Uhi

Uhi

Typeface Design
Type Specimen

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is New Zealand’s second largest tertiary education provider. In 2015, they undertook a major rebranding project to increase brand awareness through creating a strong, relevant and accessible brand. As part of that project, a unique voice was required to distinguish it in a crowded tertiary marketplace.

To create that voice, a custom typeface with a uniquely Māori feel was created to be used on all branded materials. We called it Uhi.

An ‘uhi’ is an instrument used to incise or puncture the skin during the process of tā moko—Māori traditional tattooing. The uhi tool’s mark-making speaks of the history, culture and sacred identity of the Māori people. As a custom branding tool, it is instrumental in speaking on behalf of its users, representing a longstanding tradition of Māori storytelling. Uhi is a display typeface, crafted to carry the sharp edges and chisel-esque proportions of the traditional marks the uhi tool creates. The round, geometric characters lend themselves to a warm, inviting tone of voice. The graphic construction of the letterforms ensures that—just like the mark-making of the uhi tool—the Uhi typeface can be used as a pattern.

Uhi is available in two weights, Regular and Inline. It has been purposefully designed with the unique functionality of using two languages alongside each other—English and Māori—in one robust typographic system. The result is an extremely versatile set of characters. Uhi’s conceptual origins lie in a rich cultural history, and its contemporary detailing is carving the way for a new story to be told.