We’re big on deviating from the norm, and Seychelle’s flag 🇸🇨 gives us a spicy example of how to do it in a way that really resonates.
What do y’all think?
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[Image Description: A set of 3 square images. All text is in lowercase letters, excluding a small part in the first image. All text is left-aligned, excluding a small part in the first image and the watermarks.
Image 1: An image with a light gray background. At the top of the image is big bold, right-aligned black text which reads “flags we love.” Beneath it is a thin, horizontal black line extending from the left of the image to roughly half of the image. To the right of the line is small, capitalized black text which reads “FEATURE NO.4.″ In the middle of the imageis a white circle with an enlarged flag of Seychelles on top of it. The flag of Seychelles is a striped flag made up of five colors. The stripes all start in the bottom left of the flag and diverge outwards in a diagonal manner. The colors, starting from the left, are: blue, yellow, red, white and green. At the bottom left of the image is big, bold black text which reads “flag of seychelles.” Beneath the text is small black text which reads “designed by Philip Uzice in 1996.” At the bottom right of the image is a small thin, horizontal black line. Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in black.
Image 2: An image with a black background and a pink grid overlaid onto it. To the right side is a partially visible white circle. Inside the circle is big, bold black text which reads “why it’s great.” At the top left of the image is bold white text which reads “arresting visual presence.” Beneath it is white text which reads “exciting diagonal lines and varied colors maker the flag distinct & unfortgettable.” Beneath the text is a white curved arrow pointing towards an enlarged flag of Seychelles in the middle of the image. Under the flag is another curved white arrow with accompanying text. The text is in bold white and reads “breaking the rules in the best way.” Beneath it is white text which reads “despite employing more colors than some vexillographers might recommend, its colors carry symbolic weight, each representing a valued part of the island nation.” At the bottom right is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in gray.
Image 3: An image with a white background. At the top of the image is big black which reads “help us unify the non-monogamous community.” Beneath it at the left side of the image is a thin horizontal line that takes up about 1/3rd of the image. Beneath the line is smaller, bold black text which reads “follow us and vote on one polyamorous flag that sends a clear message of presence & pride.” Slightly beneath it is more bold black text which reads “visit”, directly followed by bold pink text which reads “polyamproud.com”, followed by more black text which reads “to get notified about the vote by email.” At the bottom of the image is a pink box that takes up the entire width of the image. In the middle of the box is a white polycule symbol with text to the right of it. The black text beside it reads “polyamproud.” Beneath it is slightly smaller, bold black text which reads “many loves. one flag.”
The australian Aboriginal flag is such an inspiration 😍
It’s like looking at an expansive horizon.
Another version of this post was originally posted over on Instagram and had “Aboriginal” spelled without capitalization.
Especially in light of the australian Aboriginal Peoples’ recent struggle with the copyright law and ownership of the flag featured in this post, we thought it best to repost it over on Instagram with the appropriate capitalization.
As for why we decided to bring attention to this, and include the fourth image adressing this, over here on tumblr: It only felt right to acknowledge that we made a mistake before as well as share the info we learned after this.
Thank you to our followers and commenters who helped make us aware of this error!
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[Image Description: A set of 4 square images. All text is in lowercase letters, excluding a small part in the first image.
Image 1: An image with a white background. All text is left-aligned. At the top of the image is big, bold white text which reads “flags we love.” Beneath it is a thin, horizontal black line extending from the left of the image to roughly half of the image. To the right of the line is small, capitalized black text which reads “FEATURE NO..″ In the middle of the image is a gray circle with an enlarged Australian Aboriginal flag on top of it. At the bottom of the image is big, bold white text which reads “the australian Aboriginal flag.” Beneath the text is small black text which reads “designed by Aboriginal arrtist Harold Thomas in 1971.” At the bottom right of the image is a small thin, horizontal white line. Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in gray.
Image 2: An image with a white background. All text is left-aligned. To the right side is a partially visible gray circle with a slightly darker square grid visible in it. Inside the circle is big, bold white text which reads “what makes it great.” At the top left of the image is bold black text which reads “simple, harmonious design.” Beneath it is black text which reads “a flat disc superimposed overa horizon creates a balanced, memorable image.” Beneath the text is a gray curved arrow pointing towards an enlarged intersex pride flag in the middle of the image. Under the flag is another curved gray arrow with accompanying text. The text is in bold black and reads “meaningful symbolism.” Beneath it is a bulleted list in black text. There are three points in the list, each explaining the colors, parts and symbolism behind the flag.
The first line reads “black - represents the Aboriginal people of australia.”
The second line reads “yellow circle - represents the sun, the giver of life & protector.”
The third line reads “red - represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies & Aboriginal peoples’ spiritual relation to the land.”
Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in gray.
Image 3: An image with a black background. All the text is centered. At the top of the image is big, bold white text which reads “let’s unify the polyam community, too” Beneath it is smaller, bold white text which reads “this november, vote on one polyamorous flag that sends a clear message of presence & pride.” In the middle of the image are three different photographs with different people flying the Aboriginal pride flag. At the bottom of the image is a pink border with bold, centered black text which reads “visit", followed by white text which reads “polyamproud.com”, followed by black text which reads “to get notified about the vote by email.”
Image 4: An image with a white background. At the top of the image is a big red speech bubble. The text in the speech bubble is big bold, left-aligned white text which reads “wait, wasn’t this posted yesterday?” Beneath the speech bubble is small black text which reads “yes it was! we posted the original ‘flags we love - feature no.2′ post yesterday. Since then, a couple of our followerd let us know that we had made a design choice in our post that unintentionally contributes to the erasure of Aboriginal Peoples.” Beneath the text is bold black text which reads “as a group that champions inclusion, we’re grateful for the opportunity to correct out mistake.” Beneath it is slightly bigger bold red text which reads “Aboriginal”, immediately followed by bold black text which reads “should be written with its first letter capitalized as a show of respect, as should Indigenous & First Nation.”
Ngl, this flag slaps.
Before we create a brand new polyamorous pride flag, let’s look at some successful flag designs together, and learn what makes them great.
Part one of a new series!
Created by Morgan Carpenter for Intersex Human Rights Australia (ihra), the intersex flag is an incredibly confident demonstration of the timeless axiom, “less is more.”
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[Image Description: A set of 3 square images. All text is in lowercase letters, excluding a small part in the first image. All text is left-aligned, excluding a small part in the third image and the watermarks.
Image 1: An image with a black background. At the top of the image is big, bold white text which reads “flags we love.” Beneath it is a thin, horizontal white line extending from the left of the image to roughly half of the image. To the right of the line is small, capitalized white text which reads “FEATURE NO.1.″ In the middle of the imageis a white circle with an enlarged intersex pride flag on top of it. At the bottom of the image is big, bold white text which reads “the intersex pride flag.” Beneath the text is small white text which reads “designed by @morgancarpenter (twtitter) in 2013.” At the bottom right of the image is a small thin, horizontal white line. Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in white.
Image 2: An image with a white background. To the right side is a partially visible gray circle with a slightly darker square grid visible in it. Inside the circle is big, bold white text which reads “what we love.” At the top left of the image is bold black text which reads “simple shape, striking image.” Beneath it is black text which reads “the circle was chosen to represent wholeness and potential.” Beneath the text is a gray curved arrow pointing towards an enlarged intersex pride flag in the middle of the image. Under the flag is another curved gray arrow with accompanying text. The text is in bold black and reads “form matches function.” Beneath it is black text which reads “the distinctive color palette reflects the flag’s community, defying the binary red/blue.” Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in gray.
Image 3: An image with a black background. At the top of the image is big, bold white text which reads “let’s do this together.” Beneath it is smaller, bold white text which reads “this november, vote on one polyamorous flag that sends a clear message of presence & pride.” In the middle of the image are three different photographs with different people flying the intersex pride flag and some of them wearing the intersex pride colors during a pride celebration. At the bottom of the image is a pink border with bold, centered black text which reads “follow @polyamproud to learn how.”
According to the internet, this is the most tattooed flag in the united states—not hard to see why.
Creating a flag requires a unique approach to design. It’s a challenge to fill the space elegantly, simply, memorably, and meaningfully. Learning from great flags that have come before will help us ensure we create something truly special for the polyamorous community, too.
👇 What flags do you love???
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[Image Description: A set of 4 square images. All text in the first, third and last image are in lowercase letter. All text in the first and third image is left-aligned, excluding the watermarks.
Image 1: An image with a black background. At the top of the image is big, bold white text which reads “flags we love.” Beneath it is a thin, horizontal white line extending from the left of the image to roughly half of the image. To the right of the line is small, capitalized white text which reads “FEATURE NO.3.″ In the middle of the image is a gray circle with an enlarged city of chicago flag on top of it. The city of chicago flag is a flag with five stripes. The first stripe is white, then followed by Pale Cornflower Blue, white, Pale Cornflower Blue and white again. The middle stripe is bigger than the others and has four six-pointed stars lined up next to one another in the middle of the stripe. At the bottom of the image is big, bold white text which reads “the city of chicago flag.” Beneath the text is small white text which reads “originally designed by Wallace Rice in 1917.” At the bottom right of the image is a small thin, horizontal white line. Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in white.
Image 2: An image with an Oyster Bay blue background. All text in the image is centered, excluding a small part of the explanation of the striped on the flag. At the top and bottom of the image is a thin red border. Near the top of the image is a horizontal red line which gets interrupted in the middle by big, capitalized red text which reads “the chicago flag”. Beneath it is small centered black text which reads “In 1915 the Chicago Municipal Flag Commission was established and tasked with coming up with a flag design for the city. Members turned to Wallace Rice to create an open public competition for the best flag design. Of more thatn 1,000 entried submitted, Rice’s own design was recommended and eventually accepted by the City Council on April 4, 1917.” Beneath the text are several thin red lines seperating sections of the image with different explantions behind the flag. At the middle left side is capitalized red text which reads “timeline”. Beneath it is a timeline with the different versions of the flag visible.
The starting flag is the base of the flag with the five stripes and two of the stars visible. The text under it is in bold black and reads “1917-1933″.
The second flag is the base of the flag with the five stripes and three of the stars visible. The text under it is in bold black and reads “1933-1939″.
The final flag is the current flag with the four stars on it. The text under it is in bold black and reads “1939-Present.” The remainder of the middle section is filled by an enlarged city of chicago flag with the explanations of the meaning behind the stripes. Each white stripe represents a side of the city while the Pale Cornflower Blue stripes represent a body of water.
The first stripe has capitalized, bold black text to the left of it which reads “north side”.
Thesecond stripe has capitalized, bold black text to the right of it which raeds “lake michigan and the north branch of the chicago river”.
The third stripe has capitalized, bold black text to the left of it which reads “west side”.
The fourth stripe has capitalized, bold black text to the right of it which reads “south branch of the chicago river and the great canal”.
The fifth stripe has capitalized, bold black text to the left of it which reads “south side”.
The last section of explanations is on the bottom half of the image. At the top of this section is capitalized red text which reads “the stars”. In this section it is explained what each star symbolizes as well as what each point of each star stands for. Starting at the left.
There is capitalized red text above the star on the left which reads “fort dearborn”. Beneath it is black text which reads “Fourth star added in 1939 (stars were then rearranged based on year). The text explaining the star points in clockwise order reads: “france 1693″, “england 1693-1763″, “virginia1763-1778″, “northwest territory 1798″, “indiana territory 1798-1802″, “illinois statehood 1818″.
The capitalized red text above the star on the middle left reads “great chicago fire of 1871″. Beneath it is black text which reads “Original first star in 1917.″ The text explaining the star points in clockwise order reads: “transformation”, “labor”, “commerce”, “finance”,
“populousness”, “salubrity (health)”.
The capitalized red text above the star on the middle right reads “world’s comlumbian exposition of 1893″. Beneath it is black text which reads “Original second star in 1917.” The text explaining the star points in clockwise order reads: “religion”, “education”, “aesthetics”, “justice”, “beneficence”, “civic spirit”.
The capitalized red text above the star on the right reads “century of progress exposition of 1933″. Beneath it is black text which reads “Third star added in 1933.” The text explaining the star points in clockwise order reads:
“world’s third-largest city”, “city motto: urbs in horto (city in garden)”, “the “I will” motto”, “great central market”, “wonder city”, “convention city”. Near the bottom left is a trademark with small black text which reads “Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.”
At the bottom right is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in white.
Image 3: An image with a black background. To the right side is a partially visible gray circle with a slightly darker square grid visible in it. Inside the circle is big, bold white text which reads “what we love.” At the top left of the image is bold white text which reads “symbolic & simple.” Beneath it is white text which reads “each star represents a foundational moment in the city’s history.” Beneath the text is a gray curved arrow pointing towards an enlarged city of chicage flag in the middle of the image. Under the flag is another curved gray arrow with accompanying text. The text is in bold white and reads “distinct, memorable design” Beneath it is white text which reads “three harmonious colors and a clean arrangement of simple, but distinctive shapes.” Beneath the line is the “@polyamproud” watermark with the polycule symbol next to it in gray.
Image 4: An image with a white background. At the top of the image is a black rectangle with bold white text which reads “follow”. Near the middle of the image is an enlarged pink polycule symbol. Underneath the polycule symbol is big, bold black text which reads “follow @polyamproud.” At the bottom center of the image is thin pink text which reads “to join our effort to establish a new, beloved polamorous pride flag.” At the bottom of the image is a thin pink border.
