In the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand, water is life — a force that is as wild and free as the people it sustains. Churning currents and deep channels cut through rugged hills and fierce bush.
This is a wild region that draws wild people. Explorers and pioneers — visionaries that, with enough grit, can make a living here.
These bays are rich in Taonga — objects and resources that are highly-prized. If you know how to seek, you may find an ancient Māori adze hidden in the sand of a secluded beach, or remnants of forgotten treasures from before our time. They have remained in these bays for years, and with good stewardship, will remain for years to come.
These emerald waters are also renowned for Taonga of a different kind — Kai Moana. Premium Greenshell Mussels and Pacific Oysters. The best of these are pulled from the deep and set aside as a premium seafood product.
Tai Ata — from the wild
The Challenge
How do you convert a commodity into a brand? This was the question that was put to us by Simon from Tai Ata. Simon is one of those unique individuals that can only be found in New Zealand; hard-working, honest, and pioneering. He has a vision to turn marlborough shellfish into a premium product.
Creating the Identity
We started the identity process by creating a stylescape of what Tai Ata could be. We drew on the story of the wild Marlborough Sounds and combined that with the rugged people that live there to create a narrative that is authentic.
Website Development
The Tai Ata website has been designed to reflect the identity work we did at the start. It uses hand-drawn illustrations with moody photos and subtle textures; all adding authenticity to the Tai Ata story
The Morning Tide
We designed the Tai Ata logo to resemble the morning tide. It is a breaking wave that gets calmer as it moves closer to shore. We created custom typography for each letter of the word that tied in with the symbol.
Tai Ata Koro
One of Tai Ata’s premium products are the giant oysters that defy everything previously known about these shellfish. We worked with Tai Ata to create a name and logo that would tie into the greater Tai Ata identity.
