Tākai

SKIP Forward

SKIP (Strategies with Kids, Information for Parents) was a community prevention initiative to promote positive parenting and build community capability. 

Through 2020 – 2022, SKIP worked with Curative and the Oi Collective to navigate a change in strategic direction; using the framework of Te Mana o Te Moana to chart our course of action. Together, we hosted a series of regional and national wānanga, which included more than 120 whānau supporters and SKIP partners, who shared their views and ideas to help develop a long term vision and strategy for SKIP, which shifts the focus to centering Māori and Pacific whānau, young parents, sole parents and grandparents raising grandchildren.

This vision has now been expressed as Kia Matua Rautia: A thriving village raising children together

The strategy has three clear priorities to work towards this: 

• Empower whānau supporters
• Build a community of learning
• Celebrate stories of change

To help realise this vision, we needed to evolve the brand to better connect with the communities we aim to serve.

It takes a village

To develop the new brand and communication framework, Curative, the Oi Collective & SKIP worked alongside a magical co-design rōpū of creative Māori, Pacific and tauiwi – our Rangitukutuku.

Through online wānanga, this group have provided necessary ideas, perspectives, input and feedback that has shaped this work in its entirety. Together we’ve explored the needs of our many villages, drawn on our collective experience, cultural intelligence and wisdom, and challenged and interrogated our work and thinking along the way.

Kōrero, whakaaro and kupu that emerged through this process were also been shared with Che Wilson, who provided useful clarity, definition and narrative that influenced and informed our work.

Ma te katoa e waha

We knew that the new brand needed to create a strong sense of support; to help the community feel that they were being held. 

Tākai refers to the traditional practice of wrapping pēpi and tamariki to create warmth, closeness, security and safety. This metaphor extends to the way that Tākai intends to hold space for the village; bound with love, and standing on the shoulders of many, we are a thriving community raising children together.

The connections of Tākai echo the comforting rhythm of the manawa; tapping into the energies of the collective, working together as one to support whānau.

Weaving threads of traditional storytelling and practices with parenting in the modern world, Tākai wraps the village in tools, connections and opportunities to learn, grow and play together.

Wrapped in the fibres of the Pacific

The visual language of Tākai has been drawn from indigenous narratives, materials and concepts, embedding deep and implicit connections for the communities Tākai walks alongside.

Emulating the look and feel of folds of fabric, Tākai uses layered ink and textured linework to recreate the sensation of being wrapped up in folds of warm, soft fabric, of being held close by the ones you love. It embraces the organic textures and flowing lines of fibres of the pacific, such as harakeke and pandan, which were key resources for our voyaging tūpuna. These texture sets provide a base set of graphics to build a unique and warm visual foundation.

The colour palette of Tākai was uncovered though kōrero with Rangitukutuku around colours that connect with their whakapapa, referencing warm earthy tones, deep colours of ngahere and moana and the vibrant accents of flowering plant life. 

Key to the brand development was the authentic representation of the village. To capture this, we worked with photographer Erica Sinclair to build a joyful and vibrant library of photos that captured the diversity of our villages in their everyday life.

Embraced by Community

The evolved Tākai brand was launched on Children’s Day 2022, with a celebration of the whakapapa of SKIP, and a warm welcome for the renewed vision. A redesigned website and an abundant library of publications, resources, and tools have been developed in collaboration with partner agencies CORE Education, Great Scott and DNA demonstrates the depth of the co-design process, reacting to the needs of the village.

It resonates with our imperfection — imperfection is perfection. I like that it feels modern but steeped in the importance of culture and whakapapa, and that’s interesting—the cloth, shrouded, playful, earthy, relationship and whānau focussed, earthy and rich but not old fashioned.

— Rangitukutuku participant