Steps for creating your country's flag!

Vexillography is the art of designing flags. A good flag is simple, meaningful, and easy to recognize. Flags can be used to represent cities, states, countries, organizations, and even movements. They have a way of bringing people together under a series of symbols and colours. In order to design a flag, you should decide on the basic layout, add symbolism, and keep it simple. 

In this post we will present some steps that will help you when creating your country's flag. We hope they are useful.

PART 1: Deciding on the basic layout

1

Choose the shape for your flag. Most flags are either rectangular or square. Your flag doesn't have to be rectangular, but you should stick to simple shapes that are easy to see from a distance. For example, Nepal’s flag is made of two overlapping triangles.

2

Choose a simple design. Some of the most common flag designs are bicolors, tricolors, and quarters, or use stripes, panels, and borders. The flag can also be a solid color with a unique symbol in the center. Alternatively, you can place a rectangle in the upper left hand corner called a canton (like on the American flag) that includes a symbol.

3

Use 2 to 3 colors. As a general rule, you should only use 2 to 3 colors in your flag design. If you use more they can be hard to distinguish. The most common colors found on flags are black, blue, green, red, white, and yellow. You can use light and dark colors to create contrast.

PART 2: Adding symbolism

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Decide what you want your flag to represent. When you are designing a flag it is very important that you choose colors and images that symbolize the organization or place your flag represents. For instance, you may be designing a flag for a micronation, fictional land, club, organization, or charity. Keep this in mind when you are adding symbolism to your flag.

2

Choose colors that have meaning. When you are selecting which colors to include on your flag, make sure the colors have some sort of symbolic meaning. For example, if your location is near water, you may want to include blue in your flag to symbolize the water. 

3

Add an image. Images and symbols can be used to help distinguish your flag from others, and will communicate the purpose or meaning behind the flag. The image of an eagle could symbolize freedom or power, a star could stand for divinity or honor, and a circle could represent the sun.

PART 3: Keeping it simple

1

Don’t include lettering on a flag. Lettering is not necessary on a flag. The colours and symbols on the flag should be enough to identify what the flag is representing. Lettering is also difficult to read from a distance and will look backwards if viewed from the opposite side

2

Decide on a design that is easy to draw. The best flag designs are those that are easy to draw. Do not include a complex seal or emblem on your flag. This will make it difficult to reproduce. Flag designs should be simple enough for a child to draw from memory.

3

Use a flag design app. If you have been tasked with designing a flag, but don’t know where to start, you can try using a flag design app to give you ideas for different basic designs and symbols. Search online for a flag design app.