About The Program

Akamai (ă-ka-mai’), n.

Wisdom; skill; ingenuity.

Purpose

“Akamai” is a Hawaiian word that translates to “smart,” “intelligent,” “clever,” “skill” or “ingenuity.”

The Akamai Arrival program encourages people to be smart about protecting Hawaiʻi’s delicate ecosystems and native species from the destruction of invasive species.

The intent of digitizing the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture’s declaration form, historically distributed to passengers on in-bound Hawaiʻi flights, is to create a more convenient customer experience, increase engagement, and improve accuracy of data collected.

Identity

Inspiration

The logo design is inspired by the early arrival of Polynesian wayfinders who voyaged across the ocean in their waʻa kaulua (double hulled-canoe). Navigating the stars, currents, sea birds, and natural surroundings, they discovered the Hawaiian Islands and established this unique home in the middle of the Pacific. These expert navigators brought only what they needed to survive the long voyage and build their island community.

Meaning

The logo pays homage to those intelligent and skilled explorers who shaped the history and identity of Hawaiʻi. Simplified symbols of the waʻa, ocean, and sea bird create a dynamic icon alluding to the notion that people, plants, and animals have always been arriving to Hawaiʻi by sea or sky. Blue hues combine with the iron-rich soil color of the ʻāina (land) to create a striking contrast and relationship between our island’s natural elements. Sails of the wa’a resemble arrows pointing forward, implying both physical forward movement towards arrival and the ideological forward movement towards progress.

Action

Together, like the early voyagers who arrived to these islands, visitors and kamaʻaina alike can work towards building a stronger community that keeps the beauty, native species, and natural resources of these islands flourishing for generations to come.