and stuff.co.nz.
Two Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) creative arts students are the brains behind the new branding for the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
Daisy Tavilione (22) and Nofoagaoalii (Nofo) Me (21) were commissioned to create a new identity for the Ministry, to reflect its change from the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.
As young Pacific Islanders living in South Auckland, they were determined to find a new way to represent contemporary Pacific culture through their design.
“It takes a Pacific Islander to understand what the Ministry wants in its design, rather than a cliché. We don’t want flowers and frangipanis. When I see that, it’s not me,” says Daisy.
“We want design that represents us – where we’ve come from and who we are,” says Nofo. “We’re interested in representing our own generation of Pacific Islanders. And as designers we want to explore what’s out there, to find a new but relatable way to define ourselves.”
The new design combines imagery and typography to represent contemporary Pacific Island cultures in New Zealand. It features three manu to symbolise direction, migration, freedom and success, and the typography is derived from rope lashings, which denotes togetherness – all ideas consistent with the new Ministry’s vision for Pacific Peoples.
“We feel happy, grateful, thankful and blessed to be part of the project,” says Daisy. Nofo adds: “I feel proud. It would be incredible to see something we’ve done out there in the real world. I’ll probably text Daisy every time I see it. It’s a big deal for us.”
Daisy and Nofo were given the opportunity to design for the Ministry through Steve Lovett, Visual Design Senior Lecturer at MIT. Steve negotiated the project through conversations with Ed.Collective, the organisation tasked with finding young Pasifika designers to create the new identity.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Daisy and Nofo to translate what we do in the classroom to a practical, real world design project,” Steve says.
“There’s a great deal of lateral thinking involved, but mostly their success comes down to them listening to the Ministry, and understanding what they need beyond what they are told. That’s the genius of their process.”
The two designers finished their final year of a Bachelor of Creative Arts last year –and they received the brief for the MPP re-design just two weeks before their final MIT projects were due. “We did both projects at the same time,” says Daisy. “When we finished our school work, we didn’t have a break, we just kept going.”
Both Daisy and Nofo are the first in their families to gain Bachelor degrees, and plan to continue to represent their community and cultures through their design.
“We definitely need more Pacific people in design,” says Nofo. “Not only to create work that everyone will understand, but also to listen to Pacific voices and portray what Pacific people want.”
For more information about studying Creative Arts at MIT, click here.
Inset (L-R): Daisy Tavilione, Florence Faumuina-Aiono (Ministry for Pacific Peoples Chief Advisor, Communications, Media and Marketing), Steve Lovett (MIT Creative Arts Senior Lecturer) & Nofoagaoalii Me
Inset: Ministry for Pacific Peoples new brand designed by Daisy Tavilione & Nofoagaoalii Me
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