To mātou whainga
Our purpose

Rukuhia te rētōtanga o te moana, piki ake ki te taumata mō ngā kōrero.
Dive into the deepest oceans, climb the highest peaks for wisdom.

We believe design can change the world. We believe in the power of creative problem-solving to impact our clients' world for the better. We are very clear about why we exist, what we are great at, and how we can help our clients achieve their goals.

He aha tā mātou e mahi nei
What we do

Every project has a process.
But no two projects are ever the same. 

We use our design skills to help solve our clients' problems. As a design company we seek to deploy our skills to help our clients where they need our expertise for their brands, social-marketing programmes, exhibitions, educational tools, films, charitable causes, and other information design projects.

Our mission is to help our clients to develop what we call the modern Aotearoa brand - brands that are inclusive, open and built with te tāngata at their heart.

Communication design.

For stakeholders, customers, communities — in a word, people.

Strategic design.

Brand strategy, brand architecture, brand identity — because getting these things right helps organisations move forward.

Culture design.

Purpose, values, engagement — when people believe and belong true value can be realised.

Our experience in client sectors include:

Arts
Education
Energy
Environment
Export
Finance & Insurance
Food & Beverage
Government
Healthcare
Not For profit
Professional Services
Retail
Technology
We are on the New Zealand All-of-Government procurement panels for:-
Design; Consulting; Web Services; and Advertising.

Ko wai mātou
Who we are

People make our place.
And are the reason others come to us.

We are a team of designers, thinkers, activators, doers. Ocean Design is a place we are proud to work at because we are accepted for who we are, valued for what we can offer, and encouraged to become the best possible versions of ourselves. We have a diverse team who complement each other's strengths slash quirks.

Ria Hodges (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki, Kai Tahu)

Māori Competency Lead / Te Kairūnā
Coming to Ocean by way of Te Herenga Waka, Ria is a multilingual learner of te reo Māori and an experienced researcher. Ria leads and supports cultural growth in the way we and our clients work and uses her knowledge of mātauranga Māori to shape insights and brands and organisations through a te ao Māori lens. When Ria isn’t at Ocean, you’ll find her hanging out with her two tamariki, Ocean and Karearea, and training on the ocean with her waka ama team, Rehutai.

Charlotte Mason

Te Tauihu / Account Manager
Charlotte brings her skills of organisation and efficiency along with her signature cool, calm and collected approach to the Ocean client services tīma (team). Charlotte is passionate about communication, learning and sustainability. Charlotte is a big fan of second-hand shopping and is a cheese scone connoisseur — ask her where to find the best scones in Wellington.

Clare Garner

Te Taurapa / Design Strategist
Clare is a deeply experienced designer who likes to ‘lift the bonnet’ to uncover what makes an organisation tick. She knows that all organisations are different and takes the time to listen and genuinely understand what makes people get out of bed each morning. Clare’s secret power is her empathy and she thrives on collaborating and connecting talented humans. A newcomer to gardening, Clare loves nothing more than getting her hands dirty and dreaming about what she’ll plant next.

Blair Mainwaring

Te Kaihautu / CEO
Owner of Ocean, Blair has over 25 years' experience as a designer. He believes that design in its purest form is a problem-solving process, and that is what our clients need from us. Be it branding or communication design, the principles remain the same. Focus on and understand the people who the design will touch, and then, and only then, may you actually have a chance of succeeding. Speaking of success, Blair is a lifelong Liverpool supporter.

Charley Rose-Zondag

Te Kaiāwhina / Executive Assistant
Charley is our office manager extraordinaire and uses her enthusiasm, positivity and can-do approach to keep Ocean running smoothly. In 2021, Charley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington with a triple major in Psychology, Education and Sociology. Once upon a time, Charley was a nanny in Brooklyn, New York City for a couple of creatives and their kids — the perfect training ground for her role at Ocean.

Sam Dungey

Te Kaiarorangi / Do-er
Sam defies labels. Ocean's renaissance man, he is equally at home helping a client formulate a complex digital brief as he is building a wall in our offices. Nearing 15 years at Ocean, Sam has built an unmatched level of trust and respect with our clients as an agile and dedicated problem solver. Extremely pragmatic, Sam holds an unerring eye on the future and the implications this may hold for Ocean and our clients. He once had a pet chicken called Chooky. Don't ask.

Amrita Marks

Te Kaiwhaitohu / Designer
A graduate of Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa in Visual Communication Design with Honours, Amrita worked with us on a number of projects before we made her an official member of our Ocean tīma. Amrita is known for her thoughtful approach, her intelligence, and her cool and calm manner. Outside of Ocean, Amrita loves to get out on a long-distance run or park up in a café with a good book.

Matt Everitt (Ngāti Ranginui)

Te Kaiwhaitohu / Designer
Designer, Matt works effortlessly across design and technology. Matt's work transcends established forms of design. His creative problem-solving is helping our clients communicate in more innovative and spellbinding ways. Matt loves creative coding as a means to explore and bring data, digital, and design together. Matt is a surfer. Enough said.

Anna Tulloch

Pou Tauihu Matua / Account Manager
Anna brings a wealth of experience in client liaison and account services to our Ocean team. She’s honed her talents over a diverse and highly practical background: from marketing farm machinery, to managing a YouTube account for an electrical manufacturer - she’s done it all. Anna’s a highly skilled communicator who works with a calm, attentive and meticulous approach. Originally from Denmark, she boarded the wrong ferry one day and ended up in New Zealand. We’re extremely grateful.

Ngā mātapono
Our values

We centre our practice around five core values that remain unchanged.
They underpin the work we do, and guide our journey to be an equitable Aotearoa brand with an authentic Te Ao Māori lens. With the help of designer Kauri Te Atua we developed a tohu that signifies our values using the sail of a traditional waka or va’a. To learn more about our values please contact us. We are happy to share.
Rukuhia rētōtanga
Dive deep
Whakatangihia te pūtātara
Ring the bell
Hopuhia te hau
Catch the wind
Ki te hoe!
Take the wheel!
Tautoko tātou kia tātou
All hands on deck

To mātou pūkōrero
Our story

We’ve covered a few miles.
But we're still learning.


Founded originally in 1988, Ocean is in its 4th decade. Although the scope of our work has changed over the years, the Ocean attitude never has. We learnt a long time ago that hard problems are solved better when we roll up our sleeves and get stuck in, together.

When we turn 30 we celebrated our local community. Check out One Square Block.