Our visual identity
Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand is dedicated to promoting te reo Māori across our online platforms, ensuring a welcoming experience for Māori visitors. Our visual designs reflect this commitment, telling our story through their unique expressions.
Our logo
Our logo is the primary and most effective way we identify our organisation to others. It reflects what we are about in the 21st century:
a collection of memories – He kohinga maumahara
an accessible place – He tuanui whakairinga kōrero
a repository of the past – He puna maumahara
a partnership between Archives New Zealand and the people of Aotearoa – He hononga ki ngā iwi
a hub – He pā
momentum – He whāinga tipuranga Trust – He mahi pono.
The meaning of our logo
Like the artistic designs and carvings featured in whare tīpuna (Māori ancestral houses), our logo brings together the timeless values of care and respect of Aotearoa’s heritage and culture.
This is what our logo symbolises for us.
The 2 koru reflect facets of the natural world – waves of the sea and fern fronds found in native bush – both in proximity of each other, yet prone to the unpredictable and changing nature of the weather. They’re a reminder that records too, are just as vulnerable to the same elements.
The core of our logo reflects the importance and value Māori place upon people and their cultural heritage. The momentum radiating out from this core symbolises our work to preserve and maintain our nation’s heritage and the memories from which growth and development stem.
Combined, these cultural concepts show the importance of preserving our stories, as they are in their original order and as they should be.
The story behind our name
Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Since 1 June 2004, our Māori name – Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga – has been a part of our brand. It means the repository of the thoughts and memories of Government. One of our enduring principles, as outlined in our Statement of Intent, is the need to foster and maintain a partnership with Māori. To implement this principle, we endeavour to ensure that Māori values are reflected in our processes and public profile. One of the ways we can do this is ensuring the Māori name is relevant and meaningful.
Archives New Zealand
We are the official guardian of New Zealand’s public archives and oversee the government recordkeeping framework. We gather, store and protect a wide range of material including the originals of the Treaty of Waitangi, government documents, maps, paintings, photographs and film. The inclusion of New Zealand in our name gives us a location and an anchor point. It identifies us as ’the‘ archives for this country.
Using pūtaketake (patterns)
We worked with Indigenous Design & Innovation Aotearoa (IDIA) — a Māori-owned and led design agency to design 4 pūtaketake (patterns) that would enhance the existing brand for use on our website.
These pūtaketake reflect our role and the taonga we hold. They also allow all our website visitors, especially tāngata Māori, to see themselves in the kaupapa.
Niho taniwha pūtaketake (pattern)
The use of niho tāniwha speaks to the generational sharing of history, stories and whakapapa.
Aramoana pūtaketake (pattern)
The use of aramoana speaks to our history of navigation and the many pathways of the moana.
Kaokao pūtaketake (pattern)
The inclusion of the kaokao pattern represents the arm of an embrace. This speaks to values of partnership and being in good relations with each other as te Tiriti o Waitangi partners.
Rauponga pūtaketake (pattern)
The addition of rauponga reflects the many intersecting layers of history, and the layers of diversity that our nation comprises.