Good Flag, Bad Flag, Better Flag
An Appeal for Better Flags in our Visual Culture
For centuries, flags have been an integral part of human expression as they were used by rulers, armies, and provinces to communicate their value and allegiances. On the battlefield, flags allowed soldiers to differentiate each other in the fray and at sea, they allowed mariners to determine ownership of a vessel from a great distance. From there, they grew into extensions of royal heraldry that allowed one to show allegiance to a specific ruler. As one of the oldest forms of symbolism, there’s something intrinsically interesting about flags that most everyone notices. In the modern era, we have a love affair with our flag in the United States, with the Stars and Stripes infiltrating nearly every part of American culture, from our clothing to our music. Even our national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, is a love song to this symbol of freedom, liberty, and unity. Flags are simple yet intrinsically complex; they can show everything from historical affiliation to collective values in a series of colors and shapes. Though many opinions about them come down to individual taste, there is something powerful about a well-designed flag that we as humans cannot to ignore.
99% Invisible podcast host Roman Mars discusses Kaye’s principles during a TED Talk - Image source: https://goo.gl/aowHbO
As a chiefly visual medium, flags should have undergone a rebirth in the current visual age. Sadly, as citizens are drawn into the visual culture more and more, they have become no more aware of the powerful symbolic medium of flags. The North American Vexillological Association took notice of this lack of charisma and published a simple guide to flag design in 2013, titled Good Flag, Bad Flag: How to Design a Great Flag, in an attempt to raise awareness for this ever-present, ever-impactful medium. For the book, author Ted Kaye notes that flags are created to represent people, places, or organizations. A flag cannot be created simply for the sake of having a flag, as a novelty. A flag is a type of visual message that must be concise and refined in order for the meaning of the message to be fully understood. Kaye prescribes five principles of design - of which three will be examined - that can be used to test the inherent quality of current flag or newly minted flags. Our visual culture demands that a would-be flag be not only concise, but also identifiable and unique, thus setting the visual message apart from all others across the world. As McLuhan famously noted, “the medium is the message” and in our world today, the general ignorance about the flag medium has caused the timeless messages woven into them to become lost.
The flag of Japan, 1870-present. Image source: https://goo.gl/9Q7Q7y
All around the world, people are becoming more and more in tune with visual forms of communication. As always, the simplest messages are the easiest to communicate. As this visual culture evolved, it began to demand simpler messages that could be interpreted and understood by a larger pool of people. This push for simplicity has allowed modern minimalism to touch nearly everything in our culture, from music and art to literature and design. For evidence of this, take a closer look at the sleek body of the iPhone or iMac you’re likely reading this article on: notice how appears seamless and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Touch it and you’ll find it is symmetrical, smooth, streamlined, and overall “perfect” to touch. Use it and you’ll find an intuitive operating system that allows accessibility to users of all ages. Apple accomplishes generates this simplicity by carefully gearing its products to be internally complex, yet intrinsically concise. This minimalistic appearance allows the product to communicate a great deal about the product’s value without the need for an explanation. Their products effectively tap into our reliance on our basic senses, especially sight, to attribute value. Their older ads highlighted this further by letting the appearance of the product speak for itself. It’s “perfect” appearance speaks for itself and makes you want to see it and use it again and again. Flags must adhere to a similar principle of complexity hidden beneath simplicity, though in a more two-dimensional medium.
If a flag is “effective and handsome,” an average citizen will want to see it often and will take great pride in the symbol of their home city or state. Kaye’s first principle of good flag design follows Apple’s lead perfectly: “Keep it Simple.” The purpose of flags, Kaye asserts, is tied to its medium. Flags are meant to be suspended from poles and other high places and be seen from great distances. If a flag’s design is too complicated to be understood in its natural habitat, it’ll make its message difficult to interpret. Therefore, designers should, in general, focus on one main symbol or motif to focus their flag upon. This can easily be seen in the flag of Japan, with its single red disc on a field of pure white. It is unmistakably the banner of the land of the Rising Sun even at a great distance, with its single core element and dichromatic color pallet. While simple in design, it is versatile in use as its visage can be incorporated into nearly any other format and still remain recognizable. In addition, the Japanese flag is recognizable when being flown in the wind because its reverse side is a mirror image, allowing the message to be read from any direction or under any circumstances. This simple design holds to minimalistic simplicity in order to produce a visual message that is not cluttered and garbled. The Japanese flag speaks its message clearly and concisely, as a timeless connection to Japanese culture.
The flag of Oregon, both obverse and reverse, 1925- present. Image source: http://goo.gl/mHejb5
On the opposite side of this coin is the flag of Oregon, a banner that diverges from the principles of minimalistic simplicity. While the flag only uses two colors (a vast improvement from the multicolored pallets of many US state flags), it is unremarkable at a distance as it falls into the category of SOB or “seals on a bedsheet.” In addition, the Oregon flag incorporates a broad blue field, causing it to blend in among a myriad of other similar state banners. At its center, the state crest of Oregon is complicated and impossible to interpret at even a medium distances. Radio host Roman Mars asserts that if a design cannot be shrunk to the size of a long postage stamp and be recognized at 15 inches from the eyes, it has failed in one of its main jobs, that of being unique. If it weren’t for the words “State of Oregon” emblazoned across the top, one might not be able to tell this flag from Adam (although this sort of word-marking is a sin all of its own that we will address later on). While simplicity is a vital necessity, it cannot come at the cost of uniqueness. Finally, the flag of Oregon cannot be recognized when it is flown in the wind because it presents an image of a gold beaver on its reverse. The design of a flag must be identifiable no matter what orientation it appears in. A thoughtful focus on simplicity allows for this, especially when incorporating a single core element. Though not altogether visually unattractive, the flag of Oregon sends several mixed messages to a would-be viewer, from mistaken identity to indistinctive imagery. The flag diverges from the principle of simplicity, causing its message to become lost on the thousands of Oregonians that see it daily.
The flag of Chicago, original 1917, current design 1939-present. Image source: https://goo.gl/RltqB1
No matter the format, messages are made of symbols, be they auditory, visual, or otherwise. The symbols one chooses to incorporate into a message have an unpredictable impact on the receiver, especially when the sender is not actively present to interpret the symbols. The receiver must fend for themself and assign meaning to these symbols, even if their assessment strays far from the original meaning. When designing a flag, every aspect of symbolism must be carefully calculated to allow for concise meaning not only in the present, but also in the future. If a key element or motif is incorporated, it must able to represent a timeless object that will speak for the represented group for years to come. This mentality can be seen in widely popular flag of Chicago, which incorporates a series of four identical six-pointed stars into its charge. These stars represent four significant points in Chicago’s history: the founding of Fort Dearborn in 1803, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. These events still hold significance in the hearts and minds of Chicagoans, so they certainly merit commemoration on the city flag. Similarly, the flag of St. Louis incorporates symbols that embody its history. The flag features a body of red with two blue and white “rivers” converging into one larger “river.” These strands of color represent the convergence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near the city. Above the convergence is a gold disc with a blue fleur-di-lis emblazoned upon it representing the French heritage of the city. The banner communicates several messages through these symbols. The rivers’ convergence represents the reason why a trading fort was first placed in the St. Louis area while the fleur-di-lis harkens back the city’s namesake, King Louis IX of France. As with the Chicago flag, these symbols communicate major historical aspects of the represented city that are still looked upon with reverence. Their meanings are well defined and commonly understood, allowing the flag’s message to be easily interpreted by the common citizen. Through concise symbols, these excellent flags communicate a timeless message of historical pride to all who look upon it.
Look with care upon the flag of Milwaukee, 1954-present. Image source: https://goo.gl/rpsDsx
There is, of course, a right way and a wrong to go about using meaningful symbols on flags. As noted, a meaningful message must also be a concise message so that the fullness of its meaning can be synthesized. When too many symbols are incorporated, the focus of the flag becomes jumbled and the flag’s message becomes tangled in a web of pictographs. The flag of Milwaukee, for example, gives new meaning to the word “hectic.” The flag has far too many symbols to name off, but a short list includes: a massive gear, a shock of barley, a Native American head, a ship, and a smaller flag. While each of these symbols represents an important aspect of Milwaukee’s history – the gear for industry, the barley for the brewing industry, the Native American head for heritage, the ship for shipping, and the small flag for…a historical battle regiment, possibly – this flag represents an overload of symbolism. Because there are so many elements represented on this flag, not one of them can reasonably be said to be more important than another. This flag is like answering the question, “what three things make your city unique?” with slide show of every individual industry and historical party to have ever set foot in city limits. While the answer is correct, it contains far more material than could ever be easily communicated in a visual format. The Milwaukee flag is a menagerie that forgoes a concise and easily understood meaning for a drawn out, overly complicated message that takes a four-hour history lesson to understand in full. In order for a flag to properly communicate its meaning, it must keep things simple in terms of symbols used. As with six word stories, a great deal of history can be told in just a symbol or two. As a result, it is crucial for good flag to rely on a small number of symbols in order to communicate the fullness of its message.
The flag of South Carolina shows communicates the identity of the Palmetto State without the use of text. Image credit: goo.gl/xOyBZo
The flag is an entirely graphic medium used to communicate messages over distances and time without the need for words. If one needs to write out what they are supposed to be visually representing, Roman Mars believes that “your symbolism has failed.” Time and again, this sort “tell, don’t show” artistry is caused by the incorporation of a government crest into a flag. Crests, Ted Kaye points out, were meant for use on paper, meaning that they have miniscule pictographs and words that would be impossible to read on a flag blowing in the breeze. There’s a scourge of awful flags in these united States and in almost every instance, Mars asserts, the culprit is the use of lettering or seals. This is a theoretically avoidable situation and to show this, we’ll be examining the good alongside the bad for this principle. First on the docket is the flag of South Carolina, a shining example of how to break away from a crest-y flag while preserving key symbols of state culture. The flag - a deep blue banner with a white silhouette of a palmetto tree at the charge and white crescent at the hoist – takes the state’s nickname, the Palmetto State, and incorporates it into the flag without the need for a illegible crest. The image itself directly invokes the state’s nickname, allowing for a design that is both unique and meaningful without the need for a souped up state crest. South Carolina’s message visually “shows,” meaning that it has nothing extra to “tell.” However, some state flags more or less require text to differentiate them from the vexillological herd. According to the account one soldier, this was very much the case for Illinois before 1970. Prior to this, Illinois’ flag consisted of a white field with the state crest – an eagle atop a rock with a red banner reading “National Union, State Sovereignty” in its beak – emblazoned on its charge. The veteran in question complained that while serving, he was unable to recognize his home state’s flag in procession. The legislators in Illinois worked a stopgap measure to solve this problem and inserted the word “Illinois” onto the flag in a regal serif font. While this partially solved the problem of misidentification at close range, it failed to solve the problem of long view misinterpretation. Both the crest – which looks reminiscent of the snake and eagle on the flag of Mexico – and the text fail to take into account their own shortsighted nature. Instead of “showing” who their flag represented, these legislators decided to “tell” everyone, thus ignoring the nature of the flag’s medium. In retrospect, the legislators should have taken into account the visual nature of the medium and shaped their message to best suit it. For all intents and purposes, that means avoiding unreadable text at all costs.
As a riper fruit to represent Georgian history and culture, the “Georgia Peach” flag projects a unique identity while adhering to the Good Flag, Bad Flag principles. Design credit to Stephan Richard Barlow. Image credit: http://goo.gl/UpBZnb
Though these principles are excellent for critiquing flags, they are equally valuable for guiding new flag creation. These principles apply very generally to any good design, so they can easily be used to judge a good flag from a bad flag before it ever flies. Our case study to show this evolution will be the flag of state of Georgia, a classic banner that invokes the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy. This sort of cloistered connection to the Old South has been under fire in the United States lately, so it can hardly be qualified as an invocation of an admirable past. In addition, this flag incorporates a type of state seal into its hoist that fails to communicate its meaning when observed at a distance. While its three pillars and arch are meant to represent the three branches of government and Constitution respectively, their symbolism is far too general to represent Georgia specifically. Though not entirely visually appalling, this flag fails each of the major tests of quality for a good flag. A new flag should take into account these principles from the first pencil line onward. Luckily, the “Georgia Peach” flag did just that. The “Georgia Peach” keeps it simple from the get-go, incorporating only a single core element, the eponymous Georgia peach. Like the palmetto in South Carolina, the peach is culturally connected to Georgia. It was iconic enough for it to be chosen for appearance on its state quarter in 1999. The peach is an effective symbol that communicates the heart of Georgian culture without the need for a clunky state crest. Around the banner, on a ring of blue, 13 stars are used to represent Georgia’s status as one of the 13 original American colonies, thus harkening back to a more admirable past. The body of the banner is the same orange color as the peach at its center, creating a unique design that would stand out in a sea of blue and white state flags. Its symbols would “show, not tell” about what state it represents, thus fulfilling the primary job of a state flag. Overall, this new flag would communicate its message of southern culture with prowess and style, an ever-present need in our visual culture. Great flag, then, are not just something the public can recognize. They are not just something citizens must passively accept. Better flags are possible and with the proper awareness, easy to design. The medium of flags continues to project the messages we send to our neighbors and countrymen; what those messages say, in the present and to our innumerable posterity, is in our hands.
