Redesigned US State Flags

[Gothamite]

You dont add an element then try to justify it witn an explanation.

And yet, many professional designers appear to do just that. Seems as though every other pro team or college unveiling includes those elements.

[BrandMooreArt]

You dont add an element then try to justify it witn an explanation.

And yet, many professional designers appear to do just that. Seems as though every other pro team or college unveiling includes those elements.

good design and "professional design" are not always the same thing. yes, even at Nike there's at least 1 guy with some bad ideas. but, the thing with design at that level is there is a lot of people who have input on a single thing and ultimately the client (school) will have to approve it. in the end, they get what they want. i think it was Milton Glaser (could be wrong) who said "in order to do great design, you need a great client". it's hard to say where it all goes wrong in that process, but with a single designer and his flag project, it's clear where teh mistakes come from.

people at Nike have to sell their ideas to both client and public. does it sound like BS when Van Horne says the Jaguars helmet concept was based on a jaguar hunting from the shadows? it should, because it very likely is. The truth there is most likely they (Jags and Nike) just wanted something different, something "cool". i have no issue with that, i don't think anyone would, not EVERY thing you do has to have a deep meaning to it. design includes a lot of decoration and entertainment, hopefully based on good taste and principles. but they would never say publicly "we thought it would be a cool thing to do". and when you do make a decision to, in the flag designer's case, "make curves to reflect driving along the Cali coastline" that should be an element that is clear. if it's not its not a god idea or it lacks in execution. and thats something you find in every area of design. people who can do that well, and those who can't.

[29texan]

I just thank God these are not actually happening.

It would be just like the Super Bowl logos, only 1000x's worse.

[Epiphanic]

I could get on board with having all the state flags use red, white, and blue, but it's hard to see any distinction. Ironically, the ones that are recognizable are the ones that are basically just recolors. Solid idea, but lacking on execution (I also couldn't find explanations of the design elements outside of the clickable ones on the Wired article).

A better example of state branding is found on graphicology.com

Yes, kinda, not really.

It's been enjoyable to read about his research into the histories of each state (and their flags) and learning about the "rules" of good flag design. He knocked Alabama out of the park (Arizona and Hawai'i are pretty solid as well), but it's been really disappointing because he's been constantly breaking those rules he learned about. Georgia and Illinois are terrible and I feel that Florida was just mailed in.

[MiK]

It's hard to take this seriously when the designs are so seemingly random and sometimes just incorrect. Naturally I looked at Wisconsin's first, and in the description he says the blue on the right side represents the border with Lake Michigan and Canada....last time I checked, Wisconsin didn't border Canada, and Canada didn't border Lake Michigan. Maybe he meant Lake Superior? Even then, the lake boundaries of Wisconsin and Canada don't even come close. I dunno, it turned me off pretty quickly, not to mention the design he had was pretty terrible.

Some states he nailed like Alabama and Montana with original designs, and the ones he just recolored retained some of their glory. But the majority are uninspired and boring with random stars slapped on for stars sake. Good idea, poor execution.

[BrandMooreArt]

I could get on board with having all the state flags use red, white, and blue, but it's hard to see any distinction. Ironically, the ones that are recognizable are the ones that are basically just recolors. Solid idea, but lacking on execution (I also couldn't find explanations of the design elements outside of the clickable ones on the Wired article).

A better example of state branding is found on graphicology.com

Yes, kinda, not really.

It's been enjoyable to read about his research into the histories of each state (and their flags) and learning about the "rules" of good flag design. He knocked Alabama out of the park (Arizona and Hawai'i are pretty solid as well), but it's been really disappointing because he's been constantly breaking those rules he learned about. Georgia and Illinois are terrible and I feel that Florida was just mailed in.

i agree with that. and i said it was better, not great

it's his research and ideas that i enjoy the most. i also feel at least half are executed poorly. Colorado was a big disappointment for me. but then the idea he had for Delaware to change the "1" every year i thought was fantastic. that would quickly become an exciting, anticipated tradition i think

[logodawg]

Too many of his proposals reminded me of the North Korean flag.

http://www.brecorder.com/images/2013/02/north-korea-flag.jpg

Are some of the state flags crap? Yes, but I would take random mess that have unique character over the sanitized, mass-produced sameness that he's suggesting.

[MDGP]

Oof, that Maine flag really wanted to make me punch something. It might also be the first time someone ever thought "blue triangle=pine tree."

The graphicology one isn't great, but at least it shows some creativity and research other than, "this state has trees and is near the ocean, so I'll draw diagonal lines."

[mendoza-line]

"Mitchell decided to come up with a single visual languege that could be used to redesining the whole lot, all in the name of making our Union a little more, um, united."

I find it a bit ironic that the actual flag desings he discarded or changed the most (blue field with a state seal) are the ones that seem to communicate the philisophical ideal he is after the best!

[BigRed618]

My biggest gripe is that they all have the same colors. I understand why he did this, but I think the states deserve a little more individuality. The designs are neat. Some great, some bad. They kind of remind me of flags used in Japan.

Also I tried clicking on my home state, Illinois, but it won't load for some reason...

[BrandMooreArt]

n/m

[eagle98]

Some of these are close, but the all red/white/blue scheme really has to go. The point of a state flag is to give the state itself an identity. Now the flags are even more difficult to tell apart. I think that many of these designs would look great recolored. Take, for instance, Montana. I once saw a concept for Montana that had colors of sky blue and plum. Replace red and blue with these and you have a winner.

Massive downgrades on Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and New Mexico.