Strapline

BEING a suggestion of Suitable Criteria to assess the most effective new symbol for New Zealand – including a flag – plus a proposed design that, it is submitted, meets the criteria.

2012-05-30

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?





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