The RBS Group was the former parent company of The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, among other banking brands. In July 2020, the company formally changed its name to NatWest Group, a shift away from the RBS brand in the wake of the financial crisis bailout.[1] The group’s visual identity has long centred on the “daisy wheel” symbol, a mark that has remained remarkably unchanged since its introduction in 1969.[2]
Design and History
The daisy wheel was introduced in 1969, following the merger of National Commercial Bank of Scotland into the Royal Bank of Scotland. The newly enlarged bank was keen to create a strong brand and introduced the symbol as part of a broader corporate identity programme.[2] The mark depicts four inward-pointing arrows, based on an arrangement of piles of coins in a 6 by 6 square.[3]
In 2015, the group announced plans to introduce a lower-case “rbs” logo for investor communications, while the daisy wheel would be dropped from literature sent to investors but remain on customer-facing communications.[4] The change was part of a broader effort to emphasise the NatWest name and shift focus from investor-facing business to retail and commercial banking.[4]
In 2016, the group launched new brand identities for its two key customer-facing brands, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, created by FutureBrand.[5] For NatWest, the agency returned to the original 3D logo from the bank’s 1968 guidelines, designed as three interlocking cubes to represent the coming together of three separate banks.[5] For Royal Bank of Scotland, FutureBrand developed a brand pattern called “The Royal Bank tweel,” based on analysis of traditional Scottish fabrics including tweeds and tartans.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The daisy wheel symbol was devised from piles of coins arranged into patterns, and depicted four inward-pointing arrows representing the bank’s efforts to accumulate and concentrate wealth in its customers’ interests.[2] The squareness of the symbol was intended to emphasise reliability, and the blue colour was said to be associated with calm, dependability, and the bank’s Scottish origins.[2]
According to the designers, the mark “represents the accumulation and concentration of resources by the Group in the interests of its customers.”[6] The rounded shapes within the logo contributed to its reliable and personable character while also making it easier to print on a range of surfaces and sizes.[6]
Typography and Design
The daisy wheel was designed by Allied Industrial Designers (later Allied International Designers), led by design director Mark Woodham with designers John Jamieson and John Lloyd. The project had to reach completion in time for the formal opening of the new banking organisation in April 1969, giving the team a 10-month window.[6]
Within the original brand identity, the daisy wheel logo was the only constant, allowing for flexibility in brand expansion. Royal blue was the house colour, and Helvetica medium was used for the bank name, with other weights used for printed matter.[6] The work went on to receive the Presidential Award of the Royal Society of Arts for Design Management.[6]
In more than 40 years since its introduction, the fonts, colours and wording of the bank’s brand identity have changed with the times, but the core daisy wheel mark has remained remarkably unchanged from 1969 to today.[2]
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