Modern Heraldry (Part I)

In America, we have come out of the dark times of graphic design. As a huge fan of vexillology (study of flags) and heraldry, I’m pleased that so many agencies and governments have pleasing logos. So why did it take so long for Americans to figure it out?

Again, your mileage may vary on this topic, but I saw the TSA’s new logo coming into work today and thought, “Wow, that looks amazing!” I’ve seen this trend with American government agencies. If you check out the US Space Force’s new logo, it’s amazing… and looks vaguely like the Federation symbol from Star Trek. (I don’t think that’s by mistake.)

If you’re scratching your head and asking yourself, “Who cares?” Take a look at the flag of Milwaukee. They threw in the city seal, the skyline, the founding date, a sheaf of wheat(?), and just in case you were confused, the name of the city at the bottom. Holy God! That is an eyesore. That’s what you want people to see when they come to your town? This just screams “This was decided by committee.”

Now maybe you don’t notice flags that often, but some are more iconic than others. Can you picture the Chicago flag? What about Washington, D.C.? Now harder one… New York City? Why is that harder? It’s a blue, white, orange tricolor with the city seal in the middle. That’s why… it’s too complicated. The North American Vexillogical Association identified five key components for good flag design:

• Keep It Simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory.
• Use Meaningful Symbolism. The flag’s images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes.
• Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors.
• No Lettering or Seals.
• Be Distinctive or Be Related.

So here’s NYC’s flag. The basic tricolor is fine, but that frickin’ seal throws it off. Most of that seal is needless complicated; windmills for the Dutch, Indian man for those who got kicked off Manhattan, eagle for America, and we’ll through in “Seal of the City of New York” in Latin because we’re a new city and pretentious. The symbolism is there, the colors are balanced, but that seal throws it off.

You will notice this style all throughout America–the seal on the cloth style–which was common in the turn of the century (1880-1910). America was a growing country with a limited past compared to Europe. We needed respectability, so American heraldry focused on the coat of arms. But they went overboard on the “meaning,” trying to shove every state/city symbol they could into it.

They also figured that people are stupid, so since you can’t tell that a brown bear on a white field is the flag of California, you have to write “California Republic” underneath it, even though the “republic” only lasted for a month. Iowa has a great French tricolor, but then they add a seal AND the words “Iowa” underneath. Illinois originally just had a gorgeous seal on a white field, but over time, legislators added the word “Illinois” underneath it, and then made it a three field flag, but all fields are white (huh?!).

I realize I’m just getting started, so I better save the rest for tomorrow, but what do you think? Do you like flags? Am I getting too up my head about them? Let me know in the comments below! Then if you love my writing, why not buy one of my books! However, if you’re not ready to make that dive, read one of my stories for free!