Māori Futures with UI

The project explores how Māori identity can be represented within futuristic technology and energy applications, using Māori visual language, UI and micro-animations to imagine a more optimistic and culturally connected future. It responds to the limited representation of Māori identity within contemporary technology, particularly within digital products focused on energy and sustainability.

The project explores Te Ao Hangarau, the world of technology, as a space where Māori identity and culture can be meaningfully represented and upheld throughout the brand identity and UI itself, rather than being reduced to decoration. Māori visual motifs, symbolism and interaction are considered through a Māori lens, creating an interface that feels culturally grounded while still belonging to a futuristic digital environment.

Angitu. Find where your skills can take you.

Angitu is an opportunity and employment application focused on helping tamariki and rangatahi discover skills, training and pathways towards their future. The project responds to the difficulty of maintaining an optimistic outlook for the future as technology and employment continue to change rapidly.

Rather than placing AI at the centre of determining or moderating a person's future, Angitu keeps people at the centre of exploring opportunities, developing skills and making decisions about their own pathways. The intention is to create a more optimistic relationship with technology, where it supports rangatahi in navigating their future rather than determining it for them.

The loading and processing animation uses the matau, or fish hook, as a visual metaphor for catching opportunities. Māori biomimicry is incorporated through movement inspired by the natural behaviour of water, reinforcing the idea of returning to natural ways of understanding and navigating futures for our tamariki and rangatahi. These elements form part of the wider brand identity rather than functioning simply as decorative Māori motifs.

Kohi: Pūngao Kōmaru

Kohi: Pūngao Kōmaru explores how a Māori worldview can shape the identity and experience of a contemporary solar energy application. In Te Ao Māori, pūngao kōmaru refers to energy and phenomena created through the rays of the sun, encompassing things such as shade, heat, sunlight and solar power, rather than referring directly to the sun or Tama-nui-te-rā himself.

This understanding became an important foundation for the brand identity. Kowhaiwhai motifs are integrated into the loading animation to represent solar energy as a gift that keeps on giving. Traditionally, when harvesting kai or other resources, what is taken is replenished to maintain balance and allow the resource to continue providing in the future. This principle provides a different way of understanding solar energy, shifting the focus from simply consuming energy towards a relationship of balance, reciprocity and continuation.

Kohi is designed as a contemporary solar application aimed particularly at rangatahi. A playful toon-inspired visual style makes the technology approachable and engaging, while the Māori worldview remains embedded within the identity and interaction of the product itself.