WW100 pin

This WW100 pin was created to represent the New Zealand Government’s First World War centenary programme from 2014 to 2019. The logo is an abstracted red poppy flower, rendered in metal and enamel.

The pin was freely available and worn widely in the community. It was a strong logo and widely understood as representing the centenary.

The pin evokes the Anzac poppy which is the most powerful symbol relating to the impact of war in New Zealand. Poppies are worn in the week leading up to Anzac Day on 25 April each year to commemorate those who have died in military service, and to honour returned service people.

New Zealand took up what was originally a French idea to wear poppies as such a symbol. The first Poppy Day here in 1922 was a huge success, with some of the profits used to assist unemployed returned soldiers and their families. This tradition continues today with the funds providing welfare services to war veterans and the returned service community.

The Anzac poppy began as a relatively realistic flower and later morphed to an open flat paper design in 1978, which is still currently made. The WW100 pin logo is an extension of this design history.