The organisation’s name officially changed from the New Zealand Book Council to Read NZ Te Pou Muramura in August 2019, with the Māori component of the name gifted by Reo Rua.

“We are excited to now take the next step of bringing our online and visual presence into line with our organisation’s name and kaupapa,” says CEO Juliet Blyth.

Te Pou Muramura expresses the concept of moving from darkness into light, as told in the Māori creation story. It’s a metaphor that can also be used to describe what happens during the process of reading.

Read NZ Te Pou Muramura felt it was important to reflect this shift in the organisation’s identity with a refreshed look and feel: and, on a practical level, to make it as easy as possible to understand the organisation’s values and programmes.

“Izzy has perfectly encapsulated the process our name describes in our banner image, and her other illustrations lend a sense of fun, warmth, and diversity, which are also key values of our organisation,” says Juliet.

Izzy (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Kahungungu ki te Wairoa) is a freelance illustrator of Māori, British and Danish ancestry who works in Pōneke Wellington, and conceived of and produced the illustrations and iconography for the site.

As well as Izzy’s vibrant illustrations, the website refresh has been brought to life by the Tāmaki Makaurau based team at Gravitate, assisted by funding from what was previously Peppercorn Press as well as Read NZ Te Pou Muramura’s generous individual supporters.

“It’s our hope that our refreshed website will very clearly convey who we are and our priorities in advocating for reading for pleasure for all New Zealanders, as well as providing a plain source of information about the programmes we offer,” Juliet says.

“We hope our visual identity will capture the minds of even more New Zealanders, and enable us to advocate for reading to an even wider audience.

Read NZ Te Pou Muramura is very proud of our heritage: but we’re equally proud of our ambitions for the future, and hope that both are reflected in the new design.”