Description:

People who come to the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission website have often endured traumatic experiences, leading to the infringement of their rights. They are some of the most vulnerable individuals of our nation, who have mustered the courage to step forward and seek help.

When going through the redesign process it was vital that we had a strong understanding of the mindset of these individuals, their comprehension of their human rights, and the support they would require in order to tell their story. We needed to go beyond developing a tool that provided information. We needed to create a space that made people feel safe and calm. A place that could be a part of their healing journey.

The pre-existing website fell short of fostering connection, trust, and understanding. It didn’t align with the organisation’s mission, vision, values, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitment.

With this in mind, we conducted a comprehensive reimagining of the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission experience.

We began with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As the first foundational human rights document of Aotearoa New Zealand, we needed to ensure that the spirit of the website was designed first and foremost from a Te Ao Māori lens. This involved close collaboration with the cultural expertise within the organisation (Te Ahi Kaa).
We drew upon the organisation’s core identity of the Taniko to create an experience that felt like a Korowai reaching out far and wide over our community – wrapping the care and warmth of the cloak around them.

Through a manaaki-centric design approach, the experience was crafted to provide individuals with the utmost care as they navigate their journey to seek assistance. Providing a light, user-friendly, and compassionate space that fostered a visual connection to the natural world with the intent of alleviating anxiety and equipping individuals with the services they need in an easy, secure and calming way. The complaints process was also radically simplified to be highly intuitive and responsive, providing a guided journey for some of the most vulnerable individuals in Aotearoa.

By harnessing the natural acoustics of forests and the soothing sounds of birdlife, coupled with a gentle and slow-moving animation, we created a space where people can whakatau, to take a moment, breathe and compose themselves. Every aspect of the website was designed to close the gap between difficult and easy, traumatised and calm, confusion and clarity, complaint and resolution, pain and relief.

Since going live, we have seen a remarkable 20% increase in search visibility, tripling the overall organic sessions per month and securing the top search position for key terms related to human rights in New Zealand. Additionally, the updated experience has resulted in an increased rate of complaint form completion. On the new website, 33% of users who open the form are submitting their complaints, compared to the previous website's completion rate of only 15%. Our approach has also sparked interest from other nations, who are now interested in undertaking a similar approach to their connection to people and place through a bi-cultural lens.