Atawhai ADHD PLanner

Introduction

Atawhai Tipene wears a lot of hats. Business owner. Facilitator. Tattoo studio owner. Mum. Wife. Dream maker. Busy-busy-minded woman.

For four years, she carried around an idea — a planner built for brains like hers. Not another notebook that made her feel behind before she'd even opened it. One that actually worked with the way she thinks.

She came to me with the dream. I helped her build the thing.

The Story

Atawhai's mind never really switches off. Ideas, lists, half-finished thoughts, things to remember — all of it, all the time. For years her solution was more notebooks. One for business, one for the random stuff, one for goals she didn't want to lose. Her bag felt like organised chaos. So did her brain.

She wanted one home for all of it. A planner that didn't punish her for missing a day, that gave her room to brain-dump without judgement, that felt calm instead of another thing to keep up with.

This was building something from nothing — taking a four-year-old idea and turning it into a real, physical, premium product.

Built in her own image

We started with product development, working out what this planner needed to do differently before a single page was designed. From there, we built something completely custom, right down to the smallest detail.

The illustration direction started as abstract, minimal drawings of women — soft lines, no faces, just presence. It wasn't until we were deep into the concept that we realised how closely that style already echoed Atawhai's own brand photography. So we leaned all the way in. The illustrations are drawn from her own photography. The textures and patterns come from the clothing she wears. Nothing was generic or stock — her essence is woven through the entire product.

Even the name carries meaning. Atawhai is Māori for kindness, compassion, to show care for. We named the planner after her, because that's exactly what she built it to do. The colour palette follows the same intention — soft, considered tones chosen so the planner never adds to the overwhelm it's meant to hold.

The Transformation

A Product Built From Nothing But Her
Every illustration, texture and colour choice ties back to Atawhai herself. Nothing was pulled from a template — the planner looks, and feels, unmistakably like her.

A Name That Means What It Delivers
Atawhai means kindness and care in Te Reo Māori. Naming the planner after her wasn't just personal — it set the intention for the entire product before a single page was designed.

Proof She Can Do Hard Things
This planner is more than a business asset. It's Atawhai showing herself that a brain that doesn't work the "normal" way can still build something magical.

A New Income Stream, Four Years In the Making
What started as an idea she carried around in her bag is now in production, with a waitlist building ahead of prelaunch.

Key Benefits

Fully Custom, Not Off-the-Shelf
From illustration to texture to colour, every design decision is drawn directly from Atawhai and the world she has built for herself.

Designed to Calm, Not Overwhelm
The soft, intentional palette means the planner supports the busy mind it was built for, instead of adding to its noise.

A Brand and a Product, Built Together
Product development, illustration, production liaison and full brand identity were delivered as one connected process — not disjointed pieces stitched together after the fact.

Ready for the World
From a four-year-old idea to a product in production with a growing prelaunch waitlist — proof and momentum, before it's even launched.