Tō Mātou Rerenga

Project
Brand identityApp
Agency
Dentsu New Zealand
Client
University of Auckland
The Tō Mātou Rerenga app on a phone in a backpack pocket

A world-leading wellbeing app built for Growing Up in New Zealand, the country’s largest youth study following 6,000 young people as they grow up.

A crab illustration from the app's visual world

A colorful, playful universe that makes sharing your story feel like an adventure.

Commissioned by the University of Auckland and co-designed with young people from the ground up.

The Nau Mai, Haere Mai welcome screen
The avatar creator — who are you?

The journey begins at sea aboard your Waka, a traditional Māori canoe, taking you across different islands and introducing you to a cast of unique characters.

A series of characters accompany the young users through their journey as they discover the island.

Ora the parrot — the messenger of the islands
A wellbeing question — what made you feel good last week?
A multiple-choice question about school subjects

The questions were designed to be answered through text, voice, or interactive UI, catering to different styles of communication.

Some characters also feature mini-games, with each one designed to have a positive impact on the island.

The Our Journey island map showing progress
Paka's beach — a rubbish-sorting mini-game

The island maps visualise progress, adding a rewarding layer to the experience through gamification.

You explored all the island — the completion screen

UX research, design direction and a scalable design system, all handed over and fully implemented. Design now reaching an entire generation of New Zealanders.

A parrot character from the app's illustrated world
The Next Legends

Muhammad Ali

The Next Legends

Videogame

Coffee?

Available for projects and fractional