I'm a designer and researcher based in Aotearoa New Zealand. My practice blends indigenous storytelling, critical cartography, and digital systems thinking to reimagine how we visualise land, data, and identity.
Designer & Researcher based in Pōneke, Aotearoa
Indigenous storytelling, critical cartography, and digital world-building
Currently working on mapping projects and data visualization
I'M A DESIGNER AND RESEARCHER BASED IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND. MY PRACTICE BLENDS INDIGENOUS STORYTELLING, CRITICAL CARTOGRAPHY, AND DIGITAL SYSTEMS THINKING TO REIMAGINE HOW WE VISUALISE LAND, DATA, AND IDENTITY.
Embodied Cartographies serves as a digital repository and critical framework that unifies a diverse body of research into a singular framework.
A photographic journey retracing whakapapa through the East Cape, mapping personal and ancestral memory.
Visualising the complex interrelations between people and environment using data-driven maps and diagrams.
Investigating phosphate extraction, colonial histories, and indigenous rights in the Western Sahara region.
Examining the role of digital platforms in shaping public understanding of climate change.
A research and design project exploring the relationship between digital consumption, attention, and wellbeing.
A playful, experimental approach to learning te reo Māori.
A collaborative exhibition design exploring iterative processes in postgraduate design research and practice.
Exploring narrative through sequential imagery and experimental visual composition.
An immersive spatial installation exploring the relationship between form, space, and materiality through experimental construction.
An immersive installation exploring space, sound, and the metaphor of the vessel.
An immersive installation exploring space, sound, and the metaphor of the vessel.
A mapping project exploring dreams, memory, and spatial narratives through visual storytelling.
A series of works exploring the relationship between technology, typography, the grid, and communication.
A brand identity for a Māori photography exhibition, creating a typographic and visual identity for the exhibition at Toi Poneke.
Ethan Sheaf-Morrison is an independent designer, researcher, and developer based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Grounded in his Māori whakapapa (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), his work intersects indigenous storytelling, critical cartography, and digital world-building.
Teaching Fellow, Victoria University — 2025
Research Assistant, Victoria University — 2021–
Design Tutor, Victoria University — 2021–
Summer Research Scholar — 2022–2023
Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University
Master of Design with Distinction, 2024
Bachelor of Design Innovation, 2023