Bruce Cohen
Government is disorganised, if the stationery used by various cabinet ministers is anything to go by.
Every ministry which responded to our letter has its own unique letterhead in terms of design, typography, logo, choice of colours and paper.
The logos range from the extravagant gold or silver foiled coat of arms (Finance and Correctional Service), through a full-colour version of the new flag (General Services) to the home-spun graphics of Housing.
Colours and typography are a frenzy of inconsistent bad taste, while the language choice on the letterheads is a moveable feast.
Environment Affairs, Safety and Security, Sport and Agriculture use only bilingual letterheads, while Housing, Public Enterprises and Health opt for four
FW de Klerk’s office and Finance Ministry letterheads are only in English — or do they have separate letterheads in different languages?
Corporate design expert Jeremy Sampson says the letterheads give an impression of a country that is unmanaged and unloved. The only consistent element, he says, is the paper size (A4).
“Most countries today recognise that their image — through symbols like flags and government stationery — are a national resource that can be used to project an impression of a dynamic country, one which foreigners would like to do business with.”
After seeing the letters we received, Sampson says they project an image of a second-rate country.
If a major company had such a messy corporate identity, it would show that it was not being properly
Sampson says government could save money — and improve its credibility — if it streamlined all its stationery through the implementation of a coherent and cleaner image — that of SA Inc.