12 Flag Designers in Honor of Our Independence Day

Since July is the month when we celebrate our country’s independence, and the Summer Olympics have started in Japan, I thought the subject of flags and their designers would be interesting. Recall my inclusion of the 5-ring design of the Olympics that symbolizes the continents. See my October 2020 post entitled, What's in a Logo? Recognizable and Memorable Company Logos.

While Betsy Ross (1752-1836) is often credited for making the first American flag, it is actually Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) who designed its two earliest versions (above). You just can’t trust the History you learn in school (or can you?). This proposed design for the Arkansas state flag was created by state historian, teacher, principal, and poet Willie Kavanaugh Hocker (1862-1944) in 1912. According to Wikipedia, a fourth star and the state name were added later in the final version.

The current American flag made #4 on The Ringer’s Which Country Has the Best Flag? list. However, the author apparently prefers the simplicity of the Japanese flag, ranking it 2nd; he believes that the Canadian flag is the worst (205th). Both flags use red and white, where white is considered to be solely a background color. I actually like the maple leaf on Canada's flag!

Let’s study the various types of flags from countries around the world based on aspects such as color scheme, contrast, patterns, and themes. Wikipedia does a nice job of listing Flags by Design.

I appreciate how effectively the Scandinavian countries divide the rectangular space into sections creating a cross pattern, often with white costarring with another color.

Some countries prefer to go the simple route and fly flags of a single color, like green for Libya (1977-2011), red for North Yemen (1918-1923), and black for Afghanistan (1709-1738 and 1880-1901). In Robert Rauschenberg’s White Painting (1951), he went so far as to create six variations, each with a different number of panels. Purely white flags are typically used for signifying surrender or symbolizing peace or calling for a truce.

Then there are the countries that choose to venture out into two colors (bicolor or duotone), the really wild ones choosing high-contrast or adding some sort of small symbol. My favorites are the simple vertical tricolor stripes of European flags observing the rule of thirds. These are often the most recognizable and memorable in my opinion. 

World’s Ugliest Flags: British Columbia, Belize, Virginia, Turkmenistan, and Morocco, according to one author. As with paintings and other artwork, it is really up to the viewer to decide what appeals to their own artistic senses.

A vexillologist is someone who designs flags. A vexillographer is someone who studies flags. Here is a list of 10 countries, their flags, and the vexillologists credited for designing them:

1. Argentina – Manual Belgrano (1770-1820). The Sun is a common theme on many countries' flags.

2. Brazil – Raimundo Teixeira Mendez (1855-1927). This flag includes the diamond shape, while the circle is much more commonly used. Inscriptions often include the National Motto; Brazil's reads:

"Ordem E Progresso" (Portuguese for "Order and Progress"). The stars represent Brazil's 26 states and the federal district.

3. Canada – George Stanley (1907-2002). While Canada's flag now sports a maple leaf on its flag, I find it funny that Ireland doesn't have a shamrock on its flag.

4. China – Zeng Liansong (1917-1999). Stars are the most common symbols found on many of the world's flags. At one point there was a hammer and sickle inscribed in the larger star, but it was removed because it was too similar to that of the Soviet Union.

5. Cyprus – Ismet Güney (1932-2009). This flag uses the shape of its island and an olive branch to symbolize peace and the unity between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on a white background (also for peace).

6. India – Pingali Venkayya (1876-1963). Although many may mistake the central symbol for a sun or flower, it is actually the Ashoka Chakra, and signifies signifies peaceful change (for there is "life in movement and death in stagnation").

7. Nigeria – Michael Taiwo AkinKummi (1936-present). As usual, white means peace and unity, and in this case green represents natural wealth.

8. Norway – Fredrik Meltzer (1779-1855). Used throughout Scandinavia, the cross symbolizes Christianity. The other colors, found on the American and French flags, represent freedom.

9. Pakistan – Syed Amir-uddin Kedwaii (1901-1973). Just as Scandinavian flags use a cross to symbolize their religion, Pakistan uses a crescent and star to represent theirs -- Islam.

10. Uruguay – Joaquin Suárez (1781-1868). It's hard to tell in the picture but there are actually nine stripes representing Uruguay's departments. It's common to represent established (original) divisions within a country by repeating stripes or stars. The upper left 'canton' once again includes the sun.

Other less often used symbols add uniqueness and interest to a flag but can make such detail difficult to interpret from far away. They are: animals, boats (anchor or ship), books, buildings, headgear, hills (mountains or rocks), a map, machine (tool or instrument), person (body part), shield (or weapon), spirals, square, or triangle. Hopefully the citizens of each country have learned what the elements symbolize.

Which country's flag is your favorite?

Flags Depicted in Famous Paintings

Declaration of Independence (1817), Trumbull

Many artists have depicted flags in their artwork (Jasper Johns (1930-), Howard Pyle (1853-1911), and John Trumbull (1756-1843)). Around 1817, Trumbull used this painting to create the etching that appeared on the back of the $2 bill. The captured British flags in the background served as trophies hung during the presentation of the document to the Second Continental Congress 28 June 1776. It was later adopted July 4th and eventually signed August 2nd. His portrait of Alexander Hamilton appears on the $10 bill. 

Nation Makers (1903), Pyle

American Illustrator, Howard Pyle, famous for teaching composition to N.C. Wyeth, created The Nation Makers in 1903 to depict the recently declared national flag carried during the Battle of Brandywine (1777).

Liberty Leading the People (1830), Delacroix

French artist, Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, commemorates the July Revolution in Paris that removed Charles X and created a constitutional monarchy. In May 2011, I was lucky enough to see this huge painting in-person at the Louvre Museum. The one I show here has been somewhat modestly truncated.

Terrace at the Seaside, Sainte-Adresse (1867), Monet

Probably my favorite painting with flags is Claude Monet's (1840-1926) Terrace at the Seaside, Sainte-Adresse. It's a relaxed portrait of his family. The red and yellow flag may have been used as a ship-to-shore signaling device, although its colors are also present in the flag of the Sainte-Adresse municipality.