4 ms·
Their flag is terrible: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oklahoma+flag&ia=images&iax=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oklahoma+flag&ia=images&iax=images 99% Invisibl
by djsumdog 7y ago
Their flag is terrible:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oklahoma+flag&ia=images&iax=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oklahoma+flag&ia=images&iax=images
99% Invisible does a great episode on what makes a good flag, and why cities like Chicago, DC and Amsterdam have iconic, memorable flags:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/vexillonaire/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/vexillonaire/
- davidw 7y agoThe New Mexico flag is cited as being one of the better ones. Our flag in Oregon has two different sides, neither one of which is great.
- w-ll 7y agoI've always been a fan of South Carolina's flag. It's a moon and a palm tree.
- dx87 7y agoThat flag had always confused me because most flags with a crescent moon are from Islamic countries. Until I learned that it was the South Carolina flag, I always figured it was the flag of a country that had people frequently immigrating to the USA.
- w-ll 7y agoTo be honest, I didn't know the history of the flag until after your post. It makes more sense how the elements where from revolutionary war regiments fighting for the south. In stark contrast, for me, it's relaxing, like a memory of a warm summer night laying in a hammock. But then I guess, that might make it a bad design.
- dreamcompiler 7y agoI love the New Mexico flag. We use it everywhere here. It's beautiful and carries great symbolism, yet it's so simple every toddler can draw it from memory.
- jessaustin 7y agoFor some time I thought the symbol on the NM flag was too small. Then I realized that the tiny size symbolized a few people huddled together in the vast empty desert, which is certainly appropriate.
- Zancarius 7y agoIt's also the only US state flag to contain neither the colors blue nor white. I've always had a tremendous fondness for the flag, in part because of the cultural homage included by the Zia sun symbol, and as you mentioned: It's instantly recognizable, easy to replicate by hand, and has a stark beauty not unlike the deserts in this state.
- jspash 7y agoSpeaking of terrible. Those little yellow boxes in the middle of the screen of 99% invisible are VERY distracting. Yes, it's easy to find the previous/next article. I appreciate the effort. But I'm trying to read! And my eyes keep bouncing left and right trying to focus on the text, but these little yellow dots keep pulling them in opposite directions. Good design, poorly executed.
- psychometry 7y agoWeb devs don't understand that most people aren't on your site to mindlessly scroll through article after article and never leave your site.
- qrbLPHiKpiux 7y agoSo are the tattoos on Trooper Calicoat's arms.
- zeveb 7y agoInteresting 99% article. A good guide for flag designers is to follow the rules of heraldic design: no 'metal' (gold/yellow or silver/white) on a metal or colour on a colour; don't get crazy with the charges (i.e. prefer one distinct, large shape over a bunch of small different ones) and so forth. The rules which applied in the Middle Ages to help distinguish shields still apply to flags today, since both flags & shields are viewed at a distance, often in motion. And IMHO flags based on heraldric often look better than stuff just thrown together.
- pg_bot 7y agoYou know it's a failure when you have to put your name underneath it. How ridiculous would it be if countries just wrote their names on their flags?