Martu are amongst a small group of Indigenous people who had no whitefella contact until the mid 1960s. Kanyirninpa Jukurpa (KJ) is a Martu-led organisation delivering environmental, cultural and social programs to maintain Martu cultural identity and contribute to conservation projects of global significance.
KJ approached Today to refresh their brand and their primary window to the world—their website. The brand helps to tell their story and the story of Martu people, but it had become dated, and didn’t necessarily convey the strength, resilience, and resourcefulness of Martu people, country, and culture.
KJ’s work is important for Martu, Australia and the world. By effectively showcasing the work and programs, we can secure the positive future of the work Martu are doing and inspire others to take a similar path.
A better website was becoming more and more important to convince supporters and funders to further support the important work that’s taking place in Australia’s Great Sandy Desert.
After consultation with KJ, it was clear that the brand needed to speak to Martu’s deep connection with the land. First, we developed a colour palette that referenced the land and its native flora and fauna. Elders were consulted and the palette finalised, from which point we began to explore different options for graphic treatment that used slightly different tonal variations. The concept that focused on the theme of ‘vibrancy’ resonated most with Martu representatives. This system of typography, layout, photography treatment and iconography was refined in further consultation, to form the foundation of the brand’s visual language.
Today did a brilliant job of the KJ brand and website design. The team were able to capture the strength, warmth, and resilience of Martu culture through good design. They’ve proven to be great design partners for us. They are excellent collaborators—they listen, and respond with design work that is authentic, beautiful, and effective.
Zan King
Managing Director, KJ
Bringing life to the vibrancy of Martu people, culture, and country. We used simple, elegant typography and matched it with bold, vibrant colour. With colour as the hero, we drew from what can be seen in photography and used that as a base—but we expressed the unseen, pushing out into a natural palette, drawn from the land, that represents vibrant Martu culture, people, and stories.
Clifton Girigrba (pictured centre), with Alwyn Booth, and grandmother Kumpaya Girgiba, holding a grinding stone used during the pujiman (bushman) days.
For Martu people who live in this land, it’s the songline and the land around this area, it’s so special to them. We connect with the land—it’s our dreaming, our spirits, our culture. It’s my life. It’s all Martu people’s ancestors, our great grandmother’s and grandfather’s. What the old people told me—to try and look after our culture, law and the land. So we need to protect Martu culture and the land and the community that lives around it.
The new KJ brand and website is successful in sharing the depth and vibrancy of Martu culture with the world. KJ is a Martu organisation that has been working with Martu since 2005 to build strong, sustainable communities. Their new website brings rich insight into the innovative programs that they run and has helped to secure funding sources to ensure the longevity of their critical work.