Fundamental and generally accepted principles underlie effective flag design (vexillography), supported by observation, experience, and empirical analysis. However, any discussion about what makes a good design is strongly influenced by individual tastes, color preferences, and a sense of proportion and balance. Not all people will like the same thing and many flags may not meet the generally accepted principles of good design, but still inspire the people they represent.
Do you represent a city, county, state, or other institution seeking help with a flag-design effort? Contact NAVA's secretary.
Guidance on Flag Design:
- Good Flag, Bad Flag – This 16-page booklet, compiled from the expert input of over 20 different vexillologists world-wide, has become a classic resource for flag design.
- What Makes A Good Flag Design? – A group of vexillologists discuss this question on Flags of the World (FOTW).
- "Why city flags may be the worst designed thing you've never noticed" – The Roman Mars TED Talk presentation on flag design, seen over 7 million times, has inspired hundreds of flag re-design efforts. (18 mins.)
- "American city flag redesign: a welcome change" – A 2017 analysis of 70+ U.S. city flag redesign efforts, presented at the 27th International Congress of Vexillology.
- "Lessons from American City Flag Redesign Efforts" – 12 key concepts derived from studying the experience of over 100 cities.
- Top 25 New City Flags--Process Summary – A summary compilation of the processes followed by the cities whose flag designs rated most highly in NAVA's 2022 survey.
- Modern Flag Design – An Expansion of Good Flag, Bad Flag by Martin Joubert with the advice of Ted Kaye.
- Design Moderno de Bandeiras – A Portuguese translation of Modern Flag Design by Raphael Mieux.
- Editorials on Flag Design – A collection of essays by Ted Kaye, published in the Vexilloid Tabloid newsletter of the Portland Flag Association.
- Participating in Flag Committees – Some interesting insights on good flag design, from Flags of the World (FOTW).
- "Doing pennants: How to fix an ugly flag" – An essay from ideas.TED.com on the opportunities and challenges of improving flag designs.
- Flag Maker – This fun little app from Scholastic was designed to help kids create their very own flags, but it's also fun for anyone wanting to experiment with flag design. So unleash your inner child...
- "The Guiding Principles of Flag Design" – A collaboration on flag design by NAVA and the UK’s Flag Institute.
- "7 Fantastic Flags That Break Every Design Rule" – A Roman Mars presentation on flag designs that break the design rules.
- Municipal Flag Design Preferences of United States Residents – A study by Toby Nelson, funded in part by NAVA and published in the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing.
- New Flags for the States (David Phillips, 1984) – A comprehensive set of proposals for redesigned U.S. state flags, with explanations of their context and history.
If you find a good resource to add to this list, sent the website link and a short description to the Web Editor.