A welcoming and inclusive digital experience for all

8 March 2024

We’re listening to our users

Last year, we collaborated with Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to make te reo Māori more visible and accessible across all our digital channels.

To help us understand how we could achieve this, we worked with Indigenous Design & Innovation Aotearoa (IDIA) — a Māori-owned and led design agency based in Wellington — to undertake user research.

With a focus on amplifying indigenous voices, the research involved one-to-one interviews with several tāngata Māori and a group workshop.

Read more about the research and its findings

Since then, we’ve been working on some changes to our website based on recommendations from the research. We’ve continued to work closely with IDIA during this process, as well as our users and kaimahi (staff).

Bilingual text

The research showed that users overwhelmingly favoured the display of English and te reo Māori side-by-side.

A bilingual view respects and benefits reo Māori speakers at all levels, as well as English speakers. By displaying each language side-by-side, readers of varying levels of familiarity, confidence and understanding of te reo Māori can stay engaged with the content and easily find translations if necessary. A bilingual view also invites those that are curious about te reo Māori to engage and learn at their level of understanding.

We’re introducing a language selector so you can select your preferred view – te reo Māori, English, or both. This ensures an inclusive experience for all.

We’re currently testing this new feature with users.

Āhua Māori — a welcoming experience

According to the user research, te reo Māori speakers often rely on visual and audio cues to feel welcome in a space. These cues, referred to as āhua Māori, can include use of:

• te reo Māori text

• Māori music or sounds of te taiao

• toi Māori (Māori art) including whakairo and kowhaiwhai

• taonga Māori

• patterns and motifs expressing or relating to aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori world)

• photographic representation of Māori — particularly photos featuring intergenerational exchanges and unique and relatable Māori interactions like hongi.

These cues can help reo Māori speakers feel that their language is valued and culture respected.

We heard from kaimahi across Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand

To understand how we could create this welcoming experience on archives.govt.nz specifically, a range of Archives New Zealand kaimahi took part in 2 workshops. These helped us:

• understand what āhua Māori looks like and feels like for our organisation

• identify how we can best bring āhua Māori to the website experience in a way that reflects our organisation’s values, our shared history and shared vision for the future

• use what already exists as part of our current visual identity.

Pūtaketake (patterns)

Based on this feedback from our kaimahi, IDIA identified 4 pūtaketake (patterns) they felt best represented Archives New Zealand.

These pūtaketake reflect our role and the taonga we hold. They also allow all our website visitors, especially tāngata Māori, to see themselves in the kaupapa.

Niho tāniwha

The use of niho tāniwha speaks to the generational sharing of history, stories and whakapapa.

Aramoana

The use of aramoana speaks to our history of navigation and the many pathways of the moana.

Kaokao

The inclusion of the kaokao pattern represents the arm of an embrace. This speaks to values of partnership and being in good relations with each other as te Tiriti o Waitangi partners.

Rauponga

The addition of rauponga reflects the many intersecting layers of history, and the layers of diversity that our nation comprises.

This work is intended to be an evolution of our existing visual identity, rather than a rebrand. These designs can be applied across archives.govt.nz and work with our current website structure.

Soon you’ll see these new features start appearing across archives.govt.nz. These enhancements are a work in progress as we continue to evolve to ensure our website is welcoming to everyone that uses it. We’re excited to share this journey with you.