A disturbing lack of graphic design.

I was just looking up New Mexico’s state flag for one of our projects with the University of Mexico and I stumbled upon a site that had all 50 of them. Coming from Maryland to Colorado nearly 13 years ago, I always thought Colorado’s flag paled in comparison to the nice melding of family crests that is the Maryland state flag. But apparently, I should have appreciated Colorado’s sense of design better. Because as I started to sift through all the states, most are atrocious!

Here are some of the worst. I am sorry if you live in a place that has to look at this shit every time you drive through a McDonalds.

Delaware
How nice of them to use the opposite colors of blue and orange so that your eye gets pissed off bouncing between them. And I love the detailed illustration, not complete without the ever-popular solder dressed in pink and green… and don’t forget to add a cow and some corn for good measure.


Illinois
I love how sovereignty is upside down and the eagle looks like it is shitting out the sun.


Louisiana
Because an illustration that looks like is was drawn by a 12-year-old of a bird regurgitating food for it’s young always makes a pleasing image for a flag.

Virginia
I always laugh when clients ask me to illustrate something that “acts out” their logo.

I could go on and on forever, since they are all pretty much horrible and variations on the same theme. But I am bored and disgusted and need to get back to my actual original purpose, to find art for the New Mexican flag. Which, by the way, is among the better ones.

According to the web site, this is what the symbol means:

The yellow field and red symbol colors are the colors of Spain. First brought to New Mexico by Spanish explorers in 1540. On New Mexico’s flag we see a red sun with rays streching out from it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a Native American people called the Zia. The Zia believed that the giver of all good gave them gifts in groups of four. These gifts are:

* The four directions – north, east, south and west.
* The four seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter.
* The day – sunrise, noon, evening and night.
* Life itself – childhood, youth, middle years and old age.

All of these are bound by a circle of life, without a beginning or end.

Pretty cool.