Vexillography is the art and practice of ''designing flags''; a person who designs flags is a vexillographer. Vexillo''graphy'' is allied with vexillo''logy'', the scholarly study of flags, but is not synonymous with that discipline.Smith, Whitney. Flag Bulletin XL:202(2001).

Background of flag design

Flag designs exhibit a number of regularities, arising from a variety of practical concerns, historical circumstances, and cultural prescriptions that have shaped and continue to shape their evolution. Vexillographers face the necessity for the design to be manufactured (and often mass-produced) into or onto a piece of cloth, which will subsequently be hoisted aloft in the outdoors to represent an organization, individual, idea, or group. In this respect, flag design departs considerably from

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

design: logos are predominantly still images suitable for reading off a page, screen, or billboard; while flags are alternately draped and fluttering images - visible from a variety of distances and angles (including the reverse). The prevalence of simple bold colors and shapes in flag design attests to these practical issues. Flag design has a history, and new designs often refer back to previous designs, effectively quoting, elaborating, or commenting upon them. Families of current flags may derive from a few common ancestors - as in the cases of the

Pan-African colours Pan-African colours is a term that may refer to two different sets of colours: * Green, yellow and red, the colours of the flag of Ethiopia, have come to represent the pan-Africanist ideology due to the country's history of having avoided being ...

, the Pan-Arab colors, the

Pan-Slavic colors The pan-Slavic colours (or colors) — red, blue and white — were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848, based on the flag of Russia, which was introduced in the late 17th century. The tricolor flag of Russia was itself inspired by the ...

, the

Nordic Cross flag A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist. All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in t ...

and the Ottoman flag. Certain cultures prescribe the proper design of their own flags, through

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

or other authoritative systems. Prescription may be based on religious principles: see, for example,

Islamic flags An Islamic flag is a flag either representing an Islamic Caliphate or religious order, state, civil society, military force or other entity associated with Islam. Islamic flags have a distinct history due to the Islamic prescription on aniconism, ...

. Vexillographers have begun to articulate design principles, such as those jointly published by the North American Vexillological Association and the Flag Institute in their ''Guiding Principles of Flag Design''.

Principles of design

In 2006, the North American Vexillological Association published a booklet titled ''Good Flag, Bad Flag'' to aid those wishing to design or re-design a flag. Taking a minimalist approach, the booklet lists five basic flag design principles which have become a standard reference in the vexillographer community. In 2014, the North American Vexillological Association, alongside the Flag Institute created an updated booklet titled ''The Commission's Report on the Guiding Principles of Flag Design'', which addresses issues present in ''Good Flag, Bad Flag'', and goes more in-depth on the ideas laid forth in the aforementioned booklet. The guidelines in this booklet can be summarized as follows:

Basics

#Keep in mind the physics of a flag in flight when designing a flag #Simple designs are more easily remembered #Flags should have distinctive designs that separate them from others #Designs and trends should be avoided if there is a possibility that they can date quickly

Color

#Using fewer colors keeps designs simple and bold #Contrast is important; use light on dark and dark on light #Modern printing techniques have made more shades of color available than previously, and this can be used advantageously #Designs should make the edge of a flag be well-defined so as to not get visually lost in the background of where it is flying

Structure

#Charges are best placed in the canton, hoist, or center of a design as these are the most visually prominent areas #Flag designs are usually longer than they are tall #Having different designs on the obverse and reverse of a flag undermines recognition and increase cost of production

Devices

#A single device used in a prominent position ensures recognizability when the flag is in flight or at rest #When multiple devices are used, different background colors can be used to "anchor" the devices into the overall design #Devices should be stylized graphical representations as opposed to realistic renderings #Writing on flags is difficult to read in flight; Parade Banners and Military Colors are usually more rigid than normal flags, making text more commonplace on them #Charges with directionality traditionally face towards the hoist, or flagpole #Seals, coats of arms, or logos are usually too complex to be used effectively on a flag, although exceptions exist

Symbolism

#Symbols should be both distinct and representative #A flag should represent the totality of any given community as opposed to its individual parts #A flag should emphasize its own identity over higher-level groupings, otherwise distinctiveness is lost #Symbolism relating to other entities should only be used if there is a clear, direct relevance #Designers should avoid representing any particular reference in multiple ways, and instead try to make a single definitive reference

Prominent vexillographers

Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (Almada, 21 November 1857 – Lisbon, 6 November 1929), who is usually referred to as Columbano, was a Portuguese Realist painter. Usually considered the greatest Portuguese painter of the 19th century, he has been c ...

, designer of the

flag of Portugal The national flag of Portugal ( pt, Bandeira de Portugal) is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms of Portugal ( armillary sphere and Portuguese ...

* Luis and

Sabino Arana Sabino Policarpo Arana Goiri (in Spanish), Sabin Polikarpo Arana Goiri (in Basque), or Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin (self-styled) (26 January 1865 – 25 November 1903), was a Basque writer and the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) ...

, designers of the

Ikurriña The ikurrina flag (in Basque)EuskaltzaindiaDictionary of the Standard Basque retrieved 2010-10-04. or ikurriña (Spanish spelling of the Basque term) is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain ...

(the flag of the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

) *

Graham Bartram The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Regis ...

, designer of the

flag of Tristan da Cunha The flag of Tristan da Cunha was adopted on October 20, 2002, in a proclamation made by the Governor of Saint Helena under a Royal Warrant granted by Queen Elizabeth II. The flag is a blue ensign design, defaced with the coat of arms of Trist ...

and others *

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

, designer of the

flag of Argentina The national flag of the Argentine Republic is a triband (flag), triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors. The flag was created by ...

* Frederick 'Fred' Brownell, designer of the flags of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

* Ron Cobb, designer of the American

Ecology Flag The Ecology Flag is a cultural symbol used primarily in the 1970s by American Environmentalism, environmentalists. It is a symbol of people's commitment to clean up the environment. Description Ron Cobb created an ecology symbol which he publ ...

John Eisenmann John Eisenmann (March 26, 1851 – January 6, 1924), was an architect in Cleveland, Ohio. As part of Eisenmann & Smith he designed the Cleveland Arcade in downtown Cleveland. He also designed the Main building for Case School of Applied Scie ...

, designer of the flag of the U.S. state of Ohio * Mohamed Hamzah, designer of the

flag of Malaya This is a list of flags used in Malaysia. National flags Monarch Military Law Enforcement Flags Administrative divisions States Federal territories A common flag for the three federal territories was adopted by the Ministry of ...

* Quamrul Hassan, designer of the

flag of Bangladesh The national flag, national flag of Bangladesh, was adopted officially on 17 January 1972. It consists of a red disc or sun on top of a dark green banner. The red disc is offset slightly toward the hoist so that it appears centered when the flag i ...

* Cederic Herbert, designer of the flag of the short-lived Zimbabwe Rhodesia *

Francis Hopkinson Francis Hopkinson (October 2,Hopkinson was born on September 21, 1737, according to the then-used Julian calendar (old style). In 1752, however, Great Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (new style) which moved Hopkinson's ...

, generally acknowledged designer of the American flag * Friedensreich Hundertwasser, designer of a

koru flag A koru flag was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1983 and proposed as a secondary flag for New Zealand. Overview As black is a traditional colour of the Māori, the flag has a black strip on the left side. There is a fern green spiral ...

, among others * Susan K. Huhume, designer of the flag of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Sharif Hussein Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after procla ...

, designer of the flag of the Arab Revolt *

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, designer of the first

flag of Great Britain The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King's Colours, the first Union Flag, the Union Jack, or the British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of Great Britain. It is the precursor ...

* Syed Amir-uddin Kedwaii, designer of the flag of Pakistan * Lu Haodong, designer of the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

* Nicola Marschall, designer of the " Stars and Bars", the First National Flag of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

* John McConnell, designer of a flag of the Earth *

Fredrik Meltzer Fredrik Meltzer (29 September 1779 – 17 December 1855) was a Norwegian businessman and representative at the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. He is perhaps best known for designing the flag of Norway. Biography Fredrik M ...

, designer of the flag of Norway * Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, designer of the

flag of Brazil The national flag of Brazil ( pt, bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto "''Ordem e Progresso''" ("Order and Progress"), within a y ...

* William Porcher Miles, designer of the battle flag of the Confederate States of America *

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

, designer of the

flag of Venezuela The current eight stars flag of Venezuela was introduced in 2006. The basic design includes a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue, and red, dating to the original flag introduced in 1811, in the Venezuelan War of Independence. Further modificat ...

, upon which the present flags of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

are based. * Theodosia Okoh, designer of the flag of Ghana * Christopher Pratt, designer of the flag of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador * Orren Randolph Smith, citizen of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

who is co-credited as being the father of the "Stars and Bars" flag, along with Nicola Marschall. *

Whitney Smith Whitney Smith Jr. (February 26, 1940 – November 17, 2016) was a professional vexillologist and scholar of flags. He originated the term ''vexillology'', which refers to the scholarly analysis of all aspects of flags. He was a founder of se ...

, designer of the

flag of Guyana The flag of Guyana, known as The Golden Arrowhead, has been the national flag of Guyana since May 1966 when the country became independent from the United Kingdom. It was designed by Whitney Smith, an American vexillologist (though originally ...

and other flags *

George Stanley Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley (July 6, 1907September 13, 2002) was a Canadian historian, author, soldier, teacher, public servant, and designer of the Canadian flag. Early life and education George F.G. Stanley was born in Calgary, Alb ...

, designer of the

flag of Canada The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...

Joaquín Suárez Joaquín Luis Miguel Suárez de Rondelo (August 18, 1781 in Canelones – December 26, 1868 in Montevideo) was a Uruguayan political figure. Head of State of Uruguay In December 1828, Suárez served as the first head of state of the territ ...

, designer of the

flag of Uruguay The national flag of Uruguay () is one of the three official flags of Uruguay along with the flag of Artigas and the flag of the Treinta y Tres. It has a field of nine equal horizontal stripes alternating white and blue. The canton Canton may ...

Pingali Venkayya Pingali Venkayya (2 August 1876/8 – 4 July 1963) was an Indian freedom fighter and a Gandhian. He was the designer of the flag on which the Indian National Flag was based. He was also as a lecturer, author, geologist, educationalist, agricul ...

, designer of the

flag of India The national flag of India, Colloquialism, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of Saffron (color)#India saffron, India saffron, white and Variations of green#India green, India green; with the ', a 24 ...

* Robert Watt, designer of the

flag of Vancouver The flag of Vancouver was adopted by the Vancouver City Council on May 17, 1983. It was designed by Robert Watt, the director of the Vancouver Museum at the time, and later the Chief Herald of Canada. It features a white field with five wavy ...

, British Columbia, Canada *

Oliver Wolcott, Jr. Oliver Wolcott Jr. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833) was an American politician and judge. He was the second United States Secretary of the Treasury, a judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit, and the 24th Governor of Co ...

, designer of the flag of the

United States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted c ...

* Zeng Liansong, designer of the

flag of the People's Republic of China The National Flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off to ...

İsmet Güney İsmet Vehit Güney (15 July 1923 – 23 June 2009) was a Turkish Cypriot artist, cartoonist, teacher and painter. He is best known as the designer of the modern flag of the Republic of Cyprus, the country's coat of arms and the original Cyprus ...

, designer of the

flag of Cyprus The national flag of Cyprus ( el, Σημαία της Κύπρου, Simaía tis Kýprou; tr, Kıbrıs bayrağı) came into use on 16 August 1960, under the Zürich and London Agreements, whereby a constitution was drafted and Cyprus was proclai ...

* Nguyen Huu Tien, designer of the flag of Vietnam * Gilbert Baker, designer of the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognized u ...

symbol of the

LGBT Movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...

* Alexander Baretich, designer of the Cascadian bioregional flag AKA Doug Flag *

Ralph Eugene Diffendorfer Ralph Eugene Diffendorfer (August 15, 1879 – January 31, 1951) was an American clergyman. Biography He was born on August 15, 1879, at Hayesville, Ohio to Franklin Diffendorfer and Addie Leora Arnold. He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University, ...

, co-designer of the Christian Flag *

Christopher Gadsden Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was an American politician who was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a brigadier ...

, designer of the Gadsden flag *

Monica Helms Monica F. Helms (born 8 March 1951) is an American transgender activist, author, and veteran of the United States Navy. She is the creator of the Transgender Pride Flag. Education Helms received a General AA Degree and an AA in Industrial Tel ...

, designer of the

Transgender pride flag The first transgender flag is a pride flag having five horizontal stripes of three colors—light blue, pink and white. It was designed by American trans woman Monica Helms in 1999 to represent the transgender community, organizations, and indi ...

* Catherine Rebecca Murphy Winborne - the "Betsy Ross of the Confederacy" - also co-credited as the designer of the "Stars and Bars" flag *

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, designer of the

flag of Nazi Germany The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the app ...

, the '' Reichskriegsflagge'' and his personal standard * Betsy Ross, designer, according to legend, of the American flag during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

* Theodore Sizer, designed of the

flag of St. Louis The flag of St. Louis, Missouri, consists of a solid red background and three thick, wavy lines colored blue and white extending from the top left corner, bottom left corner, and center right edge. At the intersection of these lines there is a ye ...

* Gerard Slevin, former Chief Herald of Ireland reputed to have helped design the flag of Europe.

Notes

{{Vexillology