Last Wednesday, the UAE crossed another grand milestone. It unveiled its Nation Brand logo to the world. Seven lines signifying the seven emirates and their solidarity, arranged to form the map of the country, in the three ennobling colours of their national flag. Stunning in its simplicity and beauty, the logo is a masterful distillation of the UAE’s heritage, culture, spirit and dynamism.
The logo tells the story of UAE’s union, its unity and its ambitions that are distinguished by its glorious past. This story telling is intrinsic to every country’s evolution because there comes a time in its march towards progress when it must aggregate all its facets as a monolithic expression of its identity, image and accomplishments. This expression must provide an instant understanding of all the country stands for — its values, principles, vision, ambition and actions.
The Brand Nation logo, a national self-expression, plays a monumental role in raising a country’s profile on the global platform; it’s also an indispensable soft power that underpins all forms of progress — from the economic, political, diplomatic to social, cultural, environmental and humanitarian.
UAE's bedrock values
The UAE’s bedrock values — giving, openness, innovation, tolerance, credibility, humility and futuristic vision — have always impressed themselves upon the world’s understanding of what the UAE stands for. As such, the UAE had already established its brand legacy. It had long ago closed the gap between identity and image, a gap that confounds many countries. The newly born Seven Lines nation brand logo, therefore, is a crowning validation of this achievement.
In creating the logo, that in its wake endorses the guiding values of the UAE, the people of the UAE, its government institutions and businesses have been gifted with a new expression of unity, a powerful language that will become a global form of communication conveying the country’s remarkable achievements and vision
A point worth mentioning is that the journey towards the birth of this logo was not lateral. The Nation Brand logo competition was opened to the world, emphasising the UAE’s values of partnership and openness. The contest’s outcome chose to go beyond the search for a logo and a single payoff.
It decided that for every vote cast, a tree would be planted. More than 10 million votes were cast and the UAE has pledged to green communities in areas affected by climate change such as Nepal and Indonesia.
In creating the logo, that in its wake endorses the guiding values of the UAE, the people of the UAE, its government institutions and businesses have been gifted with a new expression of unity, a powerful language that will become a global form of communication conveying the country’s remarkable achievements and vision.
