It’s down to four: These are the designs that will advance to the next round of New Zealand’s flag referendum. Now the public will rank these four designs in a November vote. But which fern will win?
As you might remember New Zealand narrowed over 10,000 entries to 40 contenders last month, and a panel of citizens and legislators plucked these four from the pile. Three of the designs use the Silver Fern which has long been associated with the country, including its sports teams, so the iconography is familiar to residents. Two of the designs also show the Southern Cross, the constellation which appears on the current flag (those two flags that are really just different colour ways were designed by the same person, Kyle Lockwood, which is why they look so similar). The final design shows a Koru, which is actually also a fern, but is a symbolic image for the nation’s indigenous populations.
In November, the public will rank these four in a vote, then the winner of that referendum will go up against the current flag in March. The one I liked from the last round didn’t make it to the finals. Which one do you think should win?