NAB (National Australia Bank) is among the country’s four largest financial institutions by market capitalization, earnings, and customers. It was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
The original NAB logo already featured the seven-pointed red star, which has been the centerpiece of the visual brand identity.
What is NAB
NAB is one of Australia’s top banks and the 21st-largest bank in the world by market capitalization (as of 2019). It was established as there result of the merger of the National Bank of Australasia and the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney.
The star is symmetrical and might have looked generic if not for the two white diagonal stripes in its left-hand part. Not only do the stripes make the design unique and recognizable, but they also look dynamic. So much so that there is something sporty about this logo.
The wordmark also doesn’t add much of the “financial” theme. On the one hand, the letters are bold and heavy, they have classic and “safe” shape – features that are used in many bank logos to convey the idea of stability and security. Yet, this effect is damaged by the italicized glyphs. When a letter becomes tilted, the overall design immediately adopts implied motion. Taking into consideration the dynamic star, we have the “sports” feel doubled here.
To make matters worse, the word “bank” is nowhere to be seen. So, in fact, if you had been passing by a Nab’s office and weren’t familiar with the brand, you would have thought that that’s the office of a sports club or something like that.
That said, we should bear in mind that NAB has always played a prominent role in its country’s banking sector and has been familiar to virtually everyone. As a result, it was one of the lucky few institutions that could afford to have such a logo. And it goes without saying that such a bold design was eye-catching and stood out among all the “respectable” and “safe” logos of the competitors.
When describing the rebranding, Ahmed Fahour, the NAB’s executive director and Australian chief executive, mentioned that they focused on a “back to the future” idea. They wanted to give the NAB logo a refreshment but still not to make it appreciably different from the existing style. The reason behind this approach was that the brand was planning to return to a dominant position in the country.
The red star is, of course, still there. This time, it appears larger and more prominent, at least at the main logo, where the abbreviated name is used. Here, the star occupies much more space than the wordmark.
The two stripes were replaced by two sharper strokes. Their meaning has been updated: they now symbolize the company’s two main spheres: retail and business banking and the wealth management arm (MLC).
In the main logo, the star is placed inside a black rectangle with the word “nab” in white below or to the right. There is also a version where both the emblem and the wordmark are placed over the white background.
For years before the rebranding, the company had been struggling to eliminate the abbreviation and made journalists use the full name. Yet, eventually, the bank gave in. Moreover, they even used lowercase wordmark. Greg Sutherland, the executive general manager of strategy and marketing, acknowledged that this version appeared “contemporary … and less institutional.”
Still, there is also an extended version of the National Australia Bank logo, where the full name is used. Here, the star isn’t as prominent.
The star stands out against the black background, pretty much like a red light against the night sky.
The type in the NAB logo doesn’t look very unusual, at least at first glance. Yet, the letters feature a characteristic combination of rectangular ends and serifs, which add a unique touch.