Here are six flags that despite breaking design rules are still awesome!
Vexillography is the art and practice of designing flags and a person who designs flags is a vexillographer. Designing flags is not an easy task as a flag not only has to represent the people for whom it has been created but also send a message across to the observers. It is true that there are no set rules in design and the same applies for Flag Design as well but there are certain guidelines that are followed to ensure good flags.
The North American Vexillological Association has given these guidelines for Flag Design which are also applicable for most design projects in general:
5. Be distinctive or be related
The Republic of Kalmykia
Kalmykia is the only European country where Buddhism is practised by the majority of its citizens and the flag represents the country and its people perfectly. On the Flag of Kalmykia, the yellow stands for the sun, the people and the religious faith of the nation. The blue represents the sky, eternity, and steadiness. The lotus is a symbol of purity, spiritual rebirth and happiness. Its five upper petals represent the continents and the lower four stand for the quarters of the globe. Together, they symbolize the will of the Kalmyks to live in friendship and to cooperate with all the nations of the world.
But the flag of Kalmykia is not the ‘best’. In fact, as with all art, it’s not possible to call anything the absolute best. One can prefer some flags over another but that is only our opinion. Deciding upon one true best is not really possible but there are some really cool flags out there and the Flag of Kalmykia illustrates a great flag that has been created which obeys the guidelines of Flag Design.
All rules are made to be broken, design rules more than most.
-
1. South Africa
South Africa’s is a great flag, but its six colors put it in violation of #3. Adopted in 1994, it combines the color schemes of the African National Congress as well as the British and Dutch flags. All the colors converge on the flag and point to a new future for South Africa. Despite the use of multiple colours, the flag is simple, striking and memorable.
2. California
The bear flag is the flag chosen to represent the State of California. It used to be the flag for the California Republic, a short lived militarily controlled state in the 1800s.
Lettering is a no-no on a flag. As Ted Kaye puts it, “If you need to write the name of what you’re representing on your flag, your symbolism has failed.” This flag doesn’t need the lettering, but I’m also certain there’s something about the anachronistic moniker of “California Republic” that makes the California state flag resonate with its citizens.
3. Wales
The flag of Wales consists of a red dragon on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist. The flag incorporates the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959.
The dragon depicted in the flag is definitely not simple but it adds an element of identifiability to the flag which few flags in the world possess. Talking about dragons on flags, the dragon as a major flag design element is shared with the flag of Bhutan.
4. Bhutan
The flag of Bhutan has a pretty deep and well reasoned symbolism behind it; the yellow signifies civil tradition and temporal authority and the orange half signifies Buddhist spiritual tradition. Druk, the Thunder Dragon, spreads equally over the line between the colors. The placement of Druk in the center of the flag over the dividing line between the flag’s two colors signifies the equal importance of both civic and monastic traditions in the Kingdom of Bhutan and evokes the strength of the sacred bond between sovereign and people. The white color of Druk signifies the purity of inner thoughts and deeds that unite all the ethnically and linguistically diverse peoples of Bhutan. The jewels held in Druk’s claws represent Bhutan’s wealth and the security and protection of its people, while the dragon’s snarling mouth symbolizes Bhutanese deities’ commitment to the defense of Bhutan.
In terms of design,the dragon has far too many details and therefore loses its power when seen from a distance, but that’s an awesome dragon and one can never forget it. The recall value would also probably get a boost in modern times since the dragon resembles Shenron from the Dragon Ball Z anime series!
5. Moscow
Our obsession with dragons continues as we come to the flag of Moscow. The flag of Moscow, in the Russian Federation, is a dark red banner of arms charged as the arms of the city in the centre. It displays Saint George wearing armor and a blue cape with a golden lance in his right hand riding on a silver horse. He is shown stabbing a dragon with the lance.
In terms of design, this flag again possesses too much detail and a curious mix of colours which don’t exactly match. However, it possesses one thing that all flags need to have and that is the love and support of the people it represents. The Moscowites love their city flag and as long as they love it and accept it, there is nothing wrong with it.
6. Zheleznogorsk
We move not very far from Moscow to the “secret” city of Zheleznogorsk. This small city Russia was founded in 1950 to make weapons-grade plutonium for the USSR. It was a secret town in the Soviet Union until President Boris Yeltsin decreed in 1992 that such places could use their historical names. Before then, the town had not appeared on any official maps.
Hell yes! The flag featuring a Russian bear splitting an atom might be too complex for a child to draw easily, but every child person who sees it will want to draw that flag! It would also make a great t-shirt, poster, sticker, album cover, tattoo, etc.
So these were a few examples of awesome flags which didn’t obey the rules of flag design which tells us that in design; Rules are always meant to be broken, boundaries are meant to be crossed and walls are meant to be torn down!
Source : TED
