Welcome to the personal website of Brian Cham

I am a Vexillologist (flag expert): I love how flags can symbolise so much meaning and bring people together.
💪 I’ve been the finalist for some official flags (the latest one is Long Beach, California)
💪I’ve been a judge for some official flags
💪I was commissioned to design the flags for the fictional nations in the NeuroSpasta role-playing game
💪 I’m a member of NAVA, the largest flag organisation in the world
💪 I’m due to give a presentation at NAVA’s 55th annual conference
🏆 My Earth flag was featured in NAVA’s newsletter
🔗 Feel free to browse and share my designs or see my NAVA profile!

I am a Cryptographer (code breaker): I love solving puzzles, analysing patterns and breaking secret codes.
💪 At the University of Auckland, I made apps to teach cryptography and steganography to students in a fun way
🏆 Those apps were used as teaching tools in the University of Auckland and the Museum of Transport and Technology
💪 I analyse the Voynich Manuscript, a centuries-old book written in unique symbols that nobody can understand. My work has been cited in academic papers.
🔗 Feel free to read my Voynich Manuscript articles or see my Voynich Ninja profile!

I am a Software Developer: I love the power of software to deliver revolutionary benefits.
💪 I work at Southern Cross, the largest health insurance provider in New Zealand
💪 I used to work at Vista, the multi-national company that makes the software that runs most of the world’s cinemas
🎓 I have two Microsoft Certifications: Azure Fundamentals and Azure Developer Associate
🎓 I have a Professional Certificate in Data Science from Harvard University
🎓 I have a Degree in Software Engineering from the University of Auckland
🏆 My university engineering project was accepted at an international conference, ranked as a top paper and published in the International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering
🔗 Feel free to see my software projects or see my LinkedIn profile!

I am a Cinephile (film lover): I love the power of film to bring us into another world and inspire the human soul.
💪 I have 24 achievement badges and over 1300 reviews on my IMDb profile
🎓 I have a Degree in Film, Television and Media Studies from the University of Auckland
🏆 I was a finalist in an international film competition run by the United Nations
🏆 I got First in Course for FTVMS300 (New Zealand Film) at the University of Auckland
🏆 I got First in Course for FTVMS327 (Comics and Visual Narrative) at the University of Auckland
🏆 I got First in Course for FTVMS212 (Video Game Studies) at the University of Auckland
🏆 I got First in Media Studies 301 and the Best Director award at Massey High School
🔗 Feel free to see my short films or see my IMDb profile!

I am a Bookworm: I love learning new things and exploring new ideas.
🏆 I am the #1 top book reviewer in New Zealand for All Time on GoodReads
🔗 Feel free to see my GoodReads profile!

I am a Designer
💪 I used to do a bit of freelance graphic design on the side
🔗 Feel free to browse my designs!

Meta

Proposed flag of Utah 2

Flags

I previously made a proposed flag of Utah in 2009 but I wanted to revisit this with my new skills. This new design was created in early 2021 with consultation with NAVA members as part of their Design Gauntlet. Thanks to everyone who gave feedback!

The current design

Current flag of Utah

The current flag scored a 3.47/10.00 in NAVA’s North American flag survey, which makes it the fifteenth worst flag in North America. In 2019, the Utah House voted to solicit potential flag designs to replace the current flag.

My proposal

Proposed flag of Utah
Continue reading →

Proposed flag of Galveston, Texas

Flags

I was proud to be a finalist for the official flag of Galveston, Texas! Thanks to everyone who supported and voted for my design.

On Reddit, this design received over 8100 upvotes, nine awards and near unanimous praise from other vexillologists. Locals said it felt like a festive, beach-themed version of the Texan flag – exactly what I was going for. We all want the best for Galveston!

Proposed flag of Galveston, Texas

Here is my proposal for the flag of Galveston, Texas. It is simple enough to be remembered by a child but distinctive enough to be recognised at a distance.

The overall layout represents the geography of Galveston, a diagonal island. The two blue sections represent the ocean and shipping industry as Galveston was one of America’s biggest ports. The two golden stripes represent the beaches that attract many visitors. One shore faces the mainland and the other faces the wider world, representing how the port acts as a gateway to America. The red represents the life and energy of Galveston’s people. The star represents the pride of Galveston as it punches above its weight.

Here is a map of the island of Galveston to understand what I was going for with the layout:

Map of Galveston, Texas showing the diagonal island geography

The flag also references the history of Galveston. Red and gold are borrowed from the naval flag of the Spanish Empire. The diagonal layout is borrowed from the first flag of Mexico. The red, white, blue and star are borrowed from the flags of Texas and America.

Historical flags of Galveston, Texas
Construction sheet of the proposed flag of Galveston, Texas

Proposed Flag of United Cyprus / Προτεινόμενη σημαία της Ενωμένης Κύπρου / Birleşik Kıbrıs’ın Önerilen Bayrağı

Flags

The current situation / Η τρέχουσα κατάσταση / Mevcut durum

Proposed flag of Cyprus from the 2004 Annan Plan / Προτεινόμενη σημαία της Κύπρου από το Σχέδιο Ανάν του 2004 / 2004 Annan Planı’ndan önerilen Kıbrıs bayrağı

The island of Cyprus is split between Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus as a result of an ongoing dispute. There are constant talks of reuniting the island and this scenario would require a new flag. In 2004, the United Nations sponsored the “Annan Plan” for reunification which failed when put to a referendum. This scheme had a proposed flag design for United Cyprus but there are several problems with this flag. Firstly, it is too plain and uninspiring. Secondly, it uses blue all the way on one side to represent Greeks and red all the way on the other side to represent Turks, which emphasises division and separation. It may be true in real life that these populations are divided, but a flag representing unity should be optimistic and remind people of harmony rather than conflict. Thirdly, the layout puts one population on top of the other which could suggest a hierarchy to some. Therefore, here is my proposal.

Το νησί της Κύπρου χωρίζεται μεταξύ της Βόρειας Κύπρου και της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας ως αποτέλεσμα μιας συνεχιζόμενης διαμάχης. Υπάρχουν συνεχείς συνομιλίες για την επανένωση του νησιού και αυτό το σενάριο θα απαιτούσε νέα σημαία. Το 2004, τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη χρηματοδότησαν το «Σχέδιο Ανάν» για επανένωση που απέτυχε όταν τέθηκε σε δημοψήφισμα. Αυτό το σχέδιο είχε έναν προτεινόμενο σχεδιασμό σημαίας για την United Cyprus, αλλά υπάρχουν πολλά προβλήματα με αυτήν τη σημαία. Πρώτον, είναι πολύ απλό και δεν εμπνέει. Δεύτερον, χρησιμοποιεί το μπλε από τη μια πλευρά για να εκπροσωπήσει τους Έλληνες και το κόκκινο από την άλλη πλευρά για να εκπροσωπήσει τους Τούρκους, το οποίο δίνει έμφαση στη διαίρεση και τον χωρισμό. Μπορεί να ισχύει στην πραγματική ζωή ότι αυτοί οι πληθυσμοί είναι χωρισμένοι, αλλά μια σημαία που αντιπροσωπεύει την ενότητα πρέπει να είναι αισιόδοξη και να υπενθυμίζει στους ανθρώπους την αρμονία και όχι τις συγκρούσεις. Τρίτον, η διάταξη βάζει έναν πληθυσμό πάνω από τον άλλο, ο οποίος θα μπορούσε να προτείνει κάποια ιεραρχία σε ορισμένους. Επομένως, εδώ είναι η πρότασή μου.

Kıbrıs adası, devam eden bir anlaşmazlık nedeniyle Kuzey Kıbrıs ile Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti arasında bölünmüştür. Adayı yeniden birleştirme konusunda sürekli görüşmeler yapılıyor ve bu senaryo yeni bir bayrak gerektiriyor. 2004’te Birleşmiş Milletler, referanduma sunulduğunda başarısız olan yeniden birleşme için “Annan Planı” na sponsor oldu. Bu şema Birleşik Kıbrıs için önerilen bir bayrak tasarımına sahipti, ancak bu bayrakla ilgili birkaç sorun var. Çok sade ve sönük. Bir yanda Yunanlıları temsil etmek için mavi, diğer yanda Türkleri temsil etmek için kırmızıyı kullanır, bu da bölünmeyi ve ayrılığı vurgular. Gerçek hayatta bu nüfusların bölündüğü doğru olabilir, ancak birliği temsil eden bir bayrak iyimser olmalı ve insanlara çatışmadan ziyade uyumu hatırlatmalıdır. Düzen, bazılarına bir hiyerarşi önerebilecek bir popülasyonu diğerinin üzerine koyar. Bu nedenle, işte benim teklifim.

Note: My choice of designs do not reflect my political opinions.

Σημείωση: Η επιλογή των σχεδίων μου δεν αντικατοπτρίζει τις πολιτικές μου απόψεις.

Not: Tasarım tercihlerim politik görüşlerimi yansıtmıyor.

My proposal / Η πρότασή μου / Benim önerim

Proposed flag of United Cyprus / Προτεινόμενη σημαία της Ενωμένης Κύπρου / Birleşik Kıbrıs’ın Önerilen Bayrağı
Continue reading →

Proposed flag of Massachusetts

Flags

This design is part of my 2009 flag proposal series (the flag designs from my old site with the most hits and ratings).

The current design

Current flag of Massachusetts

The current flag of Massachusetts is a typical American-style seal-on-a-bedsheet design, and as a result it is convoluted, unmemorable and uninspiring. In 2020, the flag came under intense scrutiny because the design seems to imply colonial violence: There is a sword hanging above a Native American figure, the beginning of the motto translates to “by the sword we seek peace” and the artistic rendering was directly based on figures and artifacts involved with killings of Native Americans. There is ongoing pressure with many groups and towns endorsing a redesign of the flag. As of 2021, the state senate and governor have officially decided to redesign the state seal and flag. Therefore, here is my proposal.

My proposal

Proposed flag of Massachusetts
Continue reading →

Proposed flag of Earth

Flags

Updates

4 July 2020: This flag was showcased in the newsletter of the North American Vexillological Association, the largest flag organisation in the world!

The current situation

We need an official flag of Earth. We live in an unprecedented times where all the people of the world are connected together and aware of global issues, but are at risk of being divided. The planet itself under threat from destructive forces. Ecosystems around the world are dying, collapsing and on fire. We have a flag for every single place, except for the place that is most important of all. We have a flag for every single homeland, except for the land that is home to every human being. We have a flag for every single cause, except for the single largest cause in the history of our whole species. We have no consistent symbol for our entire home, yet we clearly need to express that right now.

When we want to represent global co-operation, what flag do we use? When we protest the planet’s environmental issues, what flag do we fly? When we celebrate events like Earth Day, what flag emoji do we use in our message?

There are a few options but they do not cut it. The most famous global flag is the flag of the United Nations but that represents the organisation and not the whole planet. Some people use a photograph of the planet Earth but that is not appropriate for a flag. There are other proposals but they are messy or unintuitive. We need a good, simple, catchy flag to represent our planet.

Therefore, here is my proposal.

My proposal

Proposed flag of Earth
Continue reading →

Proposed flags of Australia

Flags

SUMMARY

Here are all the Australian flag designs I made over the years. Like my New Zealand flag proposals, I put in a lot of effort researching and designing these proposals. This time, James Fitzmaurice was only indirectly involved. Australia has not had an official flag competition or referendum yet but I’ll be ready once it happens!

I aimed for maximum feasibility (i.e. appealing to as much of the public as possible with their various preferences, based on evidence of what people want and don’t want in a new flag) rather than just making something that looked nice and symbolic to me personally. The concepts are roughly in order from most to least feasible, starting with the most conventional and balanced designs and ending with the most radical and peculiar designs. However, the reception of each design on Facebook and Reddit was a little different from expected. I will leave it up to the reader to decide which designs are the best.

INTRODUCTION

As with all design, the how and the why is more important than the what. I used the same process as my New Zealand flag designs so I’ll just summarise that here.

After that, the article lists each of my proposals.

Continue reading →

Proposed flag of Taiwan / 台灣擬議國旗

Flags

The current situation / 目前的情況

Flag of the Republic of China

Flag of the Republic of China / 中華民國國旗

Flag of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party)

Flag of the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) / 國民黨的旗幟

The current flag of Taiwan is a historical relic inherited from the Republic of China, which ruled mainland China over seventy years ago. Now it is confined to the island of Taiwan and the country is simply known as Taiwan to everybody. Moreover, it is based on the flag of a single political party, the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). This may have made sense when Taiwan was a one-party state, but not when Taiwan is now a multi-party democracy in which the Kuomintang is just one of many political parties.

台灣目前的國旗是從中華民國繼承的歷史文物，中華民國統治了七十多年前。 現在它被限制在台灣島上，這個國家被大家簡單地稱為台灣。 而且，它是基於單一政黨國民黨（中國國民黨）的旗幟。 當台灣是一個一黨制國家時，這可能是有道理的，但是當台灣現在是一個國民黨只是許多政黨之一的多黨制民主制時，這是沒有道理的

In recent years, Taiwan has shifted towards a strong, local, independent identity, especially the younger generations. For example, a poll by National Chengchi University shows that the majority of the population now identify as “Taiwanese” rather than “Chinese”, and this is constantly rising. Also, in July 2020, the Taiwanese passport was officially redesigned to emphasise the name “Taiwan” instead of “Republic of China”. There have been many such changes from the 2000s onwards.

近年來，台灣已朝著強大的，本地的，獨立的身份轉變，尤其是年輕一代。 例如，國立政治大學的一項民意測驗顯示，現在大多數人口都是“台灣人”而不是“中國人”，而且這一比例還在不斷上升。 此外，2020年7月，台灣護照正式進行了重新設計，以強調“台灣”而不是“中華民國”的名稱。 從2000年代開始，發生了許多這樣的變化。

In light of these developments and more, some have called for a flag for the island of Taiwan itself and some have even proposed designs. However, those designs have significant flaws and none are popular. Therefore, here is my proposal.

鑑於這些事態發展以及更多事態發展，有些人呼籲為台灣島本身設置旗幟，有些人甚至提出了設計方案。 但是，這些設計存在重大缺陷，而且沒有一個受歡迎。因此，這是我的建議。

Note: My choice of designs do not necessarily reflect my political opinions.

注意：我對設計的選擇不一定反映我的政治觀點。

My proposal / 我的提案

Proposed flag of Taiwan / 台灣擬議國旗

Continue reading →

Proposed neutral flag of All-Ireland

Flags

The current situation

Four Provinces flag

Four Provinces flag

The island of Ireland is currently split between the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) in the north. Each side has their own flag, but there is no single neutral design to represent the whole of Ireland. This is a problem when there are many all-Ireland organisations and sporting-teams. Many of these compete internationally but cannot use an official neutral all-Ireland flag because no such design exists. Instead, each one uses their own ad hoc compromise design. A well-known example is the Four Provinces flag (displayed above) that just combines the individual flags of each of Ireland’s four provinces so as to represent the entire island in a disunited, clumsy and complex way.

Compare this situation with the Korean peninsula: Although it is split between North Korea and South Korea, there is a single neutral official flag to represent the whole of Korea for joint organisations and sporting teams.

There is another big reason why an all-Ireland flag is needed. In the future, Northern Ireland may vote to leave the United Kingdom and unite with the rest of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement stipulates that a referendum for Irish unification can be held if public support is high enough. As The Economist notes, this possibility is actually becoming likelier by the day. If the cause for Irish unification escalates into a realistic possibility, it will require an acceptable symbol that is neutral and not associated with only one side.

Therefore, here is my proposal.

Note: My choice of designs do not reflect my political opinions.

My proposal

Proposed flag of United Ireland

Proposed neutral flag of All-Ireland

Continue reading →