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Does your flag fail? CGP Grey grades the state flags of the USA
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- Title
- DOES YOUR FLAG FAIL? Grey Grades The State Flags!
- Authors
- CGP Grey
- Duration
- 18:53
- Published
- Apr 2 2023
This sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole reading about heraldry. Norway doesn't have states, but its highest subnational administrative division is the county, and each of those has an official coat of arms. Turns out most of them were designed by a guy named Hallvard Trætteberg, who was the country's foremost expert on medieval heraldry for like 60 years. He had some very strict ideas about what a proper heraldic mark should look like (for instance, it should only have two colors, one for the figure and one for the background, one of which should be "metal", i.e. gold or silver, represented as yellow and white).
It did result in some cool designs. My home county has a traditional sailboat from the region. The most badass one though has to be the one for the former county of Telemark, which features a peasant's battle axe (yes, it's supposed to curve like that, that design was used IRL by 17th century peasant militias).
These coats of arms are always presented in the form of a shield. I've never seen them presented in the form of a flag, but the laws that specify the coats of arms also provide a description of a flag form of the CoA, although I couldn't find a single example on the internet nor have I seen one IRL. So I fired up Photoshop and made one. This is quite possibly the first flag of Nordland county ever made, even though its description was passed into law in 1965. (The law is extremely vague, stating only "on a yellow field a black boat with mast and square rig". No mention of proportions, so I copied the proportions of the national flag, no details about the design of the boat, so I just copied the official visual design of the CoA which adorns many public buildings and websites, and no mention of the size of the boat in relation to the flag or its position on the flag, so I just winged it. It is, nevertheless, completely faithful to the description passed into law by royal resolution in 1965. If only by virtue of that description being extremely open to interpretation.)
When I woke up this morning, I didn't see picture myself becoming a flag designer by day's end, all because of a funny YouTube video.
That's a solid flag !
Anyway... I was going to lightly compare and contrast the Norway ones with the Swiss ones but I ended up making a whole tierlist in the style of CGPGrey.
Switzerland's cantonal flag / coats of arm tierlist
Note that cantonal flag and coat of arms are mostly identical. Also the flags are square.
F Tier
Vaud: A motto ? Really ? Well at least you didn't submit your draft.
Appenzell Outer Rhodes: Listen, all other half-cantons have done something clever regarding their twins. Is putting "V R" really all that you can do ?
D tier
The bicolor gang: Zurich, Lucerne, Fribourg, Solothurn, Ticino (D+ because you don't see red next to blue often), Zug
Ok I know some of you have founder privileges but still -- can't you be a little bit more imaginative ? Yes, even you Zug with you band in the middle.
C tier
Neuchâtel : you were this close of being binned together with the bicolor gang but the cute call-back to the Schwytz flag in the red part of your tricolor makes up for it. Also yes I know that your had the green-white-yellow tricolor idea first, but Italy is busy at the moment. And you're lucky Ticino is on the other side of the alp, she doesn't like that much Italians.
Obwald / Nidwald: Gals, why are you making this complicated ? I know you don't like each other, and putting a key with two heads was a ballsy from Nidwald, but did you really had to merge a copy of your war flag (that you copied from Solothurn no less) and put only one head and change the key handle ? It's confusing ! Also the holes in your keys are now inconsistent. You could have been B-tier at least !
Grisons: I know having a tri-composite coat of arms make you somewhat noticeable, but having 3 of them makes it awkward. Like, is the God's House Ibex really that more important than the Grey League or the Ten Jurisdictions ? Also, the Grey League is a boring bicolor (that we can risk mixing with Fribourg!) and, sorry Ten Jurisdiction, yours is borderline Maryland-ugly.
Jura: Jura, I know you're a young hipster and you like old stuff but copying the US stripes and copying the Basel sisters because you like them won't make it.
B-tier
The figure gang: Glarus, Schaffhausen, Appenzell Inner Rhode, Thurgau
So I really like your figure but you're putting too much faith in their strength. A child is not going to be able to draw all of your details. Also Thurgau, I know you wanted to spruce up your lion by adding another one because that's a well-too-common animal, but now it's too busy.
Valais: That a great idea but 13 stars ? What are you, the United states ?
A-tier
Basel-City/ Basel-Land: Obwald, Nidwald, Appenzell Outer Rhodes: that's how you make a petty change to annoy your sister. It's at the same time subtle and super obvious at the same time. Bravo!
St. Gallen: I like your green, and you symbol is way easier to draw than the rest of the figure gang. Oh and good call to have put a cross on the hatchet during the War. Whey are the Italians always stealing our symbols ?
Geneva : your flag is as loud and obnoxious as your inhabitants, and for that you deserve an S-tier, but I still demote you to A-tier for the same reason as the rest of the figure gang -- too complicated!
Uri: I'm only putting you in A-tier instead of B-tier with the rest of the figure gang because the way it looks at me terrifies me
S tier
Aargau: bi-tones and figures gang, take note: Aargau is besting you at both your games at the same time.
Bern: I don't know how you did it, but you somewhat tamed the complexity of your very busy bear with this yellow background. So now even if a child is drawing like crap it's still recognizable. Well done!
S+ tier
Schwytz: no need to gloat Schwyzt, we know you're the best.
The draft almost looks like a Wes Anderson title card.
That "draft" isn't a flag, that's a sign.
We're going to revisit this again later, but what's up with the red rocket?
The flag fight imagery in my head is highly entertaining, thank you.
Again, with the space program.
Quite ballsy of Schaffhausen to add some plumes to their rocket. And again with Appenzell Inner Rhode rocketry only to be followed up with Thurgau's doubling of their rockets red glare...
Lots of stars for sure, and they'd probably look better without the black outlines and especially the dividing line in the middle of the bi-color stars.
At least it's cropped so there isn't a birdcock on the flag...
My wife's internet use and love of animals /r/blep-ing makes this one less intimidating to me.
The background would make it recognizable, I'm curious if the children draw the 21st claw though.
I believe the correct term for that is pizzle. Also yes, animals have genitalia, and it's not that uncommon. Can you count how many there are in the UK Royal coat of arms ?
I you American people are so prude so as to no see little willies in your flags, you can take them and emasculate them yourself ! ... oh wait, you actually did.
Oh there's certainly some puritanical leftovers that make it seem out of place, at least the UK Royal Coat of Arms didn't go out of the way to color them separate from the body. But hey, if you Swiss gotta go waving your bright red cock around to make yourself feel like a man, who am I to judge?
I deem that an S tier flag.
That video really needs a stop-frame at the end, showing all the flags on the grading grid.
I assume there's some reason that some 90% of the first few dozen states are "state seal on a blue field", and while I guess it would have broken up the flow a little bit, I would have found it a lot more interesting.
Also, while I agree that Alabama's flag is good from a pure graphic design perspective, I think you really have to talk about the fact that it was probably designed to evoke the Confederate battle flag. (Mississippi's ex-flag probably deserves more than just a glancing remark, too.) Leaving out historical context when talking about historical artifacts (like, say, the designs of flags) absolutely is not neutral or apolitical.
Anyway, the real answer to why so many state flags are awful is that nobody cares. Nobody (except Texans, I guess) flies their state flag (the people who chant "state's rights" are ironically likely to fly the national flag) and so it mostly exists as a formality, akin to the state flowering undergrowth or state lawn ornament, and receives as much attention.
Take a trip to Maryland. They love their flag. It’s flown, worn, and put on so many things.
And Maryland has a great flag design. It’s a bit more complicated than others, but it is very distinct, with a great color palette.
Seconded for California. We may have been F tier, but boy does that flag make it's rounds on merch, mugs, and even tattoos. If you want a real lol, take a look at the original flag. I'm guessing the bear's similarity to a pig was the cause for the "overly complex" bear illustration in the modern rendition.
Same here in Colorado. I'm not even the only person in my friend group with a tattoo that incorporates the CO flag, never mind all the merch with it. Granted, we don't have a lot of other universal state symbols here-- when I lived in Montana, tattoos using the state outline were a pretty common sight, that and the buffalo skull motif.
Kinda hard to use the outline when it's functionally just a rectangle, just like how nobody is using MT's Seal-on-Blue for tattoos or designs since those are a dime a dozen.
At least ours doesn't get regularly confused with the Chilean flag, unlike Texas.
I will say I love Maryland's as well, it's obnoxious in all the right ways, and I'm glad their residents love it enough to slap it everywhere.
Counterpoint : the reason a lot of people don't care (specifically, they don't use their state flag in a decorative way) is that their flag sucks. Grey's failing criteria for a flag design also fit bad design criteria for other purposes, including Tshirts, bumper stickers, etc.
Anecdotal evidence : living in AZ for a decade, the flag was used in a lot of decorative and merchandising contexts. I wouldn't describe most people in AZ as being very prideful (in the TX sense anyway), but it was not uncommon to see the state flag design on things other than flagpoles. It's a nice design. Having lived in MI for awhile now, I can say that there is definitely some state pride here, and yet the thing that most people will use to express is decidedly NOT the official flag. (It's The Mitten!)
Except, contrary to the video, the Alabama flag is actually a copy of the Florida flag, which itself is from the Cross of Burgundy, which was the symbol of New Spain, of which Florida and Alabama were once a part, all things that well predate the Confederacy.
Probably not, actually. The Alabama flag was adopted in 1895, and Florida's was not adopted until 1900. Up until 1900 Florida's flag was just the state seal on a white background. There was however, discussion through the 1890's of adding a St. Andrew's cross so that the flag wouldn't resemble a white flag of surrender when hanging on a flagpole if the Seal couldn't be seen. So really it seems like the Alabama and Florida flags were developing in the same time period in similar environments, and both were probably at least somewhat inspired by the Burgundy cross because of the shared Spanish colonial heritage of both states.
An additional inspiration for the Alabama flag is thought to be the battle flag of Hilliard's Legion which was a confederate unit commanded by the father of the designer of Alabama's flag, John W.A. Sanford Jr.
It's murky whether any inspiration for the Alabama flag was taken from the famous confederate battle flag but it seems likely to me that there was at least some intent to evoke the confederacy. It was adopted during a period where the Lost Cause ideology was spreading, during the same legislative sessions in which Jim Crow laws were being adopted, by the son of a Confederate veteran and possibly at least partly inspired by his father's battle flag.
There are a number of sources discussing the origins of the Alabama flag that are more or less contemporaneous. Some consider the flag to be inspired by the confederate battle flag, and some don't. Ultimately it's probably impossible to say with any certainly. If it is meant to evoke the confederacy, it's at least doing it more subtly than a lot of other things in Alabama during that time period.
Sources are the Wikipedia articles for the Alabama and Florida flag, as well as the Alabama archives.
Eh, I’m down in South Carolina, and flag-related merchandise (with the palmetto) is very common. Only downside is there’s still not a whole lot of standardization.
Updates:
🚨 BREAKING FLAG NEWS: Minnesota Getting a New Flag | CGP Grey | 14th December 2023
Wow. All Australia's state flags would fail, according to Grey's criteria. They're practically identical, except for the badges on the fly half. The territories' flags are better, but the state flags are very consistent, boring, and non-individual.
I really dig the Northern Territory one.
Yeah, the territories aren't too bad with Northern Territory clearly being S tier, those state flags are uninspired to say the least.
It is kinda cool.
Ooph, those are bad.
It looks like someone opened Illustrator, loaded in an image of the Union Jack that gets dropped in the top left corner by default, but then doesn't scale it up, so it's just floating there, disconnected.
Then they load another premade asset and move it to the right half, save, and call it a day.
Well... yes. That's exactly what the explanation says happened. (Without the modern references.)
But the badge are a great start themselves ! And they're not stupid overly complicated US-style seal, they look like proper heraldry.
If you watch the video, Grey would class all these flags in the F grade, just like all the U.S. flags that are blue with a seal on them.
Even if he did us here in Colorado dirty (I am biased as someone with a state flag based tattoo, though), it's nice to see Utah step up their game and make the Four Corners the best flag corner in the country across the board.
Seems my city of Calgary pulled a Florida with Colorados flag
Canadian cowboy hat?
Yep. Cowboy culture is still huge in Calgary, and even downtown there are usually a fair amount of people wearing cowboy hats on any given day, but they're especially common during the Stampede.
Fitting, considering my one time visiting Calgary made me feel like I was in a twilight zone version of Denver.
Alright if no one else is going to, here’s a quick one for Canada:
I don't know if I can get behind a tier list that doesn't put Quebec as S-tier or has the monstrosity of BC at higher than a C-tier. ;)
FWIW, I may have Stockholm syndrome.
I actually like how identifiable BC's flag is, but to my eye there are three main issues:
Other than that though, it's good.
You sure those are the right column headers to use there bud? ;)
Caught plagiarizing! Oh no!
If you squint hard enough, they make sense. Just think about it.
They do oddly kind of work anyway!
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are equally bad, there's a simplification of colors in NB's flag that might put it on D tier comparatively, but it's not A tier at all.
It's a flag that looks much better in real life than on a monitor, but sure, you could argue that.
Here are all the UK county flags (bonus: City and town flags). I think Glamorgan is my favourite.
What I think is most interesting about that list is that some were created just a few years ago (as early as 2020 for Skye's excellent design) and others are well over a thousand years old. The UK, if nothing else, really does know it's heraldry so most of those flags pass Grey's criteria. Partly because many of them would have been used in actual pre-radio on-foot battles, where things like recognisability really does matter.
My favorite flag from the UK is the Isle of Man's. The armored leg triskelion is such a ridiculous concept, but actually pretty cool looking despite how bizarre it is.
Note from pedant's corner - the Isle of Man is not part of the UK. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependency. Because these isles are nothing if not confusing as fuck when it comes to which parts of them are in what country.
But yes, Man has got some badass arms (well, legs).
Personally I'm really digging Exmoor and Appleby-in-Westmorland, but there's lots of really good designs in there.
The city/town flags of the US don't fare so well. Sure there are some good ones in there, especially in the major cities that also have neighborhood flags for some reason, and a lot of cities go with the easiest/cheapest route by just putting the city seal on a white background or the state flag. But there are some truly atrocious flags in there which I can't say the same about the UK county/city flags.
Like Belton, TX which is a literal stamp on top of the Texas flag. Jermyn, Pennsylvania (side note, Jermyn sounds like one of the names that you'd see in a school class today along with a sea of Braydyn and Junyper) looks like a hospital logo. Coal Township, Pennsylvania is a little on the nose with the MS Paint artwork. Tulsa, Oklahoma has at least improved from their close-to-being-good-if-it-didn't-have-arrows-and-words flag to a new modern version that is much better. I'll just leave Slaughter Beach, Delaware here for you to judge on your own. New Castle, Delaware almost works, but then doesn't.
The West Hollywood, California flag is an interesting political compromise (or middle finger depending on how you want to view it). Apparently someone had a problem with the old flag being flown next to the rainbow flag in a city where some 40% of the population identifies as LGBT, so it was redesigned to just have the rainbow in the city flag. Just needs to ditch the wording.
Some of the absolute worst are those that look like they may have been made in PowerPoint or even Word, like...
Palm Bay, Florida
Nitro, West Virginia
Harker Heights, Texas
Mesquite, Nevada
Ooof. You weren't kidding. A lot of those US city/town flags are really really bad. They don't even look like flags, and instead look more like corporate logos, or even signage for a failing local business designed for free by the owner's nephew who "knows photoshop". :/
Appleby has a flag. Do you know how many people live in Appleby?
A shade over 3000. You can drive through the place without noticing. Maybe I'll get my own flag next..
Tulsa's old flag predates a certain internet shock site but it says how ruined I have been by the internet that my first thought was goatse..
Also I LOVE the West Hollywood one. Not just from a design point of view, although it's extremely stylish on that front too.
Denver appears to have a pretty solid design team, some really nice ones there, as does Cincinnati. Also props to Rough and Ready for really living up to their name.
Oof, that is rough. Nice find!
And I agree on West Hollywood design wise and the multi-colored middle finger it represents, just ditch the wording.
And yeah, I saw into the depths of hell with the old Tulsa flag as well.
Rhode Island’s has a word on it but I think it’s underrated. Should’ve been B-tier at least. It’s a great flag.
DC’s should’ve been officially on the roster, and should be S-tier not A-tier.
I might’ve also thrown in Chicago’s flag as an honorable mention A or S tier flag.