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.

Also, the future possibility of Irish unification is becoming more and more plausible. If this possibility escalates into a real scenario, the island will require an acceptable symbol that is neutral and not associated with only one side. Polls show that creating a new flag in the event of Irish reunification is the most popular option among both the public and politicians.

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

Proposed flag of Hong Kong

Flags

The current design

Current flag of Hong Kong

Current flag of Hong Kong

The current flag of Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region of China) consists of a bauhinia flower and five stars on a red field. Although this design was created by a local and contains a native flower, it was adopted under strict oversight by the Chinese government. The dominance of the colour red and the five stars, all borrowed from the Chinese flag, are a result of this. The relationship between Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China has come under growing scrutiny, so many Hongkongers feel that their flag reminds them more of China’s power than Hong Kong’s identity and no longer represents them. Therefore, here is my proposal.

My proposal

Proposed flag of Hong Kong

Proposed flag of Hong Kong

Proposed flag of New Caledonia / Drapeau proposé de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

Flags

The current situation / La situation présente

Flags of New Caledonia / Drapeaux de Nouvelle Calédonie

New Caledonia’s strange and controversial flag situation: The flag of FLNKS party (left) and the flag of France (right) are co-official… but there is no single flag for the whole of New Caledonia itself.
Situation étrange et controversée en Nouvelle-Calédonie: le drapeau du parti FLNKS (à gauche) et le drapeau de la France (à droite) sont co-officiels … mais il n’existe pas de drapeau unique pour la Nouvelle-Calédonie.

New Caledonia’s flag situation is bizarre by world standards. Instead of a single flag, it currently has two co-official flags, neither of which represents the whole of New Caledonia. One is the flag of France itself. The other is the flag of FLNKS, the political coalition that represents the Kanak indigenous people. This compromise was condemned as clumsy, divisive, controversial and unrepresentative. The situation was even spurned by important leaders at the time like the President of the Government of New Caledonia, the representative of New Caledonia to the National Assembly and the mayor of Nouméa. Critics pointed to the principles of the Nouméa Accord (the 1998 agreement between the French government and FLNKS) which expresses the wish for a “common destiny” for all communities. Many New Caledonians have demanded a single new flag that would express a common identity for all of New Caledonia. There have been existing proposals, but these designs are quite complex. Therefore, here is my proposal.

La situation du drapeau de la Nouvelle-Calédonie est bizarre par rapport aux normes mondiales. Au lieu d’un seul drapeau, il possède actuellement deux drapeaux co-officiels, qui ne représentent ni l’un ni l’autre toute la Nouvelle-Calédonie. L’un est le drapeau de la France elle-même. L’autre est le drapeau du FLNKS, la coalition politique qui représente le peuple autochtone kanak. Ce compromis a été condamné comme maladroit, source de discorde, controversé et non représentatif. La situation a même été rejetée par des dirigeants importants tels que le président du gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, le représentant de la Nouvelle-Calédonie à l’Assemblée nationale et le maire de Nouméa. Les critiques ont évoqué les principes de l’accord de Nouméa (l’accord de 1998 entre le gouvernement français et le FLNKS), qui exprime le souhait d’un «destin commun» pour toutes les communautés. De nombreux Néo-Calédoniens ont réclamé un nouveau drapeau unique exprimant une identité commune pour toute la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Il y a eu des propositions existantes, mais ces modèles sont assez complexes. Par conséquent, voici ma proposition.

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

Remarque: mon choix de modèles ne reflète pas mes opinions politiques.

My proposal / Ma proposition

Proposed flag of New Caledonia / Drapeau proposé de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

Proposed flag of New Caledonia / Drapeau proposé de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

Proposed flags of New Zealand

Flags

SUMMARY

Here are the flags that I and James Fitzmaurice have designed over the years for New Zealand. We based these on extensive research, analysis of thousands of designs and comments, consulting surveys and social science research, and more. We believe our designs surpass those of the notorious 2016 referendum which was widely regarded as a fiasco – The judges had no relevant qualification or experience, the process was mishandled and the finalist designs were hated, among many other problems. Is this a product of raging narcissism or qualified judgement? For the first time, we have collected all of our designs in one place so you can decide!

I presented part of this article and the Blue Sky flag (first in the gallery below) at the 55th annual conference of NAVA (the largest flag organisation in the world), winning an Honorable Mention for the Driver Award.

01b New Zealand flag design summary

INTRODUCTION

As with all design, the how and the why is more important than the what. This article begins by describing our extensive design process. Firstly, it describes our overall methodology and guiding principle. Secondly, it lists all of the common flag design traps that we tried to avoid. Thirdly, it explores New Zealand’s national symbolism and how to effectively express it in a flag design. Afterwards, this article covers each flag design with commentary, larger graphics and construction sheets.

Proposed flag of Michigan

Flags

2020 update

Michigan proposal flying outside Larry's house

Michigan proposal flying outside Larry’s house

Larry from Michigan reached out with a nice surprise. He sent me a photo revealing that he actually manufactured the proposed flag design which now flies outside his house! He said, “the redesign is better and the flag will stay in my family for generations. Thanks so much for the design.”

The current design

flag of michigan, usa

Current flag of Michigan

The current flag of Michigan is a typical American-style seal-on-blue-bedsheet design; as a result it is convoluted, unmemorable and uninspiring. It scored 3.46/10 in NAVA’s survey, making it the fourteenth worst flag in North America. In 2018, a state senator introduced a bill to replace it with a new design. Although nothing came of that, below is what I would have proposed:

My proposal

02 proposed flag of michigan [recoded]

Proposed flag of Michigan

Proposed flag of Fiji

Flags

The current design

Flag of Fiji

The current flag of Fiji

The current flag of Fiji is almost unchanged from its colonial predecessor, a defaced British Blue Ensign. Since becoming a republic, the prime minister Frank Bainimarama called for a new flag design to reflect a new, genuine, confident Fijian identity without inheriting old colonial symbols. The Fijian government called for submissions throughout 2015 and 2016 but this plan fell through. This was the proposal designed by myself, James Fitzmaurice and Rachael Radhika-Hart.

Our proposal

Proposed flag of Fiji by Brian Cham, James Fitzmaurice and Rachael Radhika-Hart.

Proposed flag of Fiji by Brian Cham, James Fitzmaurice and Rachael Radhika-Hart.

Proposed flag of Chad / Drapeau proposé du Tchad / علم مقترح لتشاد

Flags

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

Cette conception fait partie de ma série de propositions de drapeau 2009 (les conceptions de drapeau de mon ancien site avec le plus de hits et de notes).

هذا التصميم جزء من سلسلة مقترحات العلم الخاصة بي لعام 2009 (تصميمات العلم من موقعي القديم مع أكبر عدد من النتائج والتقييمات).

Note: My choice of design does not reflect my political views.

Remarque: mon choix de conception ne reflète pas mes opinions politiques.

ملاحظة: خياري للتصميم لا يعكس آرائي السياسية.

The current design / La situation présente / الوضع الحالي

Current flag of Chad / Drapeau actuel du Tchad / علم تشاد الحالي

Current flag of Romania / Drapeau actuel de la Roumanie / علم رومانيا الحالي

The flag of Chad is almost identical to the flag of Romania. This similarity is so close that Chad once asked the United Nations to inspect the issue. However, Romania pointed out that their flag is older, so Chad should be the one to change to make it more distinct. Therefore, here is my proposal.

Le drapeau du Tchad est presque identique au drapeau de la Roumanie. Cette similitude est si proche que le Tchad a demandé une fois aux Nations Unies de se pencher sur la question. Cependant, la Roumanie a souligné que son drapeau est plus ancien, le Tchad devrait donc être celui à changer pour le rendre plus distinct. Ainsi, je présente ma proposition ici.

علم تشاد مطابق تقريبًا لعلم رومانيا. هذا التشابه قريب جدًا لدرجة أن تشاد طلبت من الأمم المتحدة ذات مرة فحص القضية. ومع ذلك ، أشارت رومانيا إلى أن علمها أقدم ، لذلك يجب أن تكون تشاد هي الدولة التي يجب تغييرها لجعلها أكثر تميزًا. لذلك ، هذا هو اقتراحي.

My proposal / Ma proposition / اقتراحي

Flag proposal for Chad I made in 2009.

Proposed flag of Chad / Drapeau proposé du Tchad / علم مقترح لتشاد

First off, this design is simple enough to be remembered by a child, yet distinctive enough to be identified at a distance.

Tout d’abord, cette conception est assez simple pour être mémorisée par un enfant, mais suffisamment distinctive pour être identifiée à distance.

أولاً ، هذا التصميم بسيط بما يكفي ليتذكره الطفل ، ولكنه مميز بما يكفي ليتم التعرف عليه عن بعد.

The overall layout represents the geography of Chad. In the south is fertile land, in the north is the Sahara Desert and in the west is Lake Chad, which is important to the country. The eight pointed star represents the sun, warmth, vitality and hope for a bright future. The eight points represent the eight directions, referring to the vast size of Chad. The location of the sun ensures its importance, as the left hand side will be last part of the flag to wear out.

La disposition générale représente la géographie du Tchad. Au sud se trouve des terres fertiles, au nord le désert du Sahara et à l’ouest le lac Tchad, qui est important pour le pays. L’étoile à huit branches représente le soleil, la chaleur, la vitalité et l’espoir d’un avenir radieux. Les huit points de l’étoile représentent les huit directions, faisant référence à la vaste étendue du Tchad. L’emplacement du soleil assure son importance, car le côté gauche sera la dernière partie du drapeau à s’user.

يمثل التصميم العام جغرافية تشاد. في الجنوب أرض خصبة ، وفي الشمال توجد الصحراء الكبرى وفي الغرب بحيرة تشاد ، وهي مهمة للبلاد. تمثل النجمة الثمانية الشمس والدفء والحيوية والأمل في مستقبل مشرق. النقاط الثماني تمثل الاتجاهات الثمانية ، في اشارة الى الحجم الشاسع لتشاد. يضمن موقع الشمس أهميتها ، حيث سيكون الجانب الأيسر هو الجزء الأخير من العلم الذي يتآكل.

Vector files available on request.

Fichiers vectoriels disponibles sur demande.

ملفات المتجهات متاحة عند الطلب.

Mock-ups of the proposed flag of Chad / Maquettes du drapeau proposé du Tchad / نماذج بالحجم الطبيعي لعلم تشاد المقترح

Mock-ups of the proposed flag of Chad / Maquettes du drapeau proposé du Tchad / نماذج بالحجم الطبيعي لعلم تشاد المقترح

Construction sheet of the proposed flag of Chad / Fiche de construction du drapeau proposé du Tchad / أبعاد علم تشاد المقترح

Construction sheet of the proposed flag of Chad / Fiche de construction du drapeau proposé du Tchad / أبعاد علم تشاد المقترح

Proposed flag of Mars

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 Mars

The current flag of Mars is trash. It’s a generic tricolour, the colours all clash, it’s completely unintuitive and the symbolism reflects only a particular vision of Mars’ future. One day we’ll put a flag there and the planet deserves a better design than this. Therefore, here is my proposal.

My proposal

Flag proposal for Mars I made in 2009.

Proposed flag of Mars

First off, this design is simple enough to be remembered by a child, yet distinctive enough to be identified at a distance.

The best symbolism is that which does not need to be said. So I won’t.

I will say that this is better than the current design in all the ways that matter: It’s original, the colours complement each other, it’s easily recognisable and the symbolism reflects Mars in any context.

Vector files available on request.

Mock-ups for the proposed flag of Mars

Mock-ups for the proposed flag of Mars

Construction sheet for the proposed flag of Mars

Construction sheet for the proposed flag of Mars

Proposed flag of Utah

Flags

This design is part of my 2009 flag proposal series (the flag designs from my old site with the most hits and ratings). Ever since I posted this design in 2009, I got some feedback and I’ve made an even better design for Utah which you can view here.

Note: My choice of design does not reflect my political views.

The current design

Current flag of Utah

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

Flag proposal I made for Utah in 2009.

Proposed flag of Utah

First off, this design is simple enough to be remembered by a child, yet distinctive enough to be identified at a distance.

This design incorporates features of the current flag, the Mormon pioneer flag and the national flag. The overall layout and thirteen stripes are from the national flag. The colours are from the Mormon pioneer flag and the current flag of Utah. The golden circle is also retained from the current flag of Utah. This aids recognition, establishes continuity and suggests connections with Utah’s history and Mormon influence.

In the canton (top-left corner), the circle represents unity, the star represents the sun and the hexagon represents a beehive. The sun has twelve points, which is the number of perfection. The beehive is the official symbol of Utah and represents hard work, progress and community. The conjunction of the beehive cell inside the sun’s rays sends two messages: firstly that each individual has a chance to shine, and secondly that Utah’s positive influence is known well outside its borders.

The location of this emblem ensures its importance. When a flag wears out, the left hand side will be the last to remain. When it is not flying, that corner will be most visible part of the flag. When it is flying, the eye will be naturally attracted to that region as a starting point.

In terms of colours, the blue represents the sky, the white represents salt and the gold represents the warm sun. The colours are all present on the current flag, so any further symbolism they have can be carried over as well.

Vector files available on request.

Mock-ups of the proposed flag of Utah

Mock-ups of the proposed flag of Utah

Construction sheet of the proposed flag of Utah

Construction sheet of the proposed flag of Utah