Te Ara Mātauranga is more than a library. It is a place where learning, culture, environment, and community intersect.
The name Te Ara Mātauranga, gifted by local hapū, translates to The Pathway of Knowledge. It acknowledges libraries as places of learning, wisdom, and shared understanding, spaces that hold and provide mātauranga for all to thrive.
This brand needed to honour whakapapa, reflect place, and serve future generations. The challenge was to create a library brand that felt deeply rooted in Waihī Beach, honoured te ao Māori and local iwi narratives and reflected the environmental values of the community.
The Insight
Waihī Beach is defined by its environment. From the harbour, waterways, and sea, under the guardianship of Tangaroa, to the dunes, native planting, and ever-present view of Tūhua (Mayor Island), the natural landscape shapes daily life and collective values.
Te Ara Mātauranga brand should feel alive, grounded, and sustainable, a reflection of land, sea, and people.
The brand concept centres on the journey of knowledge. The logo takes the form of an open book, representing knowledge, pathways and stories unfolding. Integrated within this form are koru patterns, symbolising new beginnings, growth, and continuous learning, a visual expression of mātauranga Māori.
The visual system draws directly from place, culture, and environment. The calm colours representing the waterways, beach and the dunes, while the gifted Mangōpare (hammerhead shark) pattern, which symbolises strength, resilience, and persistence. Together they reinforce community, gathering, and shared stories, creating a rich but respectful visual narrative.
The outcome is an identity that creates a welcoming space where mātauranga is honoured, shared, and continually grown, supporting learning across generations. Grounded in whakapapa yet looking forward in its expression, Te Ara Mātauranga stands as a living pathway that connects land, sea, people, and knowledge, now and into the future.
