Creativity Makes Us

A new vision for creative advocacy

In Aotearoa, creativity exists in abundance. Yet the power of creativity in Aotearoa to strengthen collective wellbeing often goes unacknowledged. 

Over a period of five years, the advocacy team at Creative New Zealand had been running a series of campaigns that highlighted the value of arts and creativity in Aotearoa.

To create greater impact and to support this ongoing work, the time had come for the agency to unite their various campaigns under one powerful message to convey the power of creativity now and into the future.

Reaching new audiences

During our strategic and creative exploration, we worked with the Advocacy team at Creative New Zealand to discuss the work that had already been done, our existing hunches, as well as possible barriers and opportunities within this mahi. We knew our message had to confidently land beyond an ‘in-the-know’ arts audience: from those who would attend a gig but perhaps wouldn’t connect it to ‘the arts’; those who may have taken part in creative activities as young people; to those who engage in creativity as part of connecting with community.

A strong unifying idea

We knew we wanted to create a simple, unifying idea that would build an emotional connection with audiences. It would highlight the inherent value of the arts, be uniquely reflective of Aotearoa, and it would be able to flex to hold a range of messages.

We wanted to encourage more New Zealanders to engage in more forms of creativity both as participant and audience. Through this, they would be reminded of the power, joy and connection that creativity brings. This would in turn awaken a greater sense of shared need, meaning that more New Zealanders actively value creativity as a source of collective pride and identity.

Creativity makes us

Through this work we landed on our tagline, Creativity Makes Us.  Just as creativity is essential because it helps us express and identify ourselves as individuals, creativity also makes us who we are as a nation. It’s an active collage that is all of ours and we are it – and it’s something we can take immense pride in.

Working alongside Kawiti Waetford to layer te reo Māori into our line, our kōrero circled around a central concept: Te Puna Auaha – the wellspring of creativity. Auahatia  translates as ‘make!’ ‘Create!’ Together, the reo Pākehā and reo Māori kupu provide a powerful call-and-response implying a speaker and an audience; implying an invitation.

The logomark is constructed from two contrasting wordmarks that make up a call and response. A friendly, rounded, irregular sans serif provides the structured reo Pākehā call of the mark. This embodies solid whenua, and emulates traditional print aesthetics through a slight ink bleed effect. This is accompanied by the reo Māori wordmark, made using an expressive and dynamic hand-drawn script giving an energetic and literal interpretation of the command – Create! The two wordmarks hug each other, suggesting a reciprocal relationship.

The representation of ‘Auahatia’ has gestural connotations. These gestures can be amplified to become brand expressions of creativity. Here ‘Auahatia’ is painted and magnified so that the letterforms become abstract wallpapers that confidently echo our brand imperative.

Highlighting the process of ‘making’, the brand pulls together elements and images in the manner of collage. In this system, the multiplicity of creativity can be shown, or details from within a creative pursuit are collaged together as a visual narrative.

Drawing inspiration from the bright, primary colours of poster paints, the palette is purposefully brash and attention-grabbing, creating a vibrant energy to match the imperative – make! create!

Creating Aotearoa now and in the future

Creativity Makes Us – Auahatia! is a campaign that will hold many messages now and into the future. It will see increased impact as campaign messages are consistently connected to creative experiences for our audiences over time. 

The campaign launched in February 2025, when Creative New Zealand’s All in for Arts roadshow travelled around the motu, providing an effective way to connect the creative community to the central messages in this first important phase. Including these creative allies in the journey is a crucial step to ensure the message is trusted, utilised, and spread further.

Campaign content was shared organically through social media celebrating and advocating for arts, culture and creativity. A series in partnership with Sunday Star-Times and The Post added a layer of storytelling to the central ideas and messaging of the campaign, and high-impact digital placements proved highly effective in driving audiences to the campaign website. From this strong start, the campaign will continue to ensure that more and more New Zealanders understand and nurture the place of creativity in their own lives and collective wellbeing for many years to come.