{"id":167,"date":"2020-01-20T12:31:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T17:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ayling.tech\/blog\/?p=167"},"modified":"2020-01-21T08:50:55","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T13:50:55","slug":"proposed-flag-of-the-state-of-new-hampshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shortbooks.online\/blog\/2020\/proposed-flag-of-the-state-of-new-hampshire\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed flag of the State of New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The current New Hampshire state flag is not a good flag. This is my subjective opinion, but it is also backed up by guidelines and scores from across society. For example, the North American Vexalogical Society (NAVA) rated New Hampshire amongst the ten worst flags in North America (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to assess the quality of flags, the NAVA check the flag’s design against five principles listed in Good Flag Bad Flag<\/a>. In summary, they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Keep it simple – a child should be able to draw it;<\/li>
  2. The symbolism should be meaningful;<\/li>
  3. It should only use a few colors;<\/li>
  4. It should not contain lettering or seals; and<\/li>
  5. It should be distinctive or related.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The last one deserves some clarification. The flag should only look like another flag, if it’s related in some way. The Liberian flag looks like the USA flag, because Liberia was founded by American slaves, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Similarly, the Flag Institute, the British flag charity, has a set of rules, that can be downloaded for free<\/a> and which are very similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Keeping these rules in mind, it should be obvious why the New Hampshire state flag is widely disliked. It has images that are complex (rule 1), and it is very indistinct from other state flags such as Kentucky and Idaho (rule 5). It is also not particularly meaningful (rule 2). New Hampshire’s coast is tiny, so the ship is incongruous at best. Finally, when flying, the ship is almost impossible to discern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n