Description:

Pātaka Kai is a beautifully crafted, kaupapa Māori-led book that uplifts the stories of Indigenous food growers across Aotearoa and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, while setting a new benchmark for editorial design rooted in Toi Māori.

At its heart, Pātaka Kai responds to the urgent challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and food system failures by sharing practical, community-led solutions from Indigenous growers, practitioners and knowledge holders. More than a collection of stories, the book functions as a living pātaka—a storehouse of mātauranga Māori, whakapapa and kai sovereignty practices—designed to inspire, teach and empower.

The opportunity was to create a publication that embodies a Māori worldview, illustrating the inseparable connections between atua, tangata whenua, and the whenua through every design decision. This included how we pace and structure narrative, how we honour contributors’ voices, and how we visually express the kaupapa.

The approach was deeply collaborative, bringing together leaders across research, design and photography. Dr Jessica Hutchings (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Gujarati) and Associate Professor Jo Smith (Kāi Tahu) led the kaupapa Māori research and writing. Dr Johnson Witehira (Tamahaki, Ngāti Hinekura, Ngāpuhi) provided Toi Māori design leadership, creating original illustrations that reference diverse iwi design traditions while responding specifically to each chapter’s kaupapa. Yvonne Taura (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) contributed expertise in mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori processes, ensuring cultural integrity was upheld throughout.

A significant aspect of the project was the use of Matarongo, a newly developed Māori bodycopy typeface by Witehira and Kris Sowersby, applied here for the first time in a published book. Its distinctive digraph characters and culturally informed design enabled the reo and the kaupapa to be held with dignity and clarity on the page, marking a step forward in Māori typographic sovereignty.

The design was led by Anna Brown with Hanna van Heugten Breurkes, whose typographic detailing and editorial layout brought breath and rhythm to the book, reflecting the cadence of wānanga and Māori oral traditions. Photography by Warwick Smith grounds the narratives in lived experience, capturing the mauri of the people, places and practices featured.

The outcome is a book that not only serves as a beautiful, functional publication but also contributes to wider conversations about Indigenous sovereignty, environmental restoration and design leadership in Aotearoa. Pātaka Kai demonstrates how editorial design can move beyond aesthetics to become a vehicle for transformation—uplifting communities, restoring connections to whenua, and making visible the futures we can grow together.