The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is asking designers or artists to design a privacy trust mark, and is offering $3,500 to the winning mark.

Entrants in the Privacy Trust Mark Design Competition are required to submit their concept design drawings by 15 February 2018.

The Office says it wants a trust mark design that is attractive and conveys a "privacy first" approach taken by a product or service.

"A trust mark is a symbol that lets consumers know that the product or service they are considering buying, using or subscribing to is reliable and trustworthy. Trust marks are created by industry or watchdog organisations to reassure customers about the quality or protection that comes with a product or service," it says.

Some well known examples of trust marks include Environmental Choice, Dolphin Friendly, Heart Tick and Certified Organic.

The Office says it believes a privacy trust mark is an indicator that will offer consumers an easy way to differentiate between products and services.

"Trust, control and transparency are essential to the digital economy, and privacy certification can play an important role in promoting privacy-positive behaviours," it says.

"A privacy trust mark would enable the Privacy Commissioner to indicate services or products that take data protection seriously and give customers confidence their personal information will be respected and protected."