Client: Koi Tū Trust

The challenge: Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures is n independent think tank established by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, focused on addressing critical, long-term global and national challenges. They required a comprehensive brand refresh and a scalable communications strategy to elevate their visual presence, ensuring their insights were delivered with authority and distinction across diverse media.

The Outcome: I designed a distinctive mark and visual identity anchored in the centre's name – Koi Tū means the "sharp end of a spear”, a metaphor for sharp, decisive insight. This drove the development of a bold and versatile brand language. The final deliverable provided a comprehensive suite of visual assets alongside modular print and digital templates, equipping the organisation with a robust design system for their ongoing publications.

The brand identity was a finalist in in the NZ Best Design Awards – NFP branding.

Client: University of Auckland

I have consulted for the University of Auckland for over 15 years, working across the organisation supporting wide-ranging projects, including: brand strategy and development, communications and marketing, information design, event and exhibition, digital platforms and websites.

This is a small sample of some of the more recent projects which span branding and marketing, publications, IU design, information design, events.

Client: Global Climate Change Week

The challenge: GCCW was an Australian-led campaign encouraging academics globally to support the movement for stronger action on climate change. The campaign was minimally funded, and I volunteered my time to support it, helping to develop the campaign strategy, branding, and engagement platform.

The outcome: I developed simple but bold visual branding. The website functioned as a vital information portal where participants could learn more about the initiative and sign on to be involved. The interactive map enabled users to easily browse and connect with activities and participants in their local area.

The campaign mobilised over 300 initiatives in 51 countries around the world in it’s first year, and continue to run for the next 6 years.

Client: University of Wollongong + community partners

The challenge: A University of Wollongong research project, funded by the Australian Research Council and the NSW Office of Emergency Management, had worked with people from refugee backgrounds in the Illawarra on disaster resilience, using a person-centred, co-learning approach. The research team and community partners had drafted a set of tools and needed help converting these into a resource community groups could pick up and use.

The outcome: I took the team's findings and draft tools and developed an easy-to-produce information toolkit, which included: a customised set of icons, activity templates and a 32-page booklet. The designs were tested with community groups during development to help refine them and ensure they worked effectively across a diverse user base. The toolkit was released as a free community toolkit.

Client: Greenpeace NZ

I have worked with Greenpeace on numerous projects over the years - most recently helping to revise member communications and publication strategy.

The challenge: Greenpeace NZ needed to update and revise a suite of comms. This included a range of core member communications such as their magazine ‘kakariki’, and campaign materials. Core materials needed to follow the global Greenpeace brand, while others required infusion of a ‘local’ feel.

The outcome: I worked with comms and campaigns managers to develop each item. The aim was to create clear branded communications, using GP’s high-quality images. I developed a versatile publication template for ongoing use, and I worked closely with the print supplier to test sustainable papers and inks, and deliver excellent print outcomes.

Client: The Visible College

The challenge: The VC is an international research network dedicated to cross-disciplinary investigation of edge phenomena. They needed help with brand development. The visual system needed to be bold enough to establish a distinct presence, yet streamlined enough for distributed network members to implement consistently across diverse collateral without requiring ongoing design oversight.

The outcome: I designed a distinctive logo mark and modular identity framework. The work established clear typographic standards, cross-platform visual assets, and adaptable templates for both print and digital touchpoints – equipping the collective with an bold, self-sustaining brand system.

Client: Te Pūnaha Matatini

Te Pūnaha Matatini is a NZ Centre of Research Excellence which uses complex data to develop new knowledge and insights about NZ’s environment, economy, and society. I have worked with them over the last 10 years to extend their branding and key communications.

The challenge: TPM’s revised branding required application across publications, including their annual report. This key document provides a compelling summary the centre’s research activity and impact.

The outcome: I worked closely with TPM’s communications manager to revise and extend visual branding. I devised a brand language for publications, applying it to the annual report. We employed an iterative process to test and revise, and produced a striking design outcome.

Client: Brain Research NZ

The challenge: Being Brainy was an education programme intended to help students understand how the brain works. Developed by Brain Research NZ it comprised four sets of teaching resources, which included teacher files, presentation PowerPoints, and student activities. The client needed help both designing the toolkit and developing a web platform for user sign-up and delivery.

The outcome: I worked closely with the client to design the resources which were trialled through in-classroom testing before finalisation. A simple brand style was developed, incorporating a friendly brain character, who was employed to narrate aspects of the teaching resources. The toolkit and resources worked very effectively.

Client: NZ Government / MBIE / MoE

The challenge: The NZ Government initiated a review of two key sectors: the national science system and university sector. They required assistance developing online engagement platforms to capture public input, and then produce reports summarising the feedback and outlining system proposals.

The outcome: I developed a slick design approach for the projects, which ran across both web and reports. I produced two secure web platforms for public engagement, managed them over a 12-month timeframe allowing for multiple input stages. I produced multiple summary reports for public feedback.

Client: Centre for Societal Resilience – Te Toka Rinohea (NZ)

Te Toka is a proposed Centre of Research Excellence focused on enhancing Aotearoa-New Zealand’s resilience in the face of ongoing and rapid environmental, economic, technological and societal change.

Te Toka’s identity needed to align with it’s mission values, work effectively in local and international social and research contexts, and be visibly distinctive.

Client: Early Start Research Institute / University of Wollongong

Lead my Learning is an Australian-based campaign focused on early-childhood learning, inviting parents and caregivers to become more active in turning everyday activities into learning opportunities. The campaign was a research project of the Early Start Research Institute, University of Wollongong, and was trialled in NSW, and developed using a participatory design process with local communities.

We assisted with the development of the campaign branding – taking the logo concept from artwork supplied by indigenous artist Johnno Johnson. This involved developing the visual branding strategy, and applying this across a range of collateral templates.

Client: The Geographical Society of NSW

The challenge: GSNSW was hosting a 90-year celebratory event and needed help developing a range of promotional collateral and display items.

The outcome: I helped the Society consolidate its identity, and developed template formats for is communications. I designed a format for its 90-year celebration and and produced informational display items for an exhibition being run in Sydney.

Client: NZUni Talent

NZ Uni Talent is nationwide careers service operated collaboratively by seven of the country’s eight universities. The service was rebooting and needed revised branding. We worked worked with the client to develop simple, bold and flexible branding system that can be effectively applied both online and across marketing material.

Client: Co-Design Studio / Department of Human Services

As part of the larger Richmond Renewal Project in Melbourne, CoDesign Studio was engaged to work with the Department of Human Services in conducting an audit and redesign at the North Richmond Housing Estate.

I co-led the project, assisting with design, liaising with the estate working group, and advising and overseeing outcome development. I coordinated the on-site wayfinding audit, compiled the data and produced the research report.

Community engagement was undertaken over a number of months, inviting input from a range of residents. The design process was collaborative with a range of potential designs being developed from the community consultations, and the final design being decided through the estate working group.

Client: Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research

AUSCCER was situated at the University of Wollongong, undertaking cultural research into human-environment relations.

I supported numerous projects, helping with audience engagement, information design and publications.

Client: Auckland Regional Transport Authority

The challenge: ARTA worked with The University of Auckland and AUT University to develop a sustainable transport campaign targetting students. I was engaged to run the campaign, including a participatory design process with students.

The outcome: Student participation was enrolled in campaign development, specifically for creative ideas. I worked with students to develop and refine ideas and create final imagery. I planned and managed media; coordinated installation of ambient advertising; managed social media; produced an animated spot for the student television networks. Promotions were run at key moments on campus – posters, display advertising, ambient street chalking as well as social media. There was a good response to the campaign, and it was run for a number of year afterwards.

Client: University of Auckland

The challenge: UOA’s environmental and wayfinding signage required updating to bring it in line with revised branding, including the incorporation of te reo. I was contracted to work with the UOA design manager to undertake the work.

The outcome: I undertook a full site audit to document existing signage application along with inconsistencies. I also researched wayfinding systems, and other university signage examples. I liaised with fabrication companies to define the fabrication and build parameters. A series of design pathways were developed and refined through feedback with stakeholders. A final pathway was approved and I developed guidelines for design and fabrication.

Client: Papakura District Council / Papakura Museum

The challenge: Papakura, a district just south of Auckland, played an important role in the history of New Zealand acting as a gateway to the rest of the country. The local district museum received funding to be relocated and redesigned, which involved a complete overhaul of the public exhibition. We had a hard deadline to redesign the interpretive display.

The outcome: I worked with museum staff to develop a style sympathetic to the interactive nature of the collection, as well as being easily accessible to museum audiences – largely young and the elderly. There was over 100 meters of exhibition display to develop. This involved the scanning and retouching of approximately 100 historic images and documents. Managing the production involved working with the signage fabricator to deliver and install the display to an extremely tight deadline.

The project was awarded a NZ Best Award (Bronze).

Client: New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists

NZAP’s identity and website needed modernising. We lead them through a consultative process, refreshing their existing logo while retaining core legacy symbolism. At the same time we worked with the Waka Oranga Maori psychotherapists grouping to develop aligned branding that allowed the two identities to work together.

The member website was fully redesigned and restructured. Using a combination of WordPress and Wild Apricot, we expanded the site’s functionality and enhanced user experience, making it a much more useful and friendly site to use.

Centre for High Value Nutrition

HVN is a multi-million dollar government-funded research grouping (NZ National Science Challenge) with a focus on nutritional health. The centre required visual brand development, as well as production of basic communications collateral. We developed a simple modular style that could be easily templated and subsequently managed by the comms officer.

Client: Diabetes Projects Trust

The challenge: Diabetes is a growing issue within Maori, Pacifica and immigrant populations. DPT works at a community level through a range of initiatives to promote more health-oriented lifestyle choices.

The outcome: I’ve worked with the client over a number of years to develop resources for some of their initiatives. A series of posters were developed to promote health-positive behaviour for kids and work alongside engagement campaigns within schools. A short tv-gameshow drama was translated into a mini-comic to help kids learn about healthy eating. It was produced in multiple languages: English, Maori, Samoan and Tongan. Information leaflets were designed through community consultation and translated into languages such as Maori, Somali, Dari and Arabic.