Kamehameha Schools is introducing KS Kaiāulu, a new way for us to engage with keiki and ʻohana in the kaiāulu (community) alongside our community partners who offer rich Hawaiian culture, ʻōlelo, and ʻāina-focused learning experiences. Our vision is to restore our people through education and leadership development towards ea.

Building upon our legacy of extending Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s mission beyond our campuses and preschools, KS Kaiāulu provides programs, offerings and resources, embracing keiki and ʻohana along their learner journeys. A key strategy is to partner with organizations across the pae ʻāina.

KS Kaiāulu enables Kamehameha Schools to create lifelong relationships with learners and their ʻohana who will receive information tailored to their interests and locations. Visit our website to see our initial efforts, and return back as we expand our learning resources and opportunities grounded in Hawaiian culture-based education and ʻōiwi leadership.

You’ll be hearing more about this initiative in the coming weeks and months, but for now, we want to share manaʻo about the thoughtfully-designed logo which encapsulates what KS Kaiāulu is striving to achieve.

A logo can be many things to many people. Ryan “Gonzo” Gonzalez KSK’96, KS director of Digital Strategy and Innovation and lead for the KS Kaiāulu logo design team, offered this perspective: “Like with any logo or symbol, it’s only as powerful as the mana or the moʻolelo that’s behind it because otherwise it’s just shapes or it’s just lines.”

In order to deliver a purposeful and powerful logo, KS Kealaiwikuamoʻo Director Kēhaunani Abad, Ph.D. KSK’82 said her team started by asking the question, “What kind of community, what kind of Hawaiʻi and lāhui do we envision for our future?” Vigorous discussion about what kaiāulu truly means informed how they came up with the finished product.

In the animated version of the KS Kaiāulu logo, we see piʻo (arches) in various forms anchored to things like the sun and the earth. We also see the mahiole, or royal helmet of Kamehameha whose unification of our islands established the foundation for all we do today in his name. All these images speak to a connection to that which is greater than us, and that is central to the KS Kaiāulu mission: stronger communities and deeper cultural connections.

These themes continue with the static logo and logo type. We see mahiole nestled in a circle, which recalls Mōʻi Kamehameha and our oval seal, signifying the KS Kaiāulu connection to Kamehameha Schools. The imagery also suggests our honua (earth) and an ānuenue, a symbol of our aliʻi. For the logo type, the dot over the “i” in Kaiāulu brings in the connection to wai which feeds ʻāina and all living things.

But perhaps what makes this logo so unique is that its design also leaves room for interpretation. “People have such creativity, and we’re hoping that they’ll come up with even other ways that resonate with them,” says Abad. “That’s what a good logo should do, right? It should be something that people in their own personal ways can relate to and create a story around. And we hope that our community partners can do that for themselves and give it a story that’s meaningful for them.”

Gonzalez offered this manaʻo: “When you look at movements, there’s always symbols that are involved. It can be such a powerful tool to organize people around and then push forward the changes that are needed to move people and communities forward.”

The Kaiāulu symbol is a result of multiple people whose ideas and creativity have been colored by their experiences working with and for community. Ryan “Gonzo” Gonzalez, Kaipo Ki‘aha KSK’08, Kanai‘a Nakamura, James Hall and Kēhaunani Abad contributed directly to the logo efforts, with support from Kealaiwikuamo‘o.

TAGS
native hawaiian identity,kaiāulu,community engagement and resources

CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Regions, Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, Wai’anae Coast, ‘Ewa, Waialua, Kona, O’ahu, Ko’olau, Maui, Moloka’i and Lana’i, West Hawai’i, East Hawai’i, Themes, Culture, Community, KS Announcements, Hawaii campus, Kapalama campus, Maui campus, Preschools

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