It’s a banner idea: New Flag for PA
Pennsylvania’s flag is too complicated to be read from any significant distance.
Back in 2017 when we were designing the first batch of Stay tees, we sought inspiration from Pennsylvania’s century-old state flag.
It’s blue and features the state coat of arms. Its components include a bald eagle, two black horses, a ship, a plough, three sheaves of wheat, an olive branch crossing a corn stalk.
Along the bottom, on red ribbon, are the state’s motto: “Virtue, Liberty and Independence.”
One of our concept designs featured those words within an outline of the state. It just wasn’t compelling enough to produce.
And we’ve been vexed in the intervening years as we’ve occasionally returned to the flag with the thought of pulling some element from it for a cool design. Nothing resonates. Pennsylvania’s flag is just too pedestrian.
Which is why Stay salutes a nascent effort to give Pennsylvania a new flag.
‘Pennsylvania doesn’t stand out’
It’s called New Flag for PA, and it’s being led by Benjamin Michael of York.
“The reason state seals (or coats of arms) should not be used on flags is because the detail can’t be seen when flown on a flag,” Benjamin said. “About 20 other states have blue flags with the state seal, so Pennsylvania doesn’t stand out as interesting or unique.
“As a result, the current flag is not widely flown. How many of your neighbors fly the Pennsylvania flag? How often do you see it around town? If we had a better-designed flag, more people would want to fly it.”
Benjamin was inspired by an 18-minute TED Talk from 2015 by Roman Mars, host of the podcast “99% Invisible,” which describes itself as being “about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about – the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.”
For his talk, Mars focused on flag design, allowing that he’s “kind of obsessed with flags.”
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The study of flags is called vexillology, from the word vexillum, which is Latin for flag. The North American Vexillological Association offers a downloadable 16-page pamphlet called “Good Flag, Bad Flag: How to Design a Great Flag.”
The pamphlet establishes five principles of good flag design:
1. Keep it simple enough that a child can draw it from memory
2. Have meaningful symbolism, such as the four six-pointed stars on Chicago’s flag that represent four significant events in that city’s history
3. Use no more than two or three colors from a standard set of red, white, blue, green, yellow and black
4. Have no lettering or seals because they can’t be read from a distance and undermine the symbolism
5. Be distinctive or be related (in the case of the latter, use symbols, colors, shapes to recall other flags)
Benjamin launched New Flag for PA on Instagram and Facebook earlier this year. He said he is aware of at least seven other state flag campaigns on Instagram: Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey and Utah. Of those efforts, Michael said, only Massachusetts and Utah have legislative backing.
An opportunity to rebrand
Mississippi replaced its old flag, which featured a Confederate battle emblem, in January 2021. A state commission reviewed some 2,000 submissions from the public before settling on one that features a white magnolia blossom.
Benjamin’s vision is for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to approve a redesign campaign, allowing for public submissions. Legislation would be necessary to repeal or amend Act 373 of 1907, which established the current flag.
By representing so many things, the current flag makes no compelling impression. No child could readily reproduce it from memory.
I asked Benjamin what he would like to see on a new flag.
“I don’t have any specific criteria,” he said. “The possibilities excite me; I really want to see what other people come up with.”
We’re partial to the keystone, Pennsylvania being the Keystone State, after all. But like Benjamin, we’d love to see what a redesign campaign could generate.
A new flag would provide Pennsylvania with an overdue opportunity to rebrand itself as the historically significant yet modern, dynamic place it needs to be in the 21st century.
“Pennsylvania was the second state to join the Union, the keystone of the original colonies,” Benjamin said. “We are rife with historical relevance and context. But our flag doesn’t match our significance. Our flag should be as prominent as Maryland, Texas, California or South Carolina. Every state should have an amazing flag.”