Judges' Comments

For this project, Air New Zealand, The Māori Language Commission, and the New Zealand Māori Arts & Crafts Institute came together and worked with Designworks to bring to life Air New Zealand’s Māori Culture Strategy by providing a simple visual ‘tohu’ or emblem that staff with fluency in te reo Māori could wear with pride, that would say to Māori speaking customers ‘kōrero mai’. The resultant ‘waha’, or mouth symbol, derived from traditional carving motifs/ language was described by judges as “a beautiful small object with a credible process and big agenda behind it”. The judges commend Air New Zealand for bringing te reo Māori to life inflight and see potential for such an icon to gain currency beyond Air New Zealand in recognising and celebrating te reo Māori speakers.