The Bank of England has overhauled its 328-year-old logo of Britannia in an effort to become more ‘inclusive’, relieving her of her money in the process.
The seal, which shows the female personification of the British Isles, has been redesigned, with the Bank saying it wanted it to “reflect our current mission and values.”
The Bank has played up its ‘woke’ credentials in recent years, proudly declaring itself a Stonewall Diversity Champion, after joining a scheme run by the controversial charity.
The charity has recently been dropped by partners such as the BBC, House of Lords and Cabinet Office over concerns it could pressure employers to change their policies to reflect its agenda on trans rights.
The Bank, which has not revealed the cost, says it has also made changes to its website to make it easier for people to read.
While the entire logo hasn’t been changed, there are a number of obvious differences between the new and the old.
A pile of what appear to be coins laying at the feet of Britannia have disappeared from the new seal, as have the feet themselves.
Meanwhile, the shield resting next to her has been redesigned, with the St George’s cross on the previous version being replaced with the Union Jack.
And Britannia herself has shifted – no longer sat side-on, she has turned slightly to a more face-on position.
On its website, the Bank said its mission was ‘to serve the people of the UK’ and it had looked at this as part of the redesign, adding the new logo “reflects our commitment to be plainer and simpler.”
“One part of how we communicate is the ‘look and feel’ of our content. That includes things like our logo, and the colours and typography we use.
“We want to make these things more accessible and inclusive. So our in-house designers have worked with industry leaders to create a new, digital-first ‘visual identity system’ for our website and publications.
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“We will keep on working to improve the way we communicate because this will help us to carry out our mission,” the bank said.
While the logo is the most obvious change, the Bank added it had redesigned its website and typeface to make it easier to read for people with dyslexia.
It said: “It’s estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.
“So we have designed a new typeface that is easier to read.
“The design was created by industry-leaders in type design. It’s based on guidance by the British Dyslexia Association.”
It added it had changed its use of colours, inspired by those used on its banknotes, to make the contrast between the colour of the text and backgrounds better.
Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey said: “The Bank of England has been around for hundreds of years, but it embraces advances in digital technology.
“These advances have brought many benefits. One is that it brings us closer to the public we serve. We know this means we have to explain what we do and why.
“How we communicate is part of how we carry out our mission. We intend to keep trying to make our communications more inclusive and accessible for everyone.”
The Bank proudly declares itself a Stonewall Diversity Champion, and it was ranked number 57 on the charity’s list of Top 100 employers for LGBTQ+ people.
The charity has come under fire recently for the scheme, which tells employers how to create an inclusive environment for LGBT staff members and then ranks them based on how good they do.
Last month it was reported that Whitehall is being told to ditch the scheme, which costs £5,000-a-year to join, over fears the charity is advising members to rewrite their policies to reflect its agenda on trans rights.
