Reserve Bank spends $100,000 on rebrand

Thursday, 3 June 2021

The Reserve Bank has spent about $100,000 on a rebrand, including a new logo, which it says better reflects its role as a kaitiaki (guardian) of the financial system in Aotearoa.

The new logo is inspired by Tāne Mahuta, the Māori god of the forest who legend says helped the sun shine on New Zealand.

The central bank is understood to have been braced for criticism from some quarters for the rebrand, which kicked off in 2018.

Governor Adrian Orr said it was the first significant change to the Reserve Bank’s branding since it was founded in 1934 and signalled its commitment to being “relevant, open, and inclusive”.

Reserve Bank Governer Adrian Orr talks at the Economics Forum at Waikato University. Video first published in March.

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The Reserve Bank said it contracted a design company to work with it to develop its brand concept, logo and guidelines, and to run workshops and online testing.

“We are managing the cost as effectively as possible by rebranding most items as they come up for replacement or republication,” it said in a statement.

The Reserve Bank said its new logo was designed to depict the parts of the financial system working together as one.

These include its Nga Pūtake (roots) or governing legislation, Te Tariwai (vascular), which represents the Reserve Bank’s payment and settlement systems, Te Toto (sap) which “speaks to the flow of money”, and Te Pekenga (branches and leaves), representing the system’s regulated entities, such as banks.

The top lines of the logo, representing the canopy, embody kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of the financial ecosystem, the bank said.

“Its upward momentum, exemplifies our people all pulling together with the shared purpose of enabling the economic wellbeing and prosperity of all New Zealanders.”

The white triangle formed by the bottom of the logo represented the Reserve Bank’s three values – wānanga (integrity), tauira (innovation) and taura (inclusion), it said.

Orr said the rebrand went beyond the logo.

“Our updated brand emphasises smart, simple and real language and imagery to reflect the diversity of the people we’re here for,” he said.