The whānau of prisoners are incapacitated in multiple ways by virture of one of their parents being incarcerated. Te Ira was a NEW kaupapa-Māori led NGO focused on ensuring the children inside these unique relationships dont suffer unnecessarily whether from an education or pastoral perspective as a result of the incarcerated parent. Their approach was unique in that it focused on trying to foster, grow and maintain a connected and purposeful relationship over and above the parental one between the whānau and the incarcerated parent. Why couldn’t an incarcerated parent help their child with school homework or ongoing advice only a father or mother can provide. The agency needed a brand lock-up and story that articulated this purpose.
Joseph was given a pounamu with a design inscribed into it. This pounamu was gifted to Te Ira from a kaumatua from one of the partner agencies establishing Te Ira. Joseph was issued strict instructions to reflect this pounamu ‘somehow’ into the brand lock-up.
This pounamu gave little creative stretch to his team so instead he briefed them to focus on the design and bring through the strength and unbreakable bonds of ‘whānau’ while acknowledging the circular notion of life BUT with clear separation in the design to mark that the child does not need to walk in the footsteps of the parent.
