Future NZ
Introduction
What if your child's future success could be predicted as early as age three?
The Dunedin Longitudinal Study has found that key social and emotional skills developed
in early childhood can massively shape a person’s entire life.
There are things we could and should do if we want children to grow up in a country where everyone has a fair chance.
This conceptual service steps in early to support both parents and children by regularly assessing
a child's mental and physical health while developing key social-emotional skills, stepping in early and helping them get on the path for lifelong success.
N.B. This project is heavily influenced by the visual direction and design philosophy of the game Monument Valley by UStwo Games and Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher.
Future NZ
Little Worlds
The Brief
In 6 weeks - Design and produce an innovative concept, visual identity, creative media strategy and collateral for a new social enterprise that solves an environmental or social problem. Using an agile and human-centred approach to determine the concept and scope of the business, and the service that this enterprise offers. This is an Academic Project.
My Role
Solo Project - From research insights to final visuals: conducted interviews, strategized, led creative direction, and produced all visual outcomes.
Field of Practice
Design and execution of collateral materials including: website design, mockups, vector illustrations, print collateral design, and photography.
Medium
Brand system and guideline documentation with supporting mockups, illustrations and visual elements.
The Style
Visually, Future NZ needed to walk a fine line. The challenge? To design a visual system that feels trustworthy and structured without drifting into cold or clinical territory. Many current services aimed at children like Plunket and Well Child Tamariki Ora lean heavily into soft, safe aesthetics - which, while approachable, often fail to communicate structure, long-term support, or credibility. On the flip side, services designed for adult engagement (especially in the government and health sectors) tend to over-index on formality and alienate the very people they aim to support. Future NZ strikes a different balance. It takes the rigidity and clarity of isometric illustration and pairs it with a youthful colour palette to create a tone that is both structured and playful. Each visual world represents a child's own little world, rich with detail, quirks, and potential. Each illustration depicts a little world that comes to life in impossible ways when viewed from the right perspective, mirroring the little worlds of the children Future NZ would be looking to support.
Future NZ
Tagline
The Solution and Trickle Down Effects
The long-term vision for Future NZ is to provide government-funded support for every Kiwi family with a child,
beginning at age 3 and continuing until age 18. This program would ensure each child’s unique needs are met,
giving them the skills they need and creating a foundation for lifelong success.
By building these often-overlooked but crucial skills early on, we can cut down the chances of serious struggles in adulthood,
along with the ripple effects they create down the line.
As it stands now, no comprehensive, long-term support service exists in New Zealand that covers both early
childhood and adolescence. Some services, like the Capital Genetics Group in Wellington, offer specialized support, but they are not government-funded. This makes them wholely
inaccessible to huge segment of the population. Given the high levels of poverty in New Zealand, a publicly funded solution would benefit all families, rather than just the wealthy.
Which brings us full circle to a simple but powerful thought: while we cannot change where a child starts, we can absolutely
change where they end up if we start early and get it right.
Behind the Scenes
Take a look at how some of these illustrations were constructed.
