JSE gets a facelift

·14 Apr 2014

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has revealed its new brand identity which includes a new logo and website design.

The JSE’s logo and colour palette moves to a bold black, white and green combination while the typography takes on a clean, digital feel, the group said.

The change comes after an extensive brand audit where clients, employees and other stakeholders discussed their perception of the exchange and where the exchange needed to focus its energies.

“At the JSE we’ve been doing some serious thinking about our positioning in South Africa and the world. Our visual identity needed to represent our position as a leading African exchange which is driven for stakeholder growth and showcase the strong technology component of the business. It also needed to be more accessible to investors,” said Zeona Jacobs, Director of Issuer and Investor Relations at the JSE.

The group said that the choice of black gives the brand a bold identity while the green symbolises growth and prosperity.

“The stacked lines or links in both the logo and other elements of the visual identity illustrate the JSE’s role as a secure platform for growth,” it said.

“A large component of the JSE’s marketing strategy is digitally focused and our website, as a key part of this, needed a complete make-over. The new website fits well with our desire to become more accessible.”

JSE redesign

“We want the website to be a rich source of content for existing and potential investors regardless of their level of knowledge as the being the ideal listing destination for companies to list,” said Jacobs.

Along with the change to the exchange’s visual identity, brand names such as the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) and the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) will fall away.

“The JSE acquired SAFEX in 2001 and BESA in 2009 and we believe that these services have now been fully integrated into the exchange’s business. This also allows us to promote one cohesive brand rather than a cluster of related brands,” said Jacobs.

The JSE’s derivatives clearing house Safcom will now be known as JSE Clear.

The JSE’s hedge fund platform management business Nautilus, as a differentiated business within the JSE’s group of companies, will not change its name.

All elements of the new design will be implemented in a phased approach until December 2014, the group said.