The devastating earthquake on February 22 has left tens of thousands of Kiwis from the South Island city of Christchurch in desperate need of help. New Zealanders, and indeed people all over the world, are generously giving their time and skills to Christchurch in whatever way possible – and creatives are no exception.
Several design firms have produced original t-shirt designs to help Christchurch, including brand design company DNA. “We’re a design agency, and we’re good at design so we’ve created these t-shirts for people to wear, to show their support for Christchurch,” say the DNA team, which has come up with a simple but heartfelt NZ ♥ CHCH design.
Despite a dispute over the use of the trademarked phrase Kia Kaha (Maori for forever strong), online t-shirt brand Mr Vintage has quickly printed its Aroha (love) and Kia Toa (courage) designs. Most innovative from Mr Vintage, however, are the tees featuring imagery of the Christchurch Cathedral as a seismic graph, designed by Brad Collett.
“It all began with a really, simple thought of representing the iconic Cathedral in the Richter scale idiom,” he says. “Now I am just proud that in some very small way, it has helped the courageous folk of Christchurch rebuild their spirit and their city.”
One hundred percent of profits from both companies go directly to charities: Red Cross for the DNA tees, and St John, SPCA, Victim Support and The Salvation Army for the Mr Vintage tees.