Leaders | Don’t be a flaggard. Raise your standards!

How to design better flags

Some tips to avoid having an embarrassing emblem

New Mexico flag and United States flag
Image: Alamy

HAVE YOU ever met a vexed vexillologist? This is someone who frets when flags are badly designed. Sadly, too many flags flutter to deceive: they are cluttered with imagery, a mess of colours and all too easily forgettable. Yet flags matter. Witness Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow banner, which now serves as a potent symbol around the world (not to mention on this newspaper’s covers). A fine flag can be something that citizens feel proud to pledge allegiance to, as well as an excellent marketing tool. Canada’s red maple leaf, for example, has advertised the country on countless backpacks across the world.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Raising the standard”

From the July 1st 2023 edition

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