ABOUT

Māori are the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Māori Language Week, our Māori-owned agency created a typographic art print honouring the language.

“He iti te kupu, he nui te kōrero. The words are few but the message is profound.”

Hand-drawn ink lettering spells out this whakataukī (proverb), while simultaneously creating the form of a hei tiki, a revered Māori treasure associated with knowledge, ancestry and protection. Here, language quite literally becomes the symbol.

The phrase “Heia tō ihi, hei tiki,” meaning "Wear/embrace your power/charisma, [as] a tiki,” was used to celebrate Māori Language Week 2025 and inspired our design.

Blending cultural meaning with expressive typography, the work honours the power of Indigenous language.

The final piece was produced as a fine art print and the proceeds gifted to a primary school Māori language unit to support the next generation of speakers.

PROJECT RESULTS
When we released the design on social media, we had many people requesting a print.
With barely any promotion, it helped raise over $2,500 for an Indigenous Māori language unit at a local school, supporting the growth of the language into the future.