Statistics South Africa has a new look. The official statistics agency has shed the familiar grid and graph for a drum.

When asked about the rationale behind the change, the Chief Director: Corporate Communications, Mr Trevor Oosterwyk, explained.

“Businesses learn, grow and evolve just as people do and their visual personality needs to reflect that. Stats SA is no exception. When we changed from Central Statistical Services to Statistics South Africa in 1998, it reflected our move from an apartheid-era institution to one that served the entirety of the South African population. This new brand reflects the myriad ways this organisation has grown.

The organisation has a footprint in all 9 provinces and 56 district municipalities. The increase in our staff complement has come with a concomitant increase in knowledge and skills, which has enabled the reputation the organisation has built for reliability and credibility. Our technical proficiency has increased, as shown by the release of the Community Survey results on 30 June 2016, less than two months after fieldwork was completed.

There are two elements to the new logo – the drum, which symbolises that we are an organisation that communicates in our quest to build a statistically literate society by demystifying statistics in the way that we present our data.

The other element is the lines, which are based on the etchings on the Ochre stone, which is believed to be one of the earliest examples of counting. Stats SA has adopted the ochre stone as the embodiment of the department’s work.

This design brings together what we do as an organisation, i.e. we are an organisation that counts, and who we are as an organisation, i.e. we are an organisation that strives to communicate statistics in a manner that makes it understandable to the person in the street. In this way we can create a statistically literate society of active citizens who can use data to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. In this way we deliver “The South Africa I know, the home I understand”.

Mr Oosterwyk also said that the organisation would take some time to complete the transition from the old to the new logo, and appealed to those who interact with the organisation to please be patient as this process is undertaken.