libya?
libya's flag is the only one in the world that has 1 color and no other signs on it.Pure minimalism. BUT even then there is a symbolic meaning; the flag is green what is the traditional color of the islam. Maybe choose Rem koolhaas'flag of europe? (and i also like albania's flag...strong and powerfull; like their mob) But only one country could make the colors of its flag into a hip and trendy fashionthing; brasil!
Hi Don,
...interesting question. "Best designed" implies an intentional choice, which is often not the case in tradition based flags. As a child I always liked the letter "A" in the marine signal flags because it is (sort of) a "K" as in Koen on a white field. But these personal preferences set aside, the japanese is without any doubt the strongest graphic symbol, a red circle, on a white backgraound. But graphically it is not well designed because the "rising sun" is too small in the white field.I assume that they wanted to keep the same proportions as the insign which of course needed rome for these "rays" going toward the side of the flag. I like the Swiss flag because it has used a religious symbol in non-religious proportions...which is kind of nice for a neutral country. The Nordic countries, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland an the canadian province Québec...al well as England share a cross as basic symbol, and again it is not too close to the religious symbol it originally was. Of all the colour commbinations in the nordic flags I prefer the Swedisch simply because the blue and yellow is so descriptive of the typical summer light in the north. Some african flags have that same quality of expressing well the colour intensity especially in central Africa. I am not very keen on the French,and other red, white and blue combinations. First of all to me it is the letter "T" in the signal flags and not a country (with a sea captain as grandfather you learn those first) and it is too "generic" The Netherlands variation with orange instead of red is more recognizable. A typically "designed" flag (and badly so) is Bosnia. It looks like an "invented" flag in a game or a Harry Potter movi. The stars and stripes is certainly the flag that has inspired the most artists , which certainly indicates quality. I like the evolving aspect of it, with the increasing number of stars according the the new states that join the union. The meaple leaf, Canada's national symbol is propably one of the best examples of proper process, and as such also well designed. Meaples are not found across the country, but a "nature" based flag is quite appropriate for a country that is one of the least populated. To choose a flag through a national competition and subsequently redesign the chosen concept into a well proportioned symbol is as democratic as it can get. So considerations of beauty, rich symbolism etc.put aside I think that the Canadian flag is the result of a good design process. My personal preference are the alternating orange/red and yellow vertical bars of.....I can not remember which country, but I can't see it as "well designed"
Greenland's flag
...strikes me as well designed: very simple, distinctive, witty, and easy to draw (as opposed, say, to Brazil or even the U.S.A.) With an almost Panton-ish verve, it looks Modern but timeless. I'd hang it on my wall or tattoo it on my shoulder in preference to any other.
Botswana and Estonia
Aren't the Botswanian and Estonian flags available as carpet tiles from FLOR?
http://www.interfaceflor.com/service/flor/shop_by_model.html?mv_arg=Thic...
the Special Relationship
Flag waving aside, the American flag looks pretty sharp when it is flown together with the British flag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM6puai_ZMg&search=gay%20bar%20electric%2...
Greenland's flag
> Greenland's flag
> ...strikes me as well designed: very simple,
> distinctive, witty, and easy to draw (as opposed,
> say, to Brazil or even the U.S.A.) With an almost
> Panton-ish verve, it looks Modern but timeless.
> I'd hang it on my wall or tattoo it on my shoulder
> in preference to any other.
Yes, and I also respect the fact that they managed to avoid the obvious, and did not include "green" in their flag design (FYI- It was only adopted ten years ago in a flag design competiton).
Not only did Thue Christiansen, designer of the flag, avoid using green, but he managed to use red to symbolize the ocean- The circle is meant to represent an iceberg, which by proportion belies the old adage about the tip-of-the-iceberg. The red was actually chosen to show their allegence to the Danes, not oceans of blood, or anything of that sort.
Can I change my vote?
dcwilson's original post (above) reads, "...which STATE in the world ..."
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/flags/nm_flag.htm
What's not to like?
"The first flag of {New Mexico} was designed by New Mexico historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell and featured a design quite different from the current flag. Mr. Twitchell's flag was blue with a small representation of the flag of the United States in the upper left hand corner and the New Mexico State Seal in the lower right hand corner. "NEW MEXICO" was embroidered diagonally across the field from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner."
Ouch.
Tilanus...
I like the idea of a nonrectilinear flag, but Nepal's flag conjures up a a slightly deformed Pac Man icon for me, which goes to show just how incredibly old I've become. Likely it works for the Nepalese, though, because they were probably spared the earliest infections of video games such as Pong and Pac Man, which I unfortunately grew sick with early on until I managed to kick the habit. 🙂
...in the face of convention?
The Nepalese flag might fly in the face of convention for us, but I am quite certain that nothing but convention was intended when the flag was actually adopted. It might not change your conclusion but I think that being non-conventional is a pour motivation for any design and certainly for "good design" It often requires non-conventional thinking, but a non conventional result for the sake of originality....
Going back to flags, I guess the only ones that can claim "originality" are the Danes who's flag is the oldest known one.
A true sign of 'Good Design' in my opinion...
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