When I made this flag, I used red to symbolize the violent history of the Kansas Territory, a yellow stripe at the bottom to evoke a wheat field (given that one of Kansas's nicknames is the Wheat State), and a sunflower at the top left. I didn't notice the communist connotation of a red flag with a yellow symbol in the canton until someone pointed it out back when I posted this on Reddit. I still really like how the design looks, though maybe it'd be best to change the red to blue.
Not sure if Coat or Arms are allowed but I really love the design. Vestland in Norway is famous for the fjords and I think the design captures this really well.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I much prefer this flag for Maine compared to the current one, which is just the state's coat of arms on a blue field. It's much more unique compared to other flags and does a great job symbolizing Maine's nickname: the Pine Tree State.
As you can probably guess from the image I gave this post, my favorite is the flag of Bhutan. The yellow & orange create a distinctive & satisfying background, and the dragon in the center makes for a strong focal point that doesn't clash with the background due to its simple color palette.
A close second would probably be the flag of South Africa. The pattern and colors here are just really nice, dunno what else to say.
Maybe make the green a bit darker. I get that you're going for grass and a river, but that's conveyed with any green, and I think a dark green would go a lot better with the lighter blue.
As another commenter mentioned, the river would be better as a simple diagonal stripe. You don't need a complicated river shape to convey a river.
This may be limited by your drawing skill, but I think the emblem should be more complex. Right now, it's in this area where it's not simple enough (i.e., it's not just a flat, one-color shield) to match with the rest of the flag but it's not complex enough to really feel like an emblem. It stands out but doesn't quite have the complexity to warrant it, if that makes any sense.
The emblem might be better off in the middle, left, or upper left. Symbols on flags tend to go there instead of on the right, where it'll be flapping in the wind more.
Most of the symbolism is taken from the original flag. The left part is a simplified version of the Crossland banner (used by Marylanders who supported the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War), and the right part is a simplified version of Lord Baltimore's banner (used by those who supported the Union). Together, they represent the reconciliation of Marylanders following the Civil War. Unique to this redesign, the right part also has seven stripes, symbolizing Maryland's status as the 7th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
Since I'm that one guy who doesn't like Maryland's flag, I tried to give it a redo when I was redesigning all of the US state flags. I took the Crossland and Baltimore banners and simplified them to make an (imo) better looking flag that alludes to the designs. There's even some extra symbolism in there: there are seven stripes since Maryland was the 7th state to ratify the Constitution and join the US.
7 founding fathers seems like a rather arbitrary number — at least not one I've heard of and definitely a number you could argue — so I wouldn't put that as symbolism on the flag. Also not a huge fan of the arrangement of the stars. They don't fill the width of the blue field, and the 13 stars feel oddly small. I definitely agree that the U.S. flag could be simplified, but this isn't it imo.
Very interesting flag. I think it'd look better with a simpler color scheme on the device and a bit more variety to the background, but it definitely has a pretty distinctive icon.
Let it fly: Minnesota officially has a new flag (www.mprnews.org)
The State Emblems Redesign Commission made its final edits to the new state flag. The banner will go up in May unless lawmakers intervene....
My accidentally communist Kansas flag redesign (media.kbin.social)
Vestland Coat of Arms -Norway (upload.wikimedia.org)
Not sure if Coat or Arms are allowed but I really love the design. Vestland in Norway is famous for the fjords and I think the design captures this really well.
My own Maine flag redesign (media.kbin.social)
🎄 Grey Grades Canada's Flags! (And Merry Xmas!) 🎄 (iv.ggtyler.dev)
Maine's old state flag, used 1901–1909 (media.kbin.social)
Commission selects a final concept for the redesigned Minnesota state flag (www.twincities.com)
The design has a number of variations, and the panel will meet again [Tuesday, December 19] to settle the final details.
What's your favorite national flag? (media.kbin.social)
[UPDATED] My fictional flag (lemmy.zip)
Made a flag for a fictional country, Vefkovîî. How is it?
My Maryland flag redesign (please don't crucify me) (media.kbin.social)
Which of these South Dakota redesigns looks best? (kbin.social)
Version 1...
It ain't fancy, I just want a new US flag (mander.xyz)
7 stripes for 7 core founding fathers...
Conlangs — A community for discussing constructed languages and language creation (kbin.social)
This magazine has existed for a while, but it's now under new moderation. Come over to share & discuss conlangs!...
Kirov (Киров) (lemmy.sdf.org)
The flag of the Russian city of Kirov