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State Flag Concepts (PA, NJ, VI Added, Project Complete!)


BigRed618

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These all look pretty good, honestly not all are upgrades, but still good nonetheless. South Dakota and Illinois (with chevrons) are my favourites. And wouldn't a better representation for silver in the Nevada concept be ... silver (a lighter shade mind you)

But yeah, maybe after you're done you could take a stab at Canadian province flags, either Manitoba or Ontario's gotta go.

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WISCONSIN

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The horn o' plenty, symbolizing its importance in agriculture, was taken from the state's coat of arms. The green is for the state's forested regions, such as Wisconsin Dells and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The white represent's Wisconsin's title as one of the nation's leading dairy producers.

MINNESOTA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Based on another design I've seen a long time ago. The star/snowflake is obviously a graphic interpretation of the state's motto, L'Etoile du Nord, or Star of the North.

These all look pretty good, honestly not all are upgrades, but still good nonetheless. South Dakota and Illinois (with chevrons) are my favourites. And wouldn't a better representation for silver in the Nevada concept be ... silver (a lighter shade mind you)

But yeah, maybe after you're done you could take a stab at Canadian province flags, either Manitoba or Ontario's gotta go.

I took a look at Canada's flags, and most of them I'm okay with, except for the same two provinces you mentioned. I decided to do these for you right away...

MANITOBA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The main problem I had with Manitoba and Ontario was that they had essentially the same flag, differentiated only by the shields on the fly ends. My concept for Manitoba focuses mainly on the shield design, a buffalo underneath the Red Cross of St. George.

ONTARIO

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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I was going to have the cross on top and the leaves on the bottom, but then Ontario would have the same problem with Manitoba that they already have now, so I rearranged the symbols a bit.

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Now we're heading south today!

LOUISIANA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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A colorful flag to reflect a colorful history and culture. The overall structure of the flag, especially with the white chevron, resembles the flag of the Cajun people. The red/gold/green arrow honors the Creole people, whose ancestors hail mainly from Mali and Senegal, who both fly these same colors. The blue/white/red section, of course, stands for France.

MISSISSIPPI

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Mississippi, the last state in the Union to fly Confederate colors, is arguably the state who needs a new flag the most. The first thing I did was remove the canton. Next I added a magnolia tree, an important state symbol. There are 20 stars surrounding the tree, as Mississippi was the 20th state to join.

ALABAMA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Based on the shield design on Alabama's coat of arms. The white cross saltire is reminiscent of the red one it uses now. The symbols surrounding the cross represent the four nations that ruled the Heart of Dixie throughout its history. The fleur-de-lis stands for France, the castle is for Spain, the crown is for Britain, and the star is for the US.

GEORGIA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Basically a simplified version of what they have now, with just the red and white bars, and a stylized take on its seal, a symbol that dates back to colonial times.

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That's probably the best Wisconsin concept flag I've ever seen. I especially love how you were able to represent the agriculture and dairy industry without resorting to using cows and cheese wedges. Not sure if you had the state's motto ("Forward") in mind when you designed the chevron, but it works for that too. The two blue sections could also stand for Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, or Lake Mendota and Lake Monona being intersected by the Madison isthmus, or Wisconsin's two main urban areas that both have long coastlines and are quite "blue" politically.

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That's probably the best Wisconsin concept flag I've ever seen. I especially love how you were able to represent the agriculture and dairy industry without resorting to using cows and cheese wedges. Not sure if you had the state's motto ("Forward") in mind when you designed the chevron, but it works for that too. The two blue sections could also stand for Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, or Lake Mendota and Lake Monona being intersected by the Madison isthmus, or Wisconsin's two main urban areas that both have long coastlines and are quite "blue" politically.

Actually, you're right about the green arrow and the blue sections. I just forgot to mention that for some reason.

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Big update today. I'm doing all the flags of the New England states. For these, I want to try something interesting...

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This is the regional flag of New England. All the states in this region will be based on this flag.

MAINE

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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It wasn't easy finding something simple that could represent the Pine State. Then I noticed the crest on top of the state seal. It was the North Star with a halo around it with the word Dirigo, meaning I Lead or I Direct, beneath it. I figured this could symbolise the State's close ties to the sea. Before the days of computerized navigation, sailors counted on the North Star to find their way.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The late Old Man of the Mountain is the Granite State's official state emblem, even though the formation no longer exists. The brown outline shapes what the Old Man looked like, while the solid brown shows the cliff's current shape.

VERMONT

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The deer head with pine branches was taken directly from the state's coat of arms.

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MASSACHUSETTS


Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The mayflower blossom is the Bay State's state flower, and also represents the ship Mayflower, which brought the state's first English settlers.



CONNECTICUT


Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The stylized Charter Oak is an important symbol of the love of freedom that inspired our colonial ancestors to resist tyranny and demand liberty. It's kind of a long story...



RHODE ISLAND


Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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I kept as many elements as I could from the current flag. Some would say that the Ocean State's flag is perfect as it is, but I really wanted to see how it would look with the NE canton.
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WASHINGTON

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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A simplified version of the current flag. I used a sillouette of his head in place of the portrait to save on colors.

OREGON

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The blue is for the Pacific Ocean, the gold is for the beaches, and the green is for the woods inland. The star denotes the state's position on a US map, and I figured three beavers would look better and fill out the green field better than just one.

HAWAI'I

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Got rid of the Union Jack and called it a day. XD It was a Briton who discovered Hawai'i, and the islands were under British protection for a while, even though it was never part of the old Empire. Other than that, the Union Jack has no real relevance pertaining to the Aloha State.

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MONTANA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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I liked Ed's idea for a new Montana flag, so my concept borrows some things from his. The two mountains form an "M," but I also added snowy caps to the mountains, figuring I could make them look more like mountains without making them look less like an M. The background is in periwinkle, a realistic sky color that also makes a unique flag color.

UTAH

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The beehive is the state's official symbol. The strange shape surrounding it is called the Seal of Melchizdek, a symbol of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, better known as Mormonism, which was founded in Utah.

WYOMING

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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I removed the seal, which I felt was the only flaw on an otherwise clean, distinct look.

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First, an update on Illinois...

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I thought it looked good with just the bars, but later I found out that there is a province in the Netherlands that has the exact same flag. I wanted to keep the color scheme, though, so I brought back the stars to keep it unique.

KANSAS

Current flag

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Concept Flag

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The sunflower symbolizes this state, so I made that the main element on the flag. The rich prarie soils found there is world-renowned for its exceptional qualities, and helps Kansas be the nation's top wheat producer. This is what the brown represents.

NEBRASKA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The gold stripes on the bottom represent farmland. The gold shape on top is a stylized effigy of Chimney Rock, as it would appear against a rising sun. The red is there so it would be something besides blue, and it also offers a tie-in to the state's collegiate colors.

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MICHIGAN

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The griffin was taken from the state's military crest. The three stars represent its three slogans, and the five wavy stripes represent the five Great Lakes, four of which border this state.

ARKANSAS

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The three stars represent the three nations that ruled the Natural State throughout its history, and the fact that it was the third state to be formed out of the Louisiana Territory, in 1803. Arkansas is the nation's sole producer of diamonds, represented by the white diamond shape surrounding the stars.

KENTUCKY

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Like Mitchell, I too tried to make a more graphical representation of the two men embracing in the seal, with the two colored fields moving closer together as they move towards the hoist. The star is mainly there to fill out the white space at the fly end.

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Can't say I like the Hawaii update. Anyone who knows the history of the islands knows the flag was created by the Kingdom of Hawaii as an amalgam of both the British and US flags during the days when both countries were courting the islands as a means of "honoring" both while offending neither.

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Can't say I like the Hawaii update. Anyone who knows the history of the islands knows the flag was created by the Kingdom of Hawaii as an amalgam of both the British and US flags during the days when both countries were courting the islands as a means of "honoring" both while offending neither.

Couldn't it still be that without the Union Jack?

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Can't say I like the Hawaii update. Anyone who knows the history of the islands knows the flag was created by the Kingdom of Hawaii as an amalgam of both the British and US flags during the days when both countries were courting the islands as a means of "honoring" both while offending neither.

Couldn't it still be that without the Union Jack?

Not really. Without the canton Union Jack it just looks like a bunch of stripes and loses the meaning completely. It no longer looks like it's part British or nor does it have that American flag silhouette in it.

That said, love the Nebraska and Washington updates.

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Can't say I like the Hawaii update. Anyone who knows the history of the islands knows the flag was created by the Kingdom of Hawaii as an amalgam of both the British and US flags during the days when both countries were courting the islands as a means of "honoring" both while offending neither.

Couldn't it still be that without the Union Jack?

Not really. Without the canton Union Jack it just looks like a bunch of stripes and loses the meaning completely. It no longer looks like it's part British or nor does it have that American flag silhouette in it.

That's what I like about it... it no longer looks like a lazy combination of two other countries' identities, but rather their own unique identity that was inspired by the flags of those two countries.

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INDIANA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Like Wyoming, The Hoosier State has a beautiful flag that I thought would be perfect given a few tweaks. I removed the state name and rearranged the stars a little.

NEW YORK

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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The Empire State gets a modified version of the Dutch Prinsevlag with a ship inside the white bar. This ship with a crescent on one of the sails represents the Half Moon, flagship of Henry Hudson, first European explorer of what is now New York.
DELAWARE
Current Flag
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Concept Flag
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The First State was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. The flag design is based on his coat of arms.
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PENNSYLVANIA

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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This flag honors William Penn, who this state was named after. The design inside the keystone is based on his coat of arms.

NEW JERSEY

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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Like Ed's concept, mine is a graphical representation of the Garden State's motto: Liberty and Prosperity. The shield represents liberty, and the design on the shield is based on the state crest. The tapering stripes shooting upward, of course, stands for prosperity. It also provides a nod to early settlers in the region from Holland (orange) and Sweden (blue and gold.)

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

Current Flag

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Concept Flag

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I looked at the American territories, and I felt that the Virgin Islands was the only one whose flag needed work. The logo I made up is a stylized astrological sign of Virgo. The cross shape, set against the red background, is a nod to Denmark, who sold us these islands in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies back in 1916. The three stars inside the loop represent the three main islands of the territory.

...And that's the end of the project. Thanks for your input everyone. If I didn't get your state, it's probably because I thought it was perfect as it is and it would take a greater creative mind than mine to improve on it. Here are the ones I chose to skip...

Alaska

Arizona

California

Dist. of Columbia

Colorado

Maryland

Ohio

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

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