Kia ora, I'm Ethan
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 & Developer based in Pōneke, Aotearoa
Indigenous storytelling, critical cartography, and digital world-building
Currently working on mapping projects and data visualization
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. He creates poetic, technically rigorous responses to social and environmental systems through data visualisation, mapping, and typographic experimentation. He has worked with university research centres, independent artists, and policy organisations on projects spanning from phosphate trade research to geospatial tools for community engagement.
EXPERIENCE
Teaching Fellow, Victoria University — 2025
Research Assistant, Victoria University — 2021–
Design Tutor, Victoria University — 2021–
Summer Research Scholar — 2022–2023
EDUCATION
Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University
Master of Design, 2024
Bachelor of Design Innovation, 2023
KIA ORA, I'M ETHAN
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.
PROJECTS
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 collaborative exhibition design exploring iterative processes in postgraduate design research and practice.
Exploring narrative through sequential imagery and experimental visual composition.
A playful, experimental approach to web design inspired by brutalism and improvisation.
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.
Tools and graphics for making complex environmental data accessible through maps and visual storytelling.
A curated series exploring the intersection of digital and physical display spaces through experimental exhibition design.
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.
ABOUT
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. He creates poetic, technically rigorous responses to social and environmental systems through data visualisation, mapping, and typographic experimentation.
EXPERIENCE
Teaching Fellow, Victoria University — 2025
Research Assistant, Victoria University — 2021–
Design Tutor, Victoria University — 2021–
Summer Research Scholar — 2022–2023
EDUCATION
Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University
Master of Design, 2024
Bachelor of Design Innovation, 2023