Kaheāwai
Literally, kaheāwai means “to flow like water.”
A key function of storytelling is to perpetuate the flow of knowledge from our kūpuna (ancestors) to our moʻopuna (future generations). As storytellers, our kuleana is to ensure that flow is abundant, so that both current and future generations can thrive.
Figuratively, kaheāwai also means “to move in great crowds.”
This is a reference both to our collaborative, community-focused approach to storytelling, as well as the “great crowds” of Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Hawaiian) storytellers today and in countless generations before. We hope our work can weave into and contribute to this abundant tradition in ways that uplift us all.
Our branding
We worked with local designer Nohili Thompson of Pewa Studios to create a look and feel to Kaheāwai Media that evoked our connection to both ʻāina and wai.
Read Nohili’s manaʻo about how she created our logo, brand colors and other design elements we use in our work:
Kaheāwai Media’s logo has multiple layers of kaona (hidden meaning) embedded in its design. At its core, it was vital to the essence of the word kaheāwai that we evoke a feeling of movement and fluidity across all design elements. The flowing wai represented in the logomark embodies the streams, rivers, and oceans that connect us to each other. Wai is a common element in all of the stories and voices Kaheāwai Media aims to elevate, whether about wahi pana, food sovereignty, mālama ʻāina, or cultivating kaiāulu… wai is always present.
In creating the color scheme, I could not help but continue on this journey of thinking about the many places where wai appears, from lani (sky) to lepo (earth/dirt), and from mauka (upland) to makai (shorelands). With this holistic view toward the ways in which wai manifests, touches, and impacts our world, I wanted to weave in colors that evoke the ola (life/health) that wai creates as it permeates our ʻāina, ending up with the following:
LAU
LEAF
The growth and depth of greenery that not only beautifies our ‘āina, but feeds and heals us
ʻULU
BREADFRUIT
The fruits of our labor and the ancestral foods that have nourished us and Native Hawaiians for centuries
KAPA
BARK CLOTH
The potential and possibilities of waiwai (abundance) that can be created
WAI
WATER
Life’s most vital resource
LEPO
EARTH
The rich earth and nutrient-dense soils that feed our lands
~ Nohili Thompson | Pewa Studios
