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Comment by jinushaun | Hacker News Reader

He talks a lot about the Chicago flag, but anyone who lives around DC knows that the DC flag enjoys the same level of appreciation by its residents. It's everywhere. The stars are often replaced with objects, such as a coffee cup. The flag is often remixed and deconstructed, but still instantly recognizable.

I'm not sure where he stands on the flag of Maryland, but you also see that a lot too. It's so outrageous and easy to identify.

Virginia? Not so much. Detailed seal on a blue field.

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I'm personally a huge fan of the Maryland flag. It reminds me of a coat of arms more than just a flag.

Looking at all of the state flags [1], it seems that the Virginia style "detailed seal on a blue field" is pretty common. Thinking back to my time in New Hampshire, I'm realizing that no one really flies the NH flag except for government buildings. In the absence of a remarkable flag, the late Man in the Mountain is usually the thing that you see used to symbolically indicate, "This is New Hampshire", if any symbolism is used at all.

South Carolinas is another flag that seems to get a lot of love from its citizens.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_U.S._states

> It reminds me of a coat of arms more than just a flag.

That's because it is from Lord Baltimore's family's coats of arms - look up Crossland and Calvert coats of arms.

> Looking at all of the state flags, it seems that the Virginia style "detailed seal on a blue field" is pretty common.

Wow, you're not wrong about that. I figured "seal on a background" would be a common type, but... why are they all blue?

Seal on white:

    IL
    MA
    RI

Seal on green:

    DE (?)
    WA

Seal on yellow:

NJ

Seal on blue:

    CT
    ID
    IN
    KS
    KY
    LA
    ME
    MI
    MN
    MT
    NE
    NV
    NH
    NY
    ND
    OK
    OR
    PA
    SD
    UT
    VT
    VA
    WI

New Hampshire has the coolest state motto though

He mentions the DC flag, as on the same tier as Chicago's, towards the end of the talk.

I don't think it makes sense to compare abstract geometric flags with flags based on seals. Yes, geometric flags have elements that can be easy to recognize even when adapted. I think the Maryland flag is a good example that even if a flag is re-mixable and easy to recognize, it can still be hideous. Pink polka-dots on blue-green plaid would be versatile and recognizable too.

Flags based on seals aren't meant to be hung from coffee shops. They are meant to be displayed and viewed up close so you can see the detail. And in this genre I think Virginia's is best. It's got violence, nudity, and awesome latin phrases: Sic sempre tyrannis - "Thus always to tyrants". What more could you want?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_seal_of_Virginia#/med...

I like Latin as much as the next would-be classicist, but sic semper tyrannis is a bit spoiled, given who gave it its fullest voice.

He specifically mentions the DC flag as another great flag design, and it is included in the imagery when he is talking about drawing a 1x1.5" rectangle when designing flags.

The california republic flag with the bear is quite popular.

Virginia's flag also suffers (sadly) from not being flown due to the nudity.

It's also rather detailed for a flag

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