Wintec students design cookbooks with Aotearoa flavour
The brief to design a cookbook publication has been a fixture in the curriculum for many first year Bachelor of Design students at Wintec School of Media Arts, Te Pūkenga.
But this year, with the intention of making the process more “real life”, tutors saw the opportunity to capture the experience of the school’s Matariki celebration where a hāngī is prepared and shared with staff and students at the campus marae, Te Kōpū Mānia o Kirikiriroa.
“It’s real life, so it’s not just hypothetical,” says Wintec design tutor Emily Russell.
“During our Matariki celebration the students are part of the experience, where we share kai and cook a hāngī and then they take that into their designs.”
Design student Kody Walker says that looking at the translations between English and Te Reo has meant he’s been able to write, read and pronounce the key Māori words he included in his publication.
“By the end of the assessment I could read at a glance, the words in Māori. I couldn't do that before this project,” he says.
One student Jorja Metcalfe didn’t make the Matariki celebration on campus because she was at her Mother’s Marae - doing the same thing.
Although she wasn’t there she could connect with the brief.
“I used the images of the fry bread and the hāngī being pulled up,” she says.
“The image of the man [Blaine Rakena, Team Manager from Wintec Information Technology] was really cool, he just stood out amongst the smoke.”
“Sarah’s images captured a real sense of the manaakitanga,” says Russell.
“That’s extended into the student publications and the care and respect they have shown for the content.”
Blaine Rakena, Team Manager from Wintec Information Technology, on campus at the purpose-build hāngi pit outside the wharekai at Te Kōpū Mānia o Kirikiriroa. Photo: Geoff Ridder
First year design students at Wintec School of Media Arts, Te Pūkenga with the cookbooks they have designed using images from their shared Matariki feast and recipes from the community. Tutors Emily Russell and Elgee Van Tonder (Left).
