**Ohio ** - The only pennant or burgee-shaped state flag - red, white and blue, with a bold design (and yes, I’d say that even if I weren’t from Ohio!).
**Arizona ** - A striking design with good colors; evocative of the desert sun.
**Arkansas ** - Also a bold design, simple but effective.
**Indiana ** - Classy-looking, with good balance to the stars and torch.
**Maryland ** - The most heraldically-authentic flag, I’d say, with the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families properly displayed. An interesting mix of colors and patterns.
District of Columbia - Not a state, I know. The flag is based on George Washingtons coat of arms, and is a simple but powerful design in red and white.
Perhaps a more computer-skilled Doper might set up links to these designs…? Thanks.
Alabama. Just England’s Cross of St. George. How original.
Virginia, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah, or any plain blue flag with just a circular state seal on it. Also, Nevada, why make the seal so small? Are you ashamed of it?
Oregon. This one’s got two different sides and still isn’t that interesting. Just go with the beaver. Maybe with 1859 under it if you must.
West Virginia and Wyoming. A flag with a border around it is not a flag. It’s a big flying placemat.
On a happier note, kudos to Washington for the only green state flag, and once again to Ohio for the only flag that would make a decent kite.
I’m not a fan of the Ohio flag. I guess I’m just a traditionalist for the standard rectangle.
I also don’t like the whole “put the state seal on a piece of blue cloth” school of flag design.
South Carolina’s looks like it belongs to a jihad. The Maryland flag is just confused. Colorado’s and Alabama’s are too simple.
New Mexico’s is nice but a little too minimalist. Arkansas’ is good but it looks a little amateurish. Tennessee’s is nice except for the blue stripe. Hawaii’s and Arizona’s are both good. But overall, the Texas flag is my favorite.
I’ve never cared for any flag where they feel the need to put the name of the territory right on the flag. I mean, how strong can your design be if you have to come right out and tell people what flag it is?
Also, the really intricate, coat-of-arms designs of many of the non-confederate states puts me off as well. They’re too busy, you know? Nobody ever gets a close enough look at a flag waving on a pole to make such designs practical.
They may not be the coolest, but I’ll give Alaska and New Mexico a nod for simplicity of design and ease of recognition. Recognition being the whole point of displaying a flag, yes?
Tennessee and New Mexico are the only two states with cool flags. All the rest are either too plain (I hate the state seal on blue cloth design aesthetic) or just outright suck although Texas’ isn’t *too * bad.
My fave: New Mexico’s. I also like North Carolina’s, Alaska’s and DC’s. Wyoming’s would be good if they took the state seal, or whatever that is, out of the outline of the buffalo.
I’m not a big fan of the ‘state seal on a blue field’ school of design, nor do I like flags with a lot of words–though I’ll make an exception for California’s in this respect. I find Texas’ flag too close to that of Chile.
California. Elegant, tasteful and professional looking. The epitome of what a state flag should look like.
New Mexico. Simple, classy.
South Carolina. Original design, great colors - but a bit too dark for my taste.
Alaska. See South Carolina.
Texas, I suppose. Boring design - oooh, look. Red, white and blue with a star. BFD. But it doesn’t have a state seal on it and isn’t hideously garish, so it’s the best of what’s left.
