Tweet: Who knew flags could be so cool? Roman Mars enthusiastically
explains what makes a flag design bad or “bad-ass.”
The
current Cincinnati flag is not terrible, but I made adjustments to it, namely
removing the seal and Latin motto. According to Roman Mars, flags should not
have small words on them or any version of a seal. The seal, although important
to my city, should not be on the flag because that is not visually appealing.
My
flag design incorporates the blue wavy lines, representing the Ohio River on
which Cincinnati lies, but uses two instead of three. I think this change makes
it more simplistic. I kept the lines wavy because straight lines do not
effectively convey the symbolism of a river.
In
the center, I changed the design to be a green Buckeye leaf. The Buckeye leaf
represents the state of Ohio, so I kept it because it is a simple, meaningful
symbol. In the current flag, the large red C is positioned flush with the blue
lines, so from a distance it might be hard to distinguish that it is supposed
to be a C for Cincinnati.
Overall,
the color choice, blue and green, works because they are basic colors. I chose a white background to allow the blue and green to stand out. Using
2-3 colors is one of the guidelines that Mars shared. My design is still
symbolic but its symbolism stands out more than the original flag, which is
distracting due to the seal and small writing. My design is simple, yet
effective. For this reason, I believe that if my design were the real flag,
then it would be seen on bumper stickers, hats, and t shirts all over
Cincinnati.
I really like your flag, and I like the buckeye, because it is very important symbolism to Ohio. Is there a particular reason for the blue circle around the buckeye, intersecting the river, or is it just to divide the buckeye and river and make it less cluttered?
ReplyDeleteI chose the blue to divide the river and the buckeye, but after reading the comments below maybe a red circle would be better. That would add another color and red is specific to Ohio.
DeleteI believe your flag has good intentions for representing Porkopolis but I think people could mistake your buckeye leaf for a marijuana leaf, which a city would not want to have the connotation of.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought the same thing after I drew it, so if my drawing skills were better then I could make it look more like a buckeye leaf.
DeleteAlthough your depiction seems thoughtful, you deliberately left out the color red. If the city found it necessary or historical to include, do you not feel you should have?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure why red is important to Ohio or if it even is other than our state bird is the cardinal and Ohio State University's color is red. I could change my design to make the circle around the buckeye leaf to be red instead of blue.
DeleteInteresting choices make sure you clarify the meaning behind your leaf. The red would have been a great color to include
ReplyDelete