bioneural.net » kiwi

iPhone wallpapers for homesick Kiwis

Bruce — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:52:51 +0000

Everyone loves customizing new toys and making wallpapers for your phone is probably one of the easier ways to do it (a lot easier, for example, than trying to find an inexpensive yet good-looking protective case!). I took a selection of images from Project Koru are turned them into three thematic wallpaper sets for my iPhone using this great Photoshop template. Blue Welly We love Wellington. We miss it and this makes us feel blue at times; the Windy City also has blue skies more often than those above us in England. These are evident in the Blue Welly wallpapers, featuring public sculptures around the city. The images in this set show: The Fern Ball in the Civic Centre; One of the totem poles on the City to Sea Bridge; One of the metal nikau palms outside the Public Library; The Weta Workshop Tripod in Courtenay Place. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageBlue welly iPhone wallpapers Godzone patterns New Zealand has a lot of different landscapes in relatively close proximity, making it an ideal place for the photographic pursuit of natural pattern spotting. The images in this set show: The golden sands of Abel Tasman National Park in Golden Bay; The leaf structure of the New Zealand tree fern; The rippled surface of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds; A dense stand of manuka (NZ tea tree) on the slopes of Mt. Taranaki (looking rather like a wooden barcode). Click thumbnail to enlarge imageGodzone patterns iPhone wallpapers Kiwi icons I've touched on iconic Kiwi symbols before (and noted a couple of icon sets). The images in ...

Kiwi! Kiwi! Kiwi!

Bruce — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:15:26 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Today on Kapiti Island Simone and I were lucky enough to see (and photograph) Apteryx owenii, the Little Spotted Kiwi—the rarest type (only about 1600 are left nationwide). Kapiti Island lies 5km offshore from Paraparaumu, about 45 minutes north of Wellington. Permission to land on the island must be obtained in advance from the Department of Conservation (DOC), and is restricted to a maximum of 80 persons per day. Roughly 10 by 2 km in size, Kapiti was once the stronghold of Te Rauparaha (we've read about him) and served as a whaling base before being virtually cleared for farming. The recovering forest now provides a predator-free sanctuary for bird populations to increase unmolested. We saw our "Little Spot" at Tuteremoana, the highest point on the island (521 metres). Click thumbnail to enlarge image Little Spotted Kiwi, Kapiti Island The national bird is a threatened species. Most New Zealanders probably have never seen a live kiwi, and if so it was likely in a kiwi house. Normally nocturnal, we never expected to see one during our tramp. A DOC ranger suggested our little fellow might be a bit stupid (we'd suggested insomniac) and didn't fancy his chances of escaping being "fluffed up" by an aggressive weka. Aside from the kiwi (call) and many weka, we also saw several other native species including tui (call), bellbirds, kaka (a parrot, call), kereru (a wood pigeon), kakariki (a parakeet), saddlebacks, and hihi.

Great NZ logos

Bruce — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 22:12:47 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

There are several symbols that are very strongly associated with a New Zealand identity: the kiwi, the silver fern, and the koru. Here is a small collection of notable logos that incorporate these symbols. I've previously mentioned a proposal for changing the New Zealand flag to a design that represents the nation rather than its former colonial power. One of the reasons for the suggested change merits repeating: The job of a flag is to instantly signal the country of origin in the simplest, quickest, most potent manner. This means utilising a single powerful image rather than several elements and thereby diluting the potency of the symbol. In my humble opinion the "preferred" design promoted by the campaign does just that: Proposed new flag (© NZFlag.com Trust) Next up is one that's been around for a while; the simple outline of a kiwi in the Buy New Zealand Made logo: Buy kiwi for kiwis (© Buy New Zealand Made Campaign Ltd.) The national airline carries a New Zealand symbol to distant corners of the globe. It's not hard to spot the Air New Zealand tail-fin at airports around the world, sporting a highly recognisable koru: A koru with wings (© Air New Zealand) Anyone who enjoys rugby will be familiar with the Canterbury of New Zealand clothing label: Activewear that's hard to rip (© Canterbury of New Zealand) And you can't mention rugby without mentioning the All Blacks, wearers of the silver fern logo on their shirts: Activewear that's hard to trip (© All Blacks) The Department of Conservation do a great job ...

New Zealand cultural icons

Bruce — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 20:31:29 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Ngã Tãonga o Aotearoa is a multi-platform set of 5 icons from Manchester-based designer Mischa McLachlan. The set comprises kiwifruit (do try Golden Kiwis if you find the familiar one too tart; you can get them in Tesco), a greenstone (pounamu) fishhook or lure (a common motif; see here), a kiwi, NZ documents, and a Buzzy Bee. You can download them from Zyotism:Aesthetics here:

New Zealand icon set

Bruce — Sat, 19 Mar 2005 06:04:04 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Cian Walsh at Afterglow recently spent a year working in New Zealand. He decided to commemorate his stay by turning some kiwi icons into, well, icons. The set includes icons for All Blacks, Alt. NZ Flag, Bach, Beehive, Buzzy Bee, Cricket, Greenstone, Jandals, Kiwi, Kiwi Fruit, L&P, Maori Flag, Marae, Moko 1, Moko 2, Mount Taranaki, Nuclear Free, NZ Flag, Peter Jackson, Rugby Ball, Sheep, Silver Fern, Skater Cap, Tomato Sauce, Tramping Boots, Truck with Dog, and Whale Watching. The only one I can't identify with (speaking of which, shall we change the flag?) is "Skater Hat"—but this might just be a generational thing ;-) The set is available to download for both Mac and Windows: Cian's site has additional fantastic icon sets and a good deal more eye candy that showcases his obvious talent. Go see, and get NZ on your desktop: