By Patrick Genna This quiz was popped on PFA members at the November [2012] meeting. Answers in the next issue... [Vexilloid Tabloid #38] Name the U.S. state flag which... has a constellation has a pelican has a walking bear has a Union Jack is similar to the Dutch flag but with a charge is similar… Continue reading What’s that Flag? (from VexTab #37)
Author: SDM
Ethnography * Technology * Design
Where the Portland Flag Flies
Over the past few years I have been compiling a list of places in Portland that fly the city's flag. When it started in 2011 the flag could be seen only in a handful of places: city hall, the Portland Building, Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Oregon Convention Center, Jefferson Office Park, and the Portland Timbers' stadium (only… Continue reading Where the Portland Flag Flies
A Vexillological Monoalphabetic Sentence?
Maria Popova's review of Timothy Donaldson's visual history of the alphabet, Shapes for Sounds (cowhouse), includes the following "appendix" from that book: It may be a sequence, but it's not a sentence. It contains one, though. What is it?
Parsons’ Flag for London
Jonathan Parsons is a British artist who works in the medium of flags (as well as sculpture, painting, and others). One of his most colorful creations was a new flag for London (2003): I decided that a flag for the new city state should be very colourful to reflect the city's huge diversity. 'Flag for London', in… Continue reading Parsons’ Flag for London
UK Parliament Flag Project
To celebrate the 750th anniversary of the Montfort Parliament, the UK Parliament is hosting a nation-wide flag design project for British schoolchildren (ages 7-11). The children are given a brief primer on flag design (including a video) developed by flag artist Jonathan Parsons, and then asked to create a flag to represent their local community. Although students… Continue reading UK Parliament Flag Project
US Flag Patches
Here is the US flag as it appears on (left) shoulder patches. (The flag is often reversed on the right shoulder, so that it faces "into the wind" as the person walks forward.) Most of these variations were created to be part of camoflage uniforms. Together they illustrate some of the many ways the US flag… Continue reading US Flag Patches
What’s that Flag? (from VexTab #36)
Instagram #vexillology
Instagram is infamous for selfies and photos of food. But there is a lot of great content, too, including postings about flags and vexillology. See for yourself, for example by searching on #vexillology. Or just scroll through some examples below.
Flags in the Hierarchy of Pride
Michael Green is a designer, self-proclaimed Flag Geek, and author of the excellent Branding the Nations blog on Medium.com. In his posting on (the sad state of) US state flags, The Good, the "Meh" and the Ugly, he asks a fundamental question that is too often taken for granted in discussions, debates, and contests about… Continue reading Flags in the Hierarchy of Pride
Self-Contradictory Flags
We recently featured artist Josh Thorpe's Ambivalent Flag, that signaled white, or black, or a bit of each, depending on how the wind was tossing it around. Here are a couple of other examples of flags that contradict themselves, courtesy of Ted Kaye. One was a novelty flag produced at one time by Jim Ferrigan,… Continue reading Self-Contradictory Flags
Portland Flag Association 