Inclusive Creativity™ and why it matters

Inclusive Creativity™ removes barriers in order to enable more people to engage with brands.

Our approach is reshaping the way brands are formed and function, so that inclusivity becomes woven through every step, from input to output.

Inclusive Creativity™ reframes what accessibility in creativity means beyond the digital space, across the entire brand experience.

So that it is not an afterthought, but a first thought.

It is not a niche market, but a global market.

Not a compliance step, but a strategic growth step.

Not a special consideration, but an essential one.

Image of a blue circle, encapsulating smaller circles of light blue and mustard colour, representing the Ramp inclusive design model.

Enabling inclusion

Inclusive Creativity™ enables inclusion and a sense of ownership through collaborative strategy and design development, connecting internal teams and their cultures with their external brands.

Enabling culture

Inclusive Creativity™ enables authentic and meaningful cultural development, using our model He Whitianga (‘place of connection’), based on the core principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

It brings together te ao Māori (the Māori world view) with European perspectives and approaches; while allowing each to remain true to themselves – developing visual communication that is universally connecting and culturally empowering.

Enabling partnership

Inclusive Creativity™ enables true partnership with our clients, allowing for strategic thinking to come to life faster, with more clarity, understanding, and far less costly to and fro.

Enabling accessibility

Inclusive Creativity™ enables wider and deeper accessibility, making it not only possible for those with impairments and disabilities to enjoy, but far easier for everyone else to enjoy as well.

Enabling growth

Inclusive Creativity™ enables brands to grow their competitive advantage, rather than simply check off compliance. Every barrier removed is a customer gained, every inclusive choice made is a brand differentiator built.

Talk with us more about the power of Inclusive Creativity™

Our ‘un’structure

We offer a scalable, working framework; based on your needs, we build tailored teams to match.

We dial up the talent, and dial down the red tape.

We dial up capability, dial down complexity.

Dial up listening, dial down limiting;

Dial up togetherness, dial down them-and-us;

Dial up ‘we’, dial down ‘me’;

Dial up better versions of us all, dial down the stuff that holds us back.

The benefit?

No faffing about. No middle-people. No inefficiencies.

Our clients love what we don’t give them. It’s the best of business, minus the BS.

Our people

The key to being able to cover all your needs without watering down expertise is our unique network of partners – the Ramp partner network.

At the heart of Ramp is Stephen Reid, who provides most of your day-to-day requirements. Stephen’s expertise straddles brand strategy and creative, and he is supported across specific needs of any project by the talented team of people of the Ramp partner network.

We create tailored teams of specialists as needed, and cross-pollinate their knowledge and skills to your advantage. 

Our network of ‘Rampers’ includes designers, copywriters, cultural experts, filmmakers, animators, producers and doers.

Meet some of the Ramp partner network.

Head and shoulders picture of Stephen Reid, standing on waterfront. Stephen is wearing a black t-shirt, smiling at camera

Stephen Reid

Founder, Strategy and Creative Director

Stephen began his career as an art director and designer in New Zealand and Australia before founding Ramp in 2004. Combining strategy and creativity, he collaborates with clients in a range of areas across the public and private sectors. His sector experience includes health, education, energy, agriculture, transport and professional services. 

Stephen believes design’s key role is to bring people together and has created Ramp’s inclusive design practice, including our He Whitianga model to help enable that. He is passionate about creating work that helps to make a real, meaningful difference to those who it is aimed at as well as those who are creating it – and he loves to work with people who feel the same.

Head and shoulder phot of Helen Milner, wearing a black t-shirt and standing in front of dark grey background

Helen Milner

Design Consultant

With over 25 years in New Zealand’s brand and communication industry, Helen has led as a senior creative in top advertising agencies and founded her own branding agency, Tardis. As Creative Director at Designworks and now Director at Saedi Brand Curators, she specializes in brand strategy for sectors like Food and Beverage, Arts, Tourism, and Fashion.

Helen thrives on crafting authentic brand narratives and experiences, believing in common-sense strategies and strong team culture. Dedicated to enhancing New Zealand brands with quality and cultural integrity, she is passionate about creating outcomes that combine equitable benefit for business, people and the environment.

Head and shoulders photo of Tim Worrall, standing in front of a light coloured brick wall, wearing a black t-shirt and carving around his neck

Tim Worrall – Ngāi Tūhoe

Māori Communications and Design Lead

Tim is Ramp’s Māori lead, focusing on projects that have specific requirements related to Māori world views and engagement. Tim also led the development of Ramp’s He Whitianga cultural engagement model. With a BFA from  Auckland University and an MA from Victoria University, Tim has worked as an artist, lecturer, designer, tā moko tatooist, and consultant, drawing inspiration from his Tūhoe heritage. He has contributed to various community projects in the Bay of Plenty, lectured in Māori Art, and served as Chairman of his marae. Tim is also a film and television screenwriter and director. He lives in Rotorua with his wife Taria Tahana and their whānau.

Head and shoulders photo of Lara Philips, standing in front of a light grey background

Lara Phillips

Copywriter

Lara has over 20 years’ experience as a copywriter, enhancing Ramp’s team with her creative concepts and deep understanding of brand engagement. From a background in advertising agencies such as Clemenger BBDO and design agencies such as Ocean Design, she now freelances with various clients. Lara thrives in creative thinking and collaboration, delving deep into the essence of brands to establish meaningful connections with audiences. Her expertise extends from crafting brand stories to website content, advertising campaigns and video scripts.

head and shoulders picture of Angela Vink. Angela is wearing a black dress with flowers on it, and she has short blond hair.

Angela Vink

Design Consultant

Award-winning designer Angela has 20+ years of experience and is a mother to two young boys. She has collaborated with Ramp on various projects, ranging from health to corporate design, across the public and private sectors. Angela previously worked at Wellington design agencies like Capiche, Clemenger BBDO, and DNA Design, handling diverse design tasks for corporate and government clients. With a keen aesthetic sense, Angela excels in brand identity, print, websites, applications, packaging, and typography.

Doppel.co.nz

Sam Cooke

Digital Development

Sam, with Ramp for over 20 years and previously with Stephen, spearheads thinkbox, a web and multimedia design company. A digital veteran, he excels in e-commerce, government projects, online advertising, and IT systems. Sam’s expertise includes coding, animation, design, strategy, and project management. Sam helps us find out what’s possible in the digital space. An encyclopaedia of digital knowledge, there’s yet to be a digital question that cannot be answered by a quick chat with Sam.

  • Trevor Booth
    Executive Director, Booth's Logistics

    “Ramp was instrumental in our understanding of options to better present our rapidly evolving business to our stakeholders. Stephen brought his own experience and expertise along with hand picked experts in specific disciplines as required in our rebranding process. This included inclusive internal workshops to develop our positioning and values through to design, branding, and execution. I couldn’t recommend Stephen and his extended Ramp team more highly – just awesome.”

  • Alecia Thompson
    Contact Energy

    “With trust comes the opportunity for people to be more vulnerable. Not only could Stephen elicit their vulnerability, but he could elicit his own. There was reciprocity with each other.”

  • Rachel Dahlberg
    Aroturuki Tamariki | Independent Children’s Monitor

    “Stephen recognised we needed a different skill set, a Māori perspective, and he was able to call on this. So, while you’re not paying for a big agency, you can access all this extra resource.”

  • Heemi McDonald
    Physical Education New Zealand

    “As an organisation, working with Ramp was a fantastic and rewarding experience. The team understood our needs and delivered a brand that spoke to the heart of who we are and what we hope to achieve. Our brand now better resembles our aspirations for the future. The process of bringing our brand to life exceeded our expectations and we are grateful to the team at Ramp.”

  • Victoria Smith
    Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

    “Stephen is hugely respectful, listens, and challenges in a thoughtful way. He has a strong desire to deeply understand and comes from the position of partnership from the beginning.”

Back to top
Page Reader Press Enter to Read Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Pause or Restart Reading Page Content Out Loud Press Enter to Stop Reading Page Content Out Loud Screen Reader Support