Introduction [a]

• A RE-DESIGN of the New Zealand flag has often been viewed in isolation. Instead of starting with a particular flag design and then assessing it, it may be more productive to begin by thinking about the right criteria for a new flag.

Designs have been sought for the purpose of flag use – only. That was fine for Victorian times for use on ships and on buildings. But as we progress further into a century of multi-media and highly portable display devices, it may be more effective to consider first a generalised symbol for New Zealand, of which flag use is merely one instance.

In order to gain the greatest overall international advantage, it may be necessary to sacrifice a few traditional aspects of the ideal flag.

Aesthetics are normally a matter of personal taste. Although they’re important, aesthetics shouldn’t be the sole consideration. Otherwise, a symbol could represent an average, or lowest- common-denominator, personal taste – and disregard other desiderata.

• SUFFICIENT conditions – It should not be enough that the style of a new flag is merely liked. A new flag should meet important criteria beyond simply looking nice.

The most sensitive and significant use of a NZ flag is as a symbol overseas. Our land is mid-way in size between the United Kingdom and Italy. But by international measures we are still a small country.

A flag should be able to stand out and be recognised easily, in order to make the maximum impact in the long term. If a new flag is contemplated, the need to work hard to be noticed is no less true in the short term. This is especially so for a small country with an international presence that is no more than commensurate with our population.

For the widest possible international recognition, ideally, a symbol should not depend heavily on linguistic, cultural, political or historical references that might not be understood immediately. The less interpretation and explanation needed to people overseas, the better. In order to have the best utility, it should be effective for trade, exporters and tourism.

THE big test should be: is the design likely to achieve the widest possible easy international recognition?

Not all other countries are as outward-looking and internationally aware as NZ. A new flag or symbol for NZ should spur immediate association with the correct country.

Ideally, it should not require further information to make the connection, even for those who may know nothing more about NZ than its location on a world map.

But even quick global recognition should not be a sufficient criterion. A new design should be more than just a flag to be hung and flown.

• BRAND extension – In the 21st century with multiplying media, a new design should have an eye to branding and to use beyond just outdoor display in the wind. In the Internet age, it needs to be as multi-purpose as possible.

The ease of extending a style or theme – to as many different media as possible – will lever the most advantage from the link. This is enhanced if the concept is simple, adaptable, accessible, transcending and all-embracing.

Ideally, a symbol should mean NZ: no more and no less; and be able to be adapted easily and used by commerce for marketing purposes, as well as by agencies of the State.

continues in post: Introduction [b]

Introduction [b]

• EARLIER attempts – There've been several attempts at a design to replace our current flag. Some use symbols that are attractive shapes and meaningful to New Zealanders. They’re also recognised in some of the Commonwealth. But beyond the Commonwealth, they either convey little meaning, or are unknown. A new design needs to reach out over seas and to be as universal as possible.

Stars – some designs carry over the only symbol on the existing flag that remotely relates to NZ – the Southern Cross. But it’s easily confused with Australia’s current flag [this could change]. It is less recognised in the more populous northern hemisphere, from where this star constellation is not seen. Stars are a clich8Ed, commonplace feature of many national flags.

Interestingly, the four stars of the Southern Cross were proposed in the late 19th century, ‘but were rejected as not being exclusively representative of New Zealand’[NZ History online]

Ferns – A symbol sometimes thought to be special to NZ is the fern. However, there are thousands of fern species throughout the world and they’re especially abundant around the equator, tropics and sub-tropics.

The fern makes an attractive symbol, but the plant is far from unique to NZ. Overseas, the fern is not normally or naturally associated with NZ. Unlike the kiwi bird, for example, there is nothing about the fern that is exclusive to NZ, or represents New Zealand necessarily. Some see it depicted on TV and in photos abroad and imagine that it must be widely known around the world.

Some past flag attempts combine too many – and too disparate – elements in a single flag. The result can seem as though gathered by a committee as a compromise collection. Others are good designs of themselves but perhaps not ideal to represent the whole country.

• TO avoid? – The design goal of a new flag should be more than to omit the Union Jack and then re-hash the current flag in terms of colours, stars and maybe one or two other things.

Some of the world’s flags seem to come from some standard identikit-pak of flag elements of stripes and stars.

Parallel bands of colour, arranged vertically or horizontally, are a hackneyed feature of too many world flags. Those colour blocks are often anonymous.

Because such styles are often meaningless to outsiders, if there’s any interest, they need explanation and interpretation. 

A new flag is an opportunity to break away, not only from tradition, but also from tired commonplace convention.

A design should avoid being cold, stark, severe or funerial. For international benefit, signs and symbols should avoid being trite, derivative, unrecognisable or easily confused with the flags of other countries.

We are a proud, confident country, but we’re not a nationalistic nation.

The need for overt cultural or historical references is perhaps not as strong as for other nations, partly because NZ was the last habitable territory on Earth to be settled by humans – just one of the things that make this land special.

Connections with other countries

The current flag – with the Union Jack at the top left – is probably liked by the British people, because it shows their flag in our corner.

The relationship has been of great benefit in the past, but Britain’s interest in NZ – as well as its relative position and power in the world – has waned in the last 110 years.

For a few in the world, the British connection does not always have the positive connotation it does for the vast majority of New Zealanders.

To serve for at least the next 110 years, in an uncertain world, the safest path to follow is likely to be a neutral design that is not linked to, or associated with, any one other country.

• WHAT’s needed? – A design ought to symbolise, without necessarily being a symbol. It should unify and be unique. And fresh, special, honest, original, confident, welcoming and noticeably different from the flags of all other nations.

Partly in order that it can easily be re-purposed, we should take the opportunity to consider a design that doesn't necessarily look like a conventional flag.

Ideally, a design or theme should reference the truth, that our land is amongst the most beautiful parts of the planet. New Zealand is more than one sports team and more than one culture. And the following Proposal is more than a compromise candidate. Aotearoa is no less than our island land of the long white cloud and everything on these islands.

One of the basic tools in primary education around the globe is the atlas and the world map. What if a design were modelled on the unique, distinct-ive shape of the north and south islands? How likely would it be, that people abroad would be in doubt as to which country was represented by such a symbol?

1 Features

the ingredients for a new design
start with a clean sheet of paper

• Put aside convention and preconceptions and take one square canvas for maximum utility and flexibility

•  Add two large chunks of land i.e. New Zealand the distinctive outline of our country. If honest form follows function, should not a symbol to represent New Zealand, be a representation … of New Zealand?

•  Sieve the ingredients: in the standard version, omit Stewart Island; in some variants, omit other islands and/or omit lakes and/or simplify and streamline the coastline

• Position the islands so as the extremities touch – or nearly touch – the edges on the top, right and bottom sides. Thus, a significant area of plain, monochrome space is available on the left side for use in non-flag applications – for logos and /or ‘branding’.

• Colour in the land – fill in with a certain shade of medium- or dark-green, suggesting pounamu [greenstone]  Just add water. The pale- or mid-blue background represents the sea.


[re. the example above:  the coastline is further simplified; the water colour is C=20; M=0; Y=0; K=0; the 'gradient contour' inside the shore outline is for illustrative purposes and not suggested for the flag variant]

2 The Sea and the Land

WHEN a country is big enough for land vistas to the far horizons, and contains Australasia’s highest mountain merely as a part of an alpine chain, it is easy to forget that we are an island nation.

• TE MOANA – the backdrop – NZ was the last habitable land on Earth to be settled by humans [c. 1,300 years ago] and those humans – impressively – ventured over vast tracts of open ocean. Modern travellers to and from NZ, journey by air and they overlook the sea meta-phorically, as well as literally.

It’s also easy to forget that only a small minority of the world’s nations are island states. Some have disputed borders with neighbours and a few are landlocked.

Our coastline is thousands of kilometres in length and no part of NZ is more than 130 km from the shore. Few populations have the sea within one day’s land journey and as such a close, constant feature.

The only element retained from the old flag is the sea. In the current flag, the dark blue background is said to represent the Pacific Ocean. This Proposal has it in pale blue form, similar to the background of Fiji’s flag, where their bright blue also represents the Pacific [the unofficial flag of NZ’s Antarctic Ross Dependency is also a pale blue – an ‘ice’ background].

Fiji's pale blue Pacific

• TE WHENUA – inclusive – The coast of Aotearoa encompasses every thing in it and on it: all culture, all history and all politics. No other single image can be so all-embracing. A depiction of the islands of Aotearoa, automatically embraces Maori and colonial history, ferns, rugby, korus, kiwis and everything else that makes up our country. It is not about a single aspect. Variability is envisaged in scale and in the detail of coastline]. The one thing that should probably remain constant, is the exact colour of the sea and of the land [not here determined]. This, to encourage a family resemblance and easy association.

Omissions: the intention is to be a representation – stylised to a greater or lessor degree – of the main land masses. It is not to be, or to look like, a map. Stewart Island is left off: without it, the North & South islands can – within a square shape – be scaled to an area that is 10% larger than otherwise.
Similarly, further outlying islands are omitted in order that the two biggest islands can be rendered to scale at good size. The Chatham islands are omitted for the same reason [their own unofficial flag also happens to be their island].

3 Benefits: direct

• A simple square background or enclosure is easily scalable. Having neither portrait nor landscape orientation, this perfect shape is neutral with respect to any outer and larger design elements.

It therefore maximises the number of different applications to which the concept can be applied easily.

In flag form, a square shape requires less wind to lift than a long, rectangular or a double-square shape [the current flag]

• The island concept is almost unique – only one other country has an island on their flag [Cyprus]. This employs the rare yet obvious advantage of our being an island nation. Plus, the singular, distinctive shape of our particular islands.

A two-colour design is bold and in print form is not expensive to reproduce. Two-colour simplicity could contrast – in different variants – with varying degrees of detail in the coastline. The flag variant should have an agreed, fixed specification though

• Diagonal attraction – the overall shape of a diagonal is dynamic and attention-getting. A diagonal exists in contrast with the typical, close-by enclosing elements that are either vertical and/or horizontal: e.g. a flagpole and the sides of flag; rectilinear printed matter, including envelopes; the sides of a computer screen; a building or a billboard. The diagonal angle is relatively rare in the built environment.

The logo 100% PURE NZ takes good advantage of the gift of the diagonal shape.

The overall diagonal appearance is one of the main stand-out advantages of our islands as a shape. The overall islands outline is slim and elegant; the details in the shape – Hauraki Gulf, the Marlborough Sounds and Fiordland – hold intrigue
• Versatility – the positioning of islands on the right side has the advantage of leaving generous blank space on the left – in other guises – for symbols or wording. For example, as part of a logo or letterhead for government agencies

4 Benefits: indirect

• Sea & Land  combine a minimum of elements – and provides maximum flexibility
• Sea and land strike the right balance between utility and abstraction; the blue and green colours evoke nature and suggest water and leaf, ferns and forests

• The degree of detail in the shoreline can be varied according to application; also, the lakes could be omitted in some variants

• Colours  the pale blue is simply the sea; the land is represented by green. Green is the colour of the international environmental movement, especially in the West, and not confined to Greenpeace & Green political parties. Green is a colour favoured by some Middle Eastern countries and on their flags

• On the flag variant, the islands are separated as far as possible from the flagpole; thus, when looking up to the flag flying in the wind, the blue background tends to merge with the real sky: the islands appear to float against the sky

• The proposed design would be distinguished from the current and future flags of any and all other nations: securely, obviously and permanently 

• Likely to be recognisable immediately and internationally. No explanation is needed

• Tourism  – encouraged in a subtle way; the design suggests and reminds that New Zealand is an oasis of green in the blue ocean. The emerald island format evokes an image of a greenstone jewel set in the vast south pacific and hints that the island is one of the most beautiful countries on earth 

• Acceptability?  It’s hard to deny or under estimate the significance of NZ’s island status. A design based purely on geography will side-step any disagreement over linkage – or lack of linkage – to sport, culture, history or politics. Whatever merits it has, won’t wax or wane with time. It’s more than a compromise design. Is it perhaps the only concept that a majority of Kiwis could recognise and agree on?

5 The detail in our coastline

• THE rugged shape of the coastline is engaging and attracting and contrasts with the straight regularity of the square. Depending on the use, the coastline can be rendered in different degrees of detail.

Example of coastline drawn with straight lines

For example, in big applications like a flag, the coast could be detailed; on a stamp, it can be simplified. And this, without losing the overall shape and concept.

Lakes can be included or omitted. Large features such as Hawke Bay and the Bay of Plenty are big enough to feature in most versions; smaller bays can be added or subtracted as needed.

This possibility of adjustment, means that the design can better fit a wide range of applications.

In some variants, this outline could show the cornucopia of geography that is Aotearoa: a spit, an isthmus; bays, coves, lakes, gulfs, fjords, sounds, islands and peninsulas. Could any other symbol for NZ do more to stimulate tourism?

6 Variations on a theme

THE broadness yet minimalism of the core concept lends itself to alternative (non-flag) variants.

The relatively large amount of plain empty space allows for text, logos or emblems in either of the two main areas, for either official or commercial purposes

7 Flag: obverse and reverse

• THE majority of applications of this design would not be on flags, but on one-sided media [paper and electronic screen] such as tablet, TV-, smart phone- and computer screens and print media.

Even flags – with an image applied to both sides – in many uses are hung against walls, indoors or out, and are essentially single-sided. Ditto for plaques and badges.

But where the image appears on both sides of a material and the reverse is visible – probably never other than on a flag on a pole outdoors – an adjustment would need to be made.

On the reverse side, the islands would need to be moved left within the square in order to be on the flag’s ‘fly’ side. Thus, the flagpole side [‘canton’ or honour side] is kept as sea blue.

This arrangement [for flags only] isn’t ideal as the outline positions differ. But in the totality of uses envisaged, reverse-side-visible is a minority.

But it has the advantages of about 40% of the area available for other material plus, the dramatic diagonal shape aligns even better across the square

8 Possible variant as a vertical flag

• THE VERTICAL flag is used in some places in the world where there is often not enough wind to display the flag.

Lack of wind isn’t normally a problem in the Capital, but there may be occasions where this variant is desirable, such as a banner along processional routes.

This portrait format could be an accepted variation from the basic square format. In the vertical flag arrangement, there is more room for wording, other logos symbols or emblems.

A good aspect ratio for the frame of a vertical variant, looks to be somewhere between 1 : 2 and 1 : 3 [on the right, an illustration at 1 : 2.5 is shown].

Again, the principle adopted, is of island extremities [N,E,W.S] used to position the outline: but here, just the West and East sides, so that the North and South Islands occupy approximately the middle third.

In this variant, Steward Island could be included without causing the two main islands to be rendered significantly smaller. 

The object is not to look like a map.

Thus, Campbell Island should probably not be shown, even if that island were included in the area by the use of a sufficiently tall aspect ratio. Including Campbell island could look like a mistaken mark [the islands of the Hauraki Gulf could anyway be included, in any variants].

9 Possible variant as a triangular flag

• THE DIAGONAL  appearance of the islands referred to earlier, suggests a possible use as a triangular flag, hung from a pole mounted outside a building, perhaps over an entrance; or when carried on a staff such as at the head of the NZ team at an Olympic Games opening ceremony.

As with the banner, or vertical flag, a triangular flag hung from a pole at 45 degrees does not require wind to display

The triangular version would always require a flagpole. On the other
hand, the triangular version will always fly. Perhaps fluttering on the sterns of boats?

• N.B. The islands’ outline on the obverse [above] and reverse [right] would differ slightly in size; in order to fit, the outline on the reverse would need to be reduced to about 95% of the size of the obverse.

Other triangular variants may be possible [e.g. a pole at c. 65 degrees, from which a narrow, pennant-like flag could hang]

10 Time; history and future

• Past  About 100 years ago, NZ was given the option of becoming a state within the Commonwealth of Australia and that option may remain open.

The current NZ flag is the old flag of New South Wales, a reflection that NZ was at first administered from that separate colony. That flag, along with scores of others, is a ‘defaced’ variant of the British Naval Blue Ensign flag.

110 years ago, flag design would have been constrained by technical limitations.

When the Royal Navy’s blue ensign was adapted for use by the colonies of Australia and New Zealand, the British Empire was strong. Most of NZ’s trade was with Britain and much of Britain’s economy was integrated with her Empire. Most immigrants came from the UK.

• Present  June 2012 marks the 110th anniversary of our current flag. For 105 years NZ has been a dominion and for the foreseeable future, NZ is an independent nation.

But a distinct identity is yet to be reflected in our flag.

The only element   that relates to NZ is the Southern Cross, and that is shared with Australia. Even the blue background – said to represent our surrounding ocean – is a generalised sea, reflecting British naval origins. Fiji changed their dark-blue flag background to a light blue, the better to represent the Pacific.

Now, more than 50% of Britain’s trade is with the European Union. A change in the flag that removes the Union Jack, would be no more of an anti-British or anti-Monarchist move than was Canada’s adoption in 1965 of the red maple leaf [replacing their red-ensign derivative]. Nonetheless, NZ has grown a long way from its colonial past.

Today we have less expensive and more sophisticated ways of reproducing and distributing even complex patterns. Thus, a detailed coastal outline is unlikely to be the challenge it might have been.

• Future  A new flag is a sensitive matter and the criteria for its selection need to be thought through carefully.


Connection with the United Kingdom is still strong and is likely to remain so. That is true with or without a change in flag; with or without becoming a republic, and with or without any federation with Australia.

We need a flag that will stand the test of time. The safest choice is one that is not based on a fad or feeling and that might lead to a desire for further change in only a few decades’ time.

This proposal is not to anticipate federation with Australia, but nor is it inconsistent with that.
If, in another 110 years, such a federation occurred, a flag based on the shape of our big islands would be at least as relevant as today.
The focus on geography establishes – more clearly than any other concept – that this land has a distinct identity from Australia.