A Force for New Zealand
As Head of Visual Identity & Design at the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), I led the visual evolution of one of Aotearoa’s most respected institutions. Over a 18-year career, I was responsible for shaping, maintaining, and evolving the brand identities of the NZDF and its three service: Navy, Army, and Air Force.
The Challenge: In an organisation as large and diverse as the NZDF, maintaining a consistent, meaningful, and flexible visual identity is no small task. The challenge was to balance tradition and legacy with modern relevance, while creating design systems that could be applied across thousands of communication touchpoints, from military recruiting campaigns to internal values rollouts.
A key achievement was the evolution of the iconic Kiwi logos for both the Air Force and NZDF. Symbols that represent national pride, service, and commitment.
The kiwi has been worn by New Zealand military personnel since WWI on cap badges, medals and more recently as patches on the sleeve of uniforms while deployed. It is stamped on the side of ships, tanks and aircraft, identifying us as kiwis at home and abroad. Bringing the kiwi into the organisational logo, whilst retaining the crest for formal purposes, was a logical and meaningful progression.
My Role
I played a central role in:
Leading multiple brand refreshes across the Defence Force and its services
Developing and evolving comprehensive brand guidelines
Launching and embedding the NZDF’s organisational purpose: “A Force for New Zealand”
Rolling out refreshed organisational values through internal campaigns
Designing and implementing standardised templates, publications, and wayfinding systems
Supporting cross-agency work with the Ministry of Defence, and Veterans’ Affairs
Providing strategic design leadership for both internal and external communications
Key Contributions
Brand identity development, maintenance, and strategic direction
Design leadership, advice, and creative guidance
Defence publications: service magazines, annual reports, strategy documents
Internal and external campaign design and communications support
Creative alignment across multiple government and defence agencies
Results
The result of this sustained and strategic work is a cohesive, enduring, and future-ready brand system that supports everything from recruitment and retention to public engagement and internal culture. Every design decision was grounded in clarity, function, and pride, ensuring that the NZDF’s identity reflects its purpose: serving and protecting Aotearoa, New Zealand.
