The Board of Peace logo

Image credit: Board of Peace

When I first saw the Board of Peace logo next to the United Nations logo, I assumed the gold one must be the old version.

It isn’t – the gold version is the new one. That realisation alone should set alarm bells ringing. If a junior designer brought this to me for review, my response would be straightforward: 'simplify it, strip it back, and make it feel like it belongs in 2026, not 1986.'

Image credit: Board of Peace/United Nations

At a glance, the logo tries, and should communicate authority, peace, and global significance. With this new logo, everything is done too much, and badly.

• The gradients are clumsy and dated

• The gold colour looks tacky and insecure rather than confident or authoritative

• The symbolism is layered on so heavily it becomes visual noise

• The execution feels amateurish, not institutional

• The map only shows America

Why restraint matters in institutional branding

Logos for global institutions shouldn’t shout, they shouldn’t stand-out or be in your face. Instead they need to communicate trust, neutrality, and restraint.

That’s why the United Nations logo, designed in 1945 still works today. It doesn’t rely on texture, gradients, or ego. It relies on clarity and symbolism that feels considered, calm, and deliberately neutral. Good institutional branding is confident enough to be quiet. This new logo isn't, in fact it's a long way from be good or correct.

Power vs credibility

What the Board of Peace logo communicates isn’t peace, it’s control. The shield motif suggests defence and dominance rather than co-operation. The gold implies wealth, power, and hierarchy and the composition feels self-important rather than inclusive. Instead of saying 'we’re here to stabilise', it says 'look at us,' and that’s a problem. Branding always tells a story – whether you intend it to or not.

A logo that dates itself instantly

Perhaps the biggest failure here is longevity. This logo already feels and looks old. It's not timeless, modern or future-proof. Institutional identities should be designed to last decades, not just a few years. They should survive changes in leadership, politics, and public mood. This one feels welded to a single personality, a single aesthetic, and a very specific moment in time.

And judging by the amount of gold involved… perhaps the brief and the final thumbs-up came from Donald Trump himself.

The takeaway

This isn’t about taste. It’s about standards. When branding is done properly, it builds confidence and trust without demanding attention. It reassures without exaggerating. It earns authority rather than forcing it. The Board of Peace logo does the opposite. When a logo designed to represent peace feels loud, insecure, and self-congratulatory, that tells you more than any mission statement ever could.