Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2023/11/12/minnesota-is-looking-for-a-new-state-flag-design-and-crowd-sourcing-did-not-disappoint-resulting-in-some-absurd-and-ridiculous-designs.html
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Flaggy McFlagface ?
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It’s difficult to do worse than the current flag:
But people are trying.
However there are plenty of genuinely good suggestions in there, such as:
^This subtle hint at the state’s geography.
^ These designs inspired by the Nordic heritage of the state.
And a couple that are just well designed, and distinctive.
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(ah, @Purplecat beat me to it while I was typing)
Look up our current state seal or flag (which has a modified version of the state seal) and you may find yourself thinking “Anything’s better…”
… have been joined by concerns that the image depicted in the seal offers a revisionist view of Minnesota’s settlement by Europeans that conceals the violence committed against indigenous peoples
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There are a lot of state flags that just have the state seal on them, and that’s always struck me as odd and lazy. A seal and a flag serve different purposes. Say what you will about Texas, but their flag is simple, memorable, and iconic. New Mexico’s is also just nearly perfect.
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In light of the last three replies, I love that F8 is just the current flag resubmitted and F7 is the current flag with the seal made even larger
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I’ll be surprised if the internet voting doesn’t heavily favor F156, just some random, happy dog. The person who submitted that may not know vexillology but they know what people want.
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US state flags are, with a few exceptions, roundly terrible. It’s surprising that the people manage to turn out even worse designs.
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There are some beauties in there:
I have no idea WTF is going on here.
It’s just a duck. A really good duck, but still…
Tell it like it is…
I like the dog pic, @subextraordinaire has posted it above.
Honestly, they’ll be getting the general public naming boats next.
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I stand corrected.
It’s a conservative duck.
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I’ve always thought a good flag design should be something simple enough that a person could describe it over the phone or sew one by hand.
Most design solutions that depend on nesting complex symbols within other symbols really irk me. State and local governments seem to be especially prone to this problem.
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Kind of like this one based on the Virginia confederate battle flag a Minnesota unit captured and which Virginia has been unsuccessfully trying to get back.
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I’ve also heard that good flag/seal design should be simple enough a 1st grader can draw it from memory.
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