The flag experts of North America have completed their survey of state and provincial flags, identifying the best and worst flags on the continent. NAVA, the North American Vexillological Association, conducted a poll on its website, asking its members and the public their opinions of flag designs in the U.S. and Canada. Vexillology is the study of flags.
Best
1 New Mexico 8.61
2 Texas 8.13
3 Quebec 8.04
4 Maryland 7.97
5 Alaska 7.96
6 Arizona 7.92
7 Puerto Rico 7.66
8 District of Columbia 7.48
9 Marshall Islands 7.19
10 South Carolina 7.16
I love New Mexico’s flag. I love Quebec’s too. Texas seems kind of cliched to me; I would have placed Quebec second.
Georgia finishing last is a no-brainer. Even if you discount the whole confederate flag thing, it’s the worst flag I have ever seen. I cannot believe a sane person designed such a brutally ugly flag. The Kansas flag is awful as well.
In what way? The flag was adopted as the state flag when Texas became the 28th state in 1845. As with the flag of the United States, the blue stands for loyalty, the white represents strength, and the red is for bravery.
I have to admit a bit of a partiality towards the Massachusetts flag, even if it is boring. And the fact that California’s says “California Republic” is pretty cool. Damn, though, that Georgia flag is bad.
I would have placed South Carolina higher up than #10. Actually, South Carolina’s flag is probably my favorite of North American flags, and one of my all-time favorites period.
[sub]And yes, Georgia’s new flag is really, really bad.[/sub]
Makes me wonder, what is the original Mississippi flag? When flags get over-complicated they suck. When they get changed it cheapens the flag. Southern states including confederate flags as part of the design, why not resurrect the pre-civil war flag. The Texas flag has stayed the same. It is simple. It gets confuses with the Chilean flag.
BTW. I have heard that Peru is considering changing their flag because it is too close to the Gay Pride rainbow flag.
Or, a native American sun symbol gules would seem to be too vague, but Or, the Zia gules means that you have to know what the Zia looks like first… which seems to break the basic emblazon from the blazon aspect of heraldry.
Still, it’s a very striking design and a wonderful contrast to the hideous “seal-on-a-bedsheet” designs that seem to be all too common.
Give the people of Georgia credit, at least: even we think it’s crap. This is what you get when your flag is a political compromise sprung on you by a political inside deal. Don’t get me wrong, our old flag had to go (and it should have gone several decades ago), but that thing stinks. Most smart people down here prefer to think of it as a placeholder, something that’s only there because we don’t have a real flag design yet.
Here’s a quick link where you can take a gander at all 50 state flags: State Flags
I always thought California’s was kinda lame, but wow, some of the flags I’ve just seen… there sure are lots of “seal on a bedsheet” flags as Apollyon describes. I think New Mexico and Texas won because, among that collection of “seal on background” flags, they’re about the only flags that seem to have simple dignity. I’m cool with the results, since I’ve spend my entire life living first in New Mexico and currently in Texas.
Like much else in this State, the Iowa state flag is just plain pedestrian and dull. The State Flag is a tricolor(blue, white and red from the rise to the fly) with a spread eagle holding a lettered ribbon in its beak. On the ribbon is written, “Our liberties we prize, our rights we will maintain.” A real woofer! A couple years ago some State Legislator urged adding more language to the effect of, “furthermore, and in addition, our responsibilities we will uphold.” That got nowhere but a local newspaper suggested that we also add, “No parking on left side on odd numbered days.”
Now, my birth state, Ohio, has a neat State Flag. It is a swallow tailed affair based on guidons used during the Civil War. Colorful, clean design and different.
That really is a cool little site. I’m more partial to the Arizona flag myself, 'cos it always had a “People’s Republic” kind of tinge to it, but I certainly wouldn’t argue with any of the top 10.
Actually, as I read the article, Texas’ flag finished so high because of ballot-box stuffing :rolleyes:
“Texas briefly led the results after NAVA president Dave Martucci mentioned the survey in a radio interview on Texas Flag Day. But the three-day flurry of responses (likely from Texans) was eventually diluted by other responses and Texas sank back into second place.”
Why on earth couldn’t Georgia simply have gone back to one of its pre-'64 flags? Even joining the crowd with a boring old seal-on-a-sheet would have been an improvement…
It’s nice to see the state I grew up in ranking high on the list. Maryland’s flag is a cool combination of the patterns on the seals of the (?)Calvert and Carrol families. The only drawback is that it isn’t obvious which side is up. When I lived in Federal Way (Washington) a few years ago, the King County Aquatic Center had all 50 flags on the street out front. I had to complain for about a month straight before they managed to hang the flag right side up (that’s with the black and gold where the stars on the US flag go, in case you didn’t see).
I like it when a flag is a symbol, no words needed.