In our discussions with the Prime Minister's Science Prizes Secretariat, who manage the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes, we felt that the design of the Prize itself should drive the design of the collateral, so we took this as our starting point.

The Helix (or Möbius Strip) based design we developed reflects scientific process in both concept, form and production technology. Science and mathematics both rely on a cyclic process of observation, hypothesis, prediction and experiment. Aluminium was chosen to create the Prizes for the numerous advances New Zealand has made with aluminium alloys, and for the frequency with which we use the metal as a nation.

The prize design formed the basis for the logo device, website design, stationery and certificates for Prize recipients.