Thumbs up

This is the story of a thumb. It belongs to Andy Salisbury who was born 39 years ago in Liverpool, England. Salisbury, a left-hander, brought it with him to New Zealand in 1990. Around 10 years ago he was working as a photographic re-toucher in Wellington and had the opportunity to press his thumb into service for Te Papa. After dipping it into a mix of coffee and water, he enlarged the print, refined the whorls, added at touch of his own – an Air New Zealand-style koru-shape – and handed the result to the Saatchi & Saatchi art director in charge of creating ‘Our Place’s’ logo. With the Te Papa name attached, the new logo was presented to Te Papa and accepted. It remains the core of Te Papa’s brand identity. Andy Salisbury still lives in Wellington.
Image: Left Andy Salisbury’s thumb. Right, the thumbprint as adapted for Te Papa