He seems to really like "Maryland-style" flags, which just have a ton going on all over the place. I don't really like those kinds of flags, though honestly New Brunswick's isn't that bad. The top and bottom strips each stick to a solid color on a solid background (yellow on red for the top and white on blue for the bottom). I'm not a huge fan of the middle strip with the ship — I think it would be better if it stuck to solid color on solid color like the top and bottom — but it doesn't use that many colors and goes well with the water.
The pine tree in the middle is taken from Maine's ensign and is a prominent symbol of Maine.
The pine green stripe represents Maine's forest.
The star in the top left is taken from Maine's old flag and represents the North Star, which itself symbolizes Maine's motto, "Dirigo" (meaning "I lead").
The buff is taken from Maine's old flag.
The red symbolizes the state's presence in New England.
Good start! My constructive criticism would be that the flag’s color design is almost identical to Mexico’s flag.
I like the tree but I think the branches shouldn’t spread as much. And while I know Texas doesn’t own the star, that lone star on a flag makes me think of Texas first, rather than Maine.
I've honestly never thought of the Mexico comparison, though I can kinda see it now. I think the buff center and the pine tree are enough to differentiate it from the Mexican flag, though I may flip the green and red.
The tree design was taken directly from Maine's ensign, and the star position came from Maine's old flag. As for the Texas point, the lone star is used in other U.S. state flags, like those of Arizona and California (and North Carolina but that one does just look like a Texas flag ripoff), so I don't think it's unfitting to use it here, especially since it was on the old flag.
To be clear, are you suggesting that green should be on left or right, to match nautical/aeronautical practice?
Ships and airplanes display green on the starboard (right) side. Although this would be a neat homage to the practice, I’m not aware if the people of Maine have that strong a connection to shipping or aviation, apart from being a coastal state and at the closest end of the country to flight paths to Europe.
Ngl I wish every New England state had a pine tree on their flag. It’s such a great symbol for a flag. Recognizable, easy to prescribe meaning to, historically significant, and easy to draw.
100% agree. I don't have pine trees on all my New England flag redesigns (just New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine), but I might make versions where all of them do, maybe with the same pine tree design.
The first thing that sticks out to me, is that there are too many colours.
Red 1 (stripe/Star)
Red 2 (bridge)
Orange
Yellow Green (stripe)
Green (bridge)
Blue
Purple
Brown
White
Black
Red 1 and 2 are the same. The brown of the bridge and green are from the current flag. I just added the six rainbow colors. There is no black or yellow green. Maybe it’s too much.
Red, white, green brown + 6 rainbow colors = 10 (probably too many anyway) But I like the rainbow motif for California. I like it’s contrast with the white (for the white supremacists that still call this state home).
No black between red and white (at least not intentional).
Setting aside whether the California flag needs a wholesale overhaul or just have the words removed, the Canadian pale tricolor here is an interesting concept. What’s irking me the most is the bridge, which is very prominent on this flag, but there’s enough missing from the rendition that it bears almost no similarity to the most famous bridge in California.
The Golden Gate Bridge has towers in an Art Deco style. I’m not an art student, so I can’t really describe what makes it Art Deco, but the prominent detail are the flutes which extend up alongside the tower, tapering off. From the side, it would make the tower somewhat blockish. Often times, a stand-in for the GGB is the Guy West Bridge in Sacramento, which is a smaller suspension bridge and has no Art Deco flares.
The other issue is the number of cross arms. Both the GGB and Guy West have four evenly-spaced cross arms, whereas here there are only two, with a large space where a third one should be but isn’t.
Please don’t take this as a personal dig at this rendition, but California is not particularly known for bridges generically – although our other, less famous bridges are becoming infamous – but instead for one very particular bridge, and possibly its adjacent bridge, the Bay Bridge. In fact, the latter’s new eastern span graces the flag and logo of the Golden State Warriors, rendering it in profile, rather than the view from the bridge deck itself. I would consider rendering the GGB if you’re going to feature a bridge.
On that final point, most people – tourists, locals, TV and film camera operators, etc – view and appreciate a bridge from afar. Suspension and cable-stayed bridges are exceptions, but a flat-top bridge is almost entirely unremarkable while traveling over it, but is gorgeous when viewed from another vantage point. The Foresthill Bridge in Gold Country is entirely mundane to drive or ride on, but is breathtaking as the tallest bridge in California, viewed from helicopter above or from the river below.
I don’t have the artistic skill to rendition the Golden gate bridge. I don’t think a detailed rendition would work for a flag anyway. You’d run into the same problem as the bear.
If you have the skill, I’d love to see that option though.
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