Naomi-Leigh Ngaire Tare-Jones

Qualification

Bachelor of Design
Major in Communication Design

Student Bio

Kia Orana I'm Naomi Tare-Jones, and I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Design majoring in Communications. I'm born and raised in Tokoroa, and hail from the beautiful islands of Mangaia and Aitutaki. Tokoroa is, and will always be home and the strong sense of community and culture that my hometown holds has definitely shaped me into the person and designer I am today.

I have always had a strong passion for art and the endless possibilities this creativity provides. Therefore, The University of Waikato became the perfect place for me to study as it gave me the opportunity to explore design and grow my creative toolkit. Studying design has given me the ability to influence people, which has allowed me to realise that I can make a career out of my creativity. That I can also become a person within the design space that could bring our Pasifika and Māori culture to life. During my time at The University of Waikato, I have learnt and practised a range of skills. My areas of interest range from branding and print design to illustration. I have had the opportunity to create and explore my own style and have had many experiences that have become milestones over this time. These include having the privilege to have my work selected for exhibitions around Aotearoa and interning for a Māori graphic design business.

Project Description

If we take a second to think of all the children's "My first" book collections, these are all generally based on the English language. This genre of book is helpful in creating a good understanding for our children. Through research, I came to find that there were none of these first readers based in the Cook Islands language and this is when 'Onu Puka' was created.

Onu Puka (Turtle Books) is a collection of illustrated children's books, that are educational for young children to learn basic everyday Cook Islands reo (language). These books are visually appealing with their minimalistic aesthetic and are heavily illustration based, helping with children's recognition between images and words. Onu Puka helps with growing knowledge for both children and families and will encourage more Cook Islands reo to be spoken within the home. Onu Puka is targeted at early readers. But these books are ideal for the whole family to read along with their babies and children at any age.

My passion is designing culturally beautiful pieces, especially highlighting Pasifika and Māori cultures. As the Capstone Project is somewhat the pinnacle of our design journey here at The University of Waikato, I thought what better way to wrap up my journey than creating something magical for our Cook Islands children. It is well known that there is insufficient reading material that is authentic to our Pasifika children. Therefore, I believe that this is a niche market that is yet to be fully tapped into. This is why I created the Onu Puka collection, to provide an understanding of basic Cook Islands reo, cultural awareness and create a sense of belonging for our children.

Onu Puka

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