Monotype - New Zealands representation

What can be a downfall of the campaign is trying to promote too many aspects at once. The typography must have clear associations to New Zealand and/or the Maori. The problem with including both nature and culture is that they are two different things. However researching the Maori's may uncover links to both them and nature in their cultural traditions. 


In Maori culture, humans are deeply connected to the land and natural world. This connection is expressed through kaitiakitanga - a way of managing the environment. Kaitiakitanga translates to guardianship and protection of the environment. A kaitiaki is a guardian such as a person or group that cares for an area such as a lake or forest. As an indigenous people, the Maori's have an big influence on the environmental attitudes in New Zealand. 

NewZealand.com is the go to website for New Zealand. It provides an accessible way for people to understand more about the country and the Maori. 

The websites language, tone of voice, photography and the unique display typeface are important in understanding how New Zealand wants to represent itself to the world. Rarely does the website display photographs of the major cities, there is a clear intention to display the best of the natural wonders New Zealand has to offer. 

Looking through the Things to do tab, majority of the suggested activities for people to try out are outdoor activities. There is little intention to draw readers into visiting the major cities. New Zealand wants it tourists to explore and experience the diverse nature it has to offer. 

The website itself has an impact on how tourists will view New Zealand. The clean, organised and highly visual layout engages the reader and makes New Zealand an attractive destination to visit to. This layout also makes it easy for users to navigate the website which subsequently makes planning their possible trip to NZ as easy as possible. These qualities should be shared on the typographic campaign. Having a consistent representation of the country across several channels will help build a consistent idea of what New Zealand is for people outside of the country. 

What is most unique of their website is the the custom display typeface that is meant to represent the qualities of New Zealand. The thick stems with angled corners connote a rugged and unrefined quality that is appropriate in representing New Zealand's preserved nature and appeals to those who enjoy more adventurous activities whilst on holiday.   Having the copy all in uppercase makes their point bold and feels as though they are proud to showcase New Zealand to the reader. The small triangles that appear on the left side of certain letterforms are the most unique feature of the typeface. It is this simple yet effective design element that represents the Maori, which is a contrast against the modernity of the sans serif letterforms. This typeface therefore has achieved a balance between representing the natural and adventure seeking qualities of New Zealand and at the same time representing the indigenous people that still are celebrated widely in the country. 

   

What this typeface also highlights is how important subtlety is in type design. Subtleties being the detailed but generally unnoticed characteristics of typefaces that work together to form the classification of the typeface. The less is more ideology works because of the syntax of our language. Many letters are used to create words, sentences and paragraphs. Having a visually busy letterform may work on its own but when placed next to other letters, these visual cues will lower the legibility and readability of the typeface as each letterform will fight for attention. Display typefaces are able to be less subtle because they are not suited to large amounts of copy, as demonstrated by NewZealand.com's type design.