Hawkes Bay, Northland and Nelson among leaders in national average of flag designs with few days left before 16 July

The Flag Consideration Panel released today some of the statistics behind more than 5,800 design suggestions received so far, and reminded the deadline for flag designs is 11.59pm Thursday 16 July. Flag Consideration Panel chair, Professor John Burrows reiterated the principles the panel will be considering when reviewing the suggestions.

“We’ll be looking for flag designs that first and foremost reflect New Zealand’s identity, as shared with us in the values and themes that New Zealanders have expressed so far throughout this process,” said Professor Burrows.

The Panel have published values and themes each week on www.standfor.co.nz throughout the process to guide people considering designing a flag. Professor Burrows said these have remained relatively consistent, and included history and heritage, freedom, equality, being a kiwi, independent, culture, environment, tradition, unity and being a Pacific nation.

“When reviewing flag designs we will also be looking at elements of flag design - that flag designs are timeless, can work in a variety of contexts and are simple, uncluttered and have good contrast. Colour is important as fewer colours help keep the design simple and bold. Balance is important in good design, as is style and size of any symbol. Stylised objects work best and the design needs to be capable of being rendered in a variety of sizes without distortion,” said Professor Burrows.

The Panel provided a breakdown of designs by region, colour, symbols and themes. Professor Burrows noted that when reviewed against the percentage of New Zealand population, the greatest number of designs had been received from those in Hawkes Bay.

“The average percentage of designs per capita within New Zealand is zero point one percent, with Hawkes Bay leading at 1.01%. Others include Northland (0.35%), Nelson (0.24%), Wellington (0.17%), and Auckland (0.12%).

Predominant colours are, in this order, white, blue and red. Symbols and themes include the Southern Cross, koru, fern and Māori culture.

This is a unique opportunity in our lifetimes and I encourage everyone to suggest their flag designs before midnight 16 July. From there, the Panel will start the next steps in our rigorous process to determine the four alternative flag designs. We will announce a preliminary long list of approximately 50-75 flag designs by mid-August and the final four alternatives by mid-September,” said Professor Burrows.

The flag design guidelines are available on www.flag.govt.nz as well as the Designers Institute of New Zealand video guide on what makes good flag design. Breakdowns of flag designs by colour, symbol and theme included with this release are attached and available on www.flag.govt.nz

ENDS

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