Bank of England

Client: Bank of England

Categories:

Character
Corporate
Institutions
Symbolic

Ever since the Bank of England was founded in 1694, 'Britannia,' the female representation of the British Isles, featured within a surround holding device as its illustrative brand identity logo.

Whilst the logo had evolved in style and content over time from its original form, it was felt that Britannia's previous side on pose required a complete redraw. This was in order for her to appear less statuary and more welcoming, to help best reflect the bank's current mission and values.

Given the Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, the St George's flag of England was changed to the Union Jack to be more inclusive of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The ostentatious pile of coins were removed as the bank does not issue coins.

An early exploration sketch for the three quarter pose

Having crafted the previous Bank of England logo, Chris Mitchell was delighted to be invited to work closely with Matteo Ruisi, the creative director of the Bank's in-house design team. During the Britannia's early development process a number of different approaches were explored quite extensively. From an evolutionary though more focused side on view, to a more revolutionary three quarter pose, as seen in the update here.

The new simplified yet crafted iconic logo illustrated by Chris provides focus and clarity for the Bank's dynamic 'digital visual identity system'.

The Bank's in-house design team had a clear vision for the direction of their new brand identity. As a key part of their visual identity system the new logo helped win a number of notable design awards.

— Chris Mitchell