Designer’s Thoughts on Our New National Flag: Free Public Talk
Designer and author Michael Smythe offers his thoughts on designs for a new New Zealand flag in a free public talk on 17
March. He will present his personal view that there has been a ‘long-running plot to raise the fern’s status to the
primary icon of New Zealand’.
In his entertaining talk The Great Fern Foisting Conspiracy, and what we might hoist instead Smythe suggests a fresh approach designed to equip voters to make a more informed choice in the national referendum
later this year.
Smythe graduated from Wellington Polytechnic School of Design in 1967 and began his design career with Fisher and Paykel
and Jasmax before beginning his own consultant practice.
After completing a Master of Design Management in 2004, Smythe was asked to teach design history to undergraduates. This
lead to the publication of his book New Zealand by Design –A History of New Zealand Product Design, winner of the Best First Book of Nonfiction at the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards.
In 2004 he wrote an essay for the Listener entitled Return of the Flutter Bug where he suggested that the 21st century revival of the flag debate could pick up where previous rounds left off and
improve our economic, cultural, social and spiritual health by actually delivering a result.
The Flag It! Exhibition at Depot Artspace Auckland, in September 2014 gave him the opportunity to present his views on the hidden
agenda behind the flag referendum, and the concepts behind his boldly symbolic design inspired by New Zealand’s unique
art heritage.
This free Public Programme talk takes place on 17 March at 2.30pm in The Bird Hall at Canterbury Museum.
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