Aotearoa New Zealand is a Pacific nation. Our identity has been shaped by generations of Pacific peoples and our enduring relationships across Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa.
The proposed Fale Malae is a landmark Pacific cultural centre planned for Wellington’s waterfront. It will give this shared identity a national home.
After 15 years of advocacy and planning, the Fale Malae Trust secured resource consent and entered the next phase of the project. Raising the $40 million required to build it would depend on people understanding its purpose.
The brand had to carry cultural meaning for Pacific communities while welcoming all New Zealanders. It also needed to speak confidently to donors, government, Pacific leaders and institutional partners.
Fale Malae could not be seen simply as a building or waterfront development. The brand needed to establish it as a Pacific institution of national significance, with an important role in the cultural and civic life of Aotearoa.
The brand needed to speak first to Pacific communities, while inviting all New Zealanders to understand their place within the story. Our task was to find common ground without reducing the cultural meaning of Fale Malae.
The Trustees had carried the vision for many years, so we began by listening to them. Through interviews, we explored what Fale Malae represented beyond its architecture and the role it could play for Pacific peoples and Aotearoa.
Recognition, belonging and welcome came through strongly. Fale Malae would give Pacific peoples a visible presence in the civic heart of our capital and help express Aotearoa’s identity as a Pacific nation.
We also looked closely at the concept design developed by Jasmax in collaboration with Dr Albert Refiti and Pacific artist Michel Tuffery. The fale, paepae and malae are shaped around gathering and relationships between people.
We built the brand from the cultural meaning already present in the place. This provided the foundation for a story and identity that could welcome a wider audience and build support for the project.
We translated this thinking into a brand story, messaging system and visual identity designed to build recognition and support for Fale Malae.
The tohu brings together multiple fetu, forms that can be read as Pacific stars or flowers. Rather than representing one culture or nation, they sit in relationship and express the collective nature of Fale Malae.
A family of individual markers represents the nations, communities and places connected through Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa. When used together, they form a Pacific constellation.
The colour palette draws from thePacific environment. Bright, celebratory colours are balanced with deeper tones that give the identity weight in civic and fundraising settings.
Orleans brings warmth and presence to the typography, while DM Sans makes detailed information easy to read.
The system works across fundraising materials, presentations, invitations and flags. Multilingual greetings provide another way to welcome Pacific communities and the wider public into the project.
Fale Malae now has a brand that reflects the scale and significance of the project.
The Trust has a consistent story and visual identity for conversations with donors, partners and Pacific communities. It makes the purpose of Fale Malae easier to understand asfundraising progresses.
The Trustees have responded enthusiastically, and the identity is ready to support the next stage of their work.
We were proud to contribute to this important kaupapa.
