CW helps little NZ pick it's new flag

[NZTailender]

I voted for the red and blue fern at the 1st ref and for change in the second.

My steadfast opposition to the fern was based on the mistaken belief that the fern was a just a sporting symbol with little historical significance. My change of heart came down to a bit of online research, as well as an evolving belief that regardless of what I may associate the fern with it fairly clearly has a wider significance for most NZers.

Do you really think it was the best fern option though? It's fine if you do, just interested to know if you had any preferences.

 

[Bahnz]

Do you really think it was the best fern option though? It's fine if you do, just interested to know if you had any preferences.

The final option? It wasn't even my favourite Lockwood design! But out of the final 40, My favourite was probably the stylised fern on the the red and blue background, though I can see why some people thought that was too busy. I certainly didn't hate the final option and would've been happy with it as the flag.

 

[hendrix]

The fern is not good design. It's not representative and it just doesn't look good.
Red peak was ok, probably the best of the nominations.

The design assembly catalog is pretty much exactly why we should pay the experts.

referendum:
would you like to change the flag?
yes.

cool, design guys go ahead and do it.

Can you imagine what it would've been like to have a referendum on the words in a national anthem?

 

[NZTailender]

The fern is representative but none of the designs were that good.

Agree with the rest though. Another guarantee I can give is that designers would've worked on the project for free, as would have others.

The panel had one person who knew about flags but if you dig a little deeper on him he's a historian on New Zealand and the flag, not flags in general. The only other person who knows about aesthetics maybe would be the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, but even then he's more about the commodity of aesthetics than the visual qualities.

The panel was suppose to represent New Zealanders from all walks of life. What do you get?

Panel members

The members of the Panel were nominated by a cross-party group of Members of Parliament (MPs) and appointed in late February. They're responsible for making sure that the flag referendums process is:

independent
inclusive
enduring
informed
practical
community-driven
dignified
legitimate
consistent.

Pretty much nothing relating to aesthetics at all. By all means have people there to make sure it's legitimate but come on. Not a single designer or artist.

The Panel are:

Chair: Emeritus Professor John Burrows, ONZM, QC - respected law lecturer, author, former member of the Law Commission, and co-Chair of the Panel which reviewed the New Zealand Constitution in 2012 (Christchurch)
Nicky Bell - Chief Executive Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and board director (Auckland)
Peter Chin, CNZM - former Mayor of Dunedin, director and trustee (Dunedin)
Julie Christie, ONZM - Director of Julie Christie Inc and board member (Auckland)
Rod Drury - CEO of Xero and technology entrepreneur (Havelock North)
Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM - Olympian, Commonwealth gold medallist, ASB Head of Talent & People Strategy, board member and trustee (Waitakere)
Kate De Goldi - Deputy Chair, writer and reviewer (Wellington)
Rhys Jones, CNZM - former Chief of NZ Defence Force (Wellington)
Stephen Jones - Invercargill City Youth Councillor (Invercargill)
Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE - former All Black, coach and administrator (Masterton)
Malcolm Mulholland - Academic and flag historian (Palmerston North), and
Hana O’Regan - Academic, Māori studies and te reo Māori (Christchurch).

Yeah they sound pretty representative of an elite few. Apart from the Invercargill teenager.


We ended up with the classic 'a camel is a horse designed by committee'.