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A Silver Fern for New Zealand Aotearoa

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Few symbols are as closely tied to New Zealand identity as the silver fern. Simple, strong, and instantly recognisable, it’s a form that carries meaning without needing explanation.

The silver fern is actually the National Symbol of New Zealand (Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand). Did you think New Zealand's national symbol was the kiwi bird? You will be forgiven for possibly thinking that. 

This design reinterprets the silver fern in a clean, modern Kiwiana style — sharp leaf geometry, a diagonal stance, and a restrained black-and-silver palette designed specifically for apparel. Arced AOTEAROA and NEW ZEALAND lettering frame the fern without overpowering it, keeping the focus on the symbol itself. Apparel items are on a transparent background to allow you to choose the appropriate color to support the image. 

Black and silver New Zealand fern emblem with arced Aotearoa and New Zealand text, minimalist New Zealand Kiwiana apparel design
New Zealand Silver Fern Apparel

Like my recent kiwi designs with koru motif pattern, this piece is built to be timeless rather than trendy — something that feels just as right on a t-shirt today as it will years from now. 

The silver fern design is now available in my KornKob Art online store at Redbubble across apparel and other merchandise options.

All designs are available in the Kiwiana Collection.

Leave a comment on Redbubble to let me know what you think of this design. 

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Do Not Disconnect - The Real Digital Divide

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The fly in the ointment, Opito Bay, around 2007. This post was originally published in November, 2007. Almost two decades on, the photograph and the argument both feel — if anything — more relevant than they did then. I have updated this post lightly in May, 2026, some 19 years later! The Photograph I was on holiday in Opito Bay on New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula, sitting on the couch in the place we were staying at. A friend's iPod was resting on the coffee table, on top of a copy of The Economist from March 2005, whose cover story happened to be titled "The Real Digital Divide." A fly landed on the iPod's click wheel and stayed there. I reached for my camera, took the shot, and edited it later in Photoshop to give it the grungy, oversaturated look you see above. The fly on the iPod along with "The Real Digital Divide" struck me — immediately, and with a kind of emb...
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Samoan Youth

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This young man was preparing with his friends for his moment of fame on the stage at the Samoan Village at the Polynesian dance festival called Pasifika in Auckland in March this year. Samoan Youth Canon EOS 20D 1/30sec at f/20 ISO 200 Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
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Anza-Borrego Wildflowers

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Anza Borrego Desert State Park California Wildflowers This cluster of wildflowers is typical of the flowers in Plum Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert this spring. Because of the dry and harsh environment, most of the flowers are tiny like the three in this photo. But what they lack in size, they make up for in color. It's pretty difficult to try and identify all these flowers, but I'm pretty sure the white one is Desert Pincushion. Help out if you can. I've been using the CalFlora.org website to try and identify the flowers in this series.
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