The graphic designer who helped implement First National Bank's (FNB) first-ever acacia tree logo in 1986 believes that the bank briefed a foreign design firm to insert the controversial symbols of an AK-47, hare, crocodile, and map of Africa.
FNB has always denied that.
He's also doesn't like latest logo that does away with the organic tree that gave rise to those allegations.
FNB's new logo was
widely mocked on social media immediately upon its release last week. In its most significant branding overhaul in three decades, the bank replaced its once hand-drawn acacia tree with one that some equated to an electrical pylon or the ubiquitous WiFi signal.
The new design is the most dramatic departure from the brand's once iconic and controversial acacia tree.
The original logo, rich in folklore and urban legend, has its roots in the political tensions of late 1980s South Africa. It came about in 1986 when foreign-owned Barclays sold its shares to a consortium of local businesses, including Anglo American and De Beers, for $116 million - who turned it into First National Bank.
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