Flag advice super thread

[Omphalos]

So this is my current flag for the North of England, but I'm not happy with it and I'm kind of stumped for ideas. The current flag is based of the colours of the Northern Independence Party (UK), with the dimensions of the unofficial, unadopted and frankly unknown "Flag of the North of England" which is essentially just the English flag but with a Nordic cross instead of a St George's Cross.

(Image)

Does anyone have suggestions? bonus points if you're from the north of England because while every area has it's own cultural identity, we have a shared "northern identity" and I honestly have no clue how to even begin to represent that without making a flag that looks like a patchwork blanket

The color combination is very pleasing to the eye, what about keeping the party colors but using a St. George's cross? Maybe an icon in the middle of the cross to emphasize the Northern aspect, does the region have a particular animal plant or other regional symbol?

[Toerana]

Yorkshirean here:
The "Northern Independence Party" does not exist outside of posting bad memes on twitter. If you want to take inspiration from an actual Northern Regionalist party then you need to look at the Yorkshire Party, which actually exists and actually has elected representatives and has actually done reasonably well in elections (West Yorkshire Mayoral Race) by niche party standards.

That also being said, while there is to a degree a shared Northern Identity there are still definitely fair amounts of regional differences, particularly given how proud Yorkshire can be of itself most of the time. No reason to paint the entire North of England under one banner, it's quite diverse, similar to how it's silly to paint the entirety of the South of England under one banner. It's just the North and Midlands are more traditionally neglected than the home counties.

For your flag in particular, it doesn't look bad, it just looks like a classic copy and pasted Nordic flag and doesn't actually represent a lot of Northern history. Just because the Danelaw existed doesn't mean using a nordic flag is the most appropriate. The flag's colours are from the old Northumberland flag, which, sure, i guess, but I'd argue the Yorkshire/Lancashire flags are more recognised and more identified with than the flag of Northumbria (there's more to the north than newcastle!!!)


Oh and this is gameplay, this should almost definitely be an NSG thread.

[Hen Ogleth]

Yorkshirean here:
The "Northern Independence Party" does not exist outside of posting bad memes on twitter. If you want to take inspiration from an actual Northern Regionalist party then you need to look at the Yorkshire Party, which actually exists and actually has elected representatives and has actually done reasonably well in elections (West Yorkshire Mayoral Race) by niche party standards.

That also being said, while there is to a degree a shared Northern Identity there are still definitely fair amounts of regional differences, particularly given how proud Yorkshire can be of itself most of the time. No reason to paint the entire North of England under one banner, it's quite diverse, similar to how it's silly to paint the entirety of the South of England under one banner. It's just the North and Midlands are more traditionally neglected than the home counties.

For your flag in particular, it doesn't look bad, it just looks like a classic copy and pasted Nordic flag and doesn't actually represent a lot of Northern history. Just because the Danelaw existed doesn't mean using a nordic flag is the most appropriate. The flag's colours are from the old Northumberland flag, which, sure, i guess, but I'd argue the Yorkshire/Lancashire flags are more recognised and more identified with than the flag of Northumbria (there's more to the north than newcastle!!!)


Oh and this is gameplay, this should almost definitely be an NSG thread.

-I used NIP because that's what inspired me to make this nation.

-The Yorkshire Party has absolutely nothing to do with any other part of the north other than Yorkshire, it's like saying I should use Plaid Cymru to represent all Brythonic/Celtic nations. Like, that makes no sense. I understand the NIP isn't serious, it's a joke, but this is NS, it's not real, but at least NIP represents, or at least wishes to, the whole of the north. Using the Yorkshire Party makes less sense than using the NIP.

-I did specify that there is some form of shared northern culture, but I didn't say the north has one single culture. Painting regions under one banner is literally what countries are. That's literally the point of NS. If the north of England became independent it wouldn't use all historical county flags from the north, it would choose a single national flag to represent the entire north - that's what I was asking for help with.

-there is historically only one proposal for a flag for the north of England, it's the English flag with a Nordic cross. That's why I chose the Nordic cross, and using St George's cross would make no sense for my nation since the whole point of it is to move away from the English identity. The Danelaw never used a Nordic cross, so I don't see how that's relevant?

-Yorkshire and Lancashire's flags are really not that known. I'm from Merseyside, neither of those flags mean anything to me and I didn't know what they were until I was in my 20's.

-I don't understand your Newcastle comment? Of course there is, I've never even been there. Newcastle has nothing to do with anything here. The colours came from the historical banner of arms of the Kingdom of Northumbria, which controlled most of the north, and even most of Yorkshire at one point.

I don't like to take issue with fellow northerners but your entire comment just came across as misguided and belligerent Yorkshire nationalist rant.

[Hen Ogleth]

So this is my current flag for the North of England, but I'm not happy with it and I'm kind of stumped for ideas. The current flag is based of the colours of the Northern Independence Party (UK), with the dimensions of the unofficial, unadopted and frankly unknown "Flag of the North of England" which is essentially just the English flag but with a Nordic cross instead of a St George's Cross.

(Image)

Does anyone have suggestions? bonus points if you're from the north of England because while every area has it's own cultural identity, we have a shared "northern identity" and I honestly have no clue how to even begin to represent that without making a flag that looks like a patchwork blanket

The color combination is very pleasing to the eye, what about keeping the party colors but using a St. George's cross? Maybe an icon in the middle of the cross to emphasize the Northern aspect, does the region have a particular animal plant or other regional symbol?

I can't stand the St Georges Cross haha. There's nothing that really unifies the entire north, at least not in symbolism. The English (Tudor) Rose symbol originated here with the Lancastrian and Yorkshirian noble houses, which led to the creation of the Tudor rose after the Lancastrians won the civil war, but those symbols are very very English these days - the English historical society uses it as their symbol. There's also a really strong socialist connotation with the Lancastrian rose because of the Labour Party.
As for animals? I can't really think of anything. The north of England was the industrial powerhouse of the British Empire, it's where the vast majority of heavy industry was, but again that's such a broad spectrum of what was made where, that choosing one symbol would almost definitely favour one area over another.

[Nova Astrum]

There's nothing that really unifies the entire north,

Top half of the Union Jack.

[Dwarf]

The Raven-in-Flight, banner of John Uskglass, the Raven King, King of the North, the true ruler of northern England and protector from the tyranny of the South.

[Almonaster Nuevo]

AFAIK the only a united independant North existed was as the Kingdom of Northumbria. That was before there was any codified heraldry, so there ar no historic flags to use.

One option is to take some ideas from the modern arms of Northumberland. You could ombine thm directly with your nordic cross (which I like) somthing like


..or for a more symmetrical look, add separate pallets,


Good luck with finding something you like. It can take time.

[Almonaster Nuevo]

<snip>
Oh and this is gameplay, this should almost definitely be an NSG thread.

Take a look at who the OP is. If you want to argue with a mod, go right ahead. I have plenty of popcorn.

[Daphomir]

Make sure that your country's flag is relatively simple in design, with not too many major details. Also, make sure that every element in your flag is neatly organized in some way.

[The Aosta Valley]

Any suggestions on my flag? Does it look better without the coat of arms? Any changes I should make?

[Toerana]

<snip>
Oh and this is gameplay, this should almost definitely be an NSG thread.

Take a look at who the OP is. If you want to argue with a mod, go right ahead. I have plenty of popcorn. :lol:

(I made that post when this was its own thread, it appears to have been merged, I went looking in general before I realised lol)

[Almonaster Nuevo]

Any suggestions on my flag? Does it look better without the coat of arms? Any changes I should make?

As CoA flags go, it's pretty good. I'm not a fan of the style, but ymmv.

I would suggest you make the lion, shield border, and crown the same oolour (probably gold). I think a slightly thinner shield border would also look better.

Altrnatively, you could take the symbols from the CoA and place them directly on the flag. There are several options, but I was envisaging something like

[The Aosta Valley]

Any suggestions on my flag? Does it look better without the coat of arms? Any changes I should make?

As CoA flags go, it's pretty good. I'm not a fan of the style, but ymmv.

I would suggest you make the lion, shield border, and crown the same oolour (probably gold). I think a slightly thinner shield border would also look better.

Altrnatively, you could take the symbols from the CoA and place them directly on the flag. There are several options, but I was envisaging something like

You know, that does look pretty good. I might actually use it.

[The Xolbarian Opposition]

Removed

[SherpDaWerp]

I'm not sure why you posted this in Got Issues as well as Gameplay, but I've removed it from Got Issues.

[Daphomir]

I used Tennesine to make my current flag; I highly recommend this website for anyone who wants to make a custom flag.

[Improper Classifications]

I used Sketchpad to make my current flag - it’s usable enough for importing images and such.

[The Xolbarian Opposition]

I’ve got a perfect dispatch for this:
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=2000624

[The Aosta Valley]

Thoughts on this wacky (green Tirol ) flag?

[The Xolbarian Opposition]

If you’ve been wanting to make a new flag but don’t know how this is for you! The sites below are some great places to make good looking flags and I hope this helps you out and you find the site for you. If you have any suggestions just reach out to me and I’ll add it right away.


Flag Making Websites
These websites are for beginners because they allow you to make flags easily with options made to help you design good-looking flags. They are very easy to use and have so many great flag design options.

---

Design Your Own Flag
Use these sites to design your own unique flags.

• Flag Creator: This one is great because it’s so easy to use but with so many free options, shapes, and symbols. Some symbols and shapes are behind a paywall but you certainly don’t need them if you are going for a non-advanced flag.
• Tennessine: This one is probably my favorite as it has many great options with total customization. Some graphics are publicly uploaded leading to even more possibilities. It is so easy to use because of its simplicity and guides to use it.
• FlagMaker Jr: This website lets you make very simple flags. It is very easy to use but with limited options. There are different shapes to use and also many graphics from real-life flags to use. It is still a great option as you can still make many flags with it.
  

  ---

  
  Flags From Real-Life Flags
  Use these sites to make flags based off real-life ones easily.
  
• Keolot: This website is great as it lets you choose a real-life flag as a template and than customize it to your liking by adding text, your own images, and clip art commonly used in flags.
• Fake Flag: This website lets you take shapes and graphics form other flags and lets you combine them to make one flag. This is great if you want your flag based on a real life flag as it lets you use that flag and make a realistic redesign my using real-life flag elements.
  

  ---

  
  Auto-Generated Flags
  Use these sites to generate flags randomly quickly. These are great if you just want a somewhat-good looking flag quickly or you just need some inspiration.
  
• Flag Generator: This website randomly generates many flags at once and is great if you need quick inspiration or a somewhat-good looking flag quick.
• Power Flag Generator: This website randomly generates flags and is great if you need quick inspiration or a somewhat-good looking flag quick. You can also choose how many flags you want to generate. It doesn’t have graphics on the flags though.

Graphic Design Websites
These websites are not for beginners but if you know how to use them they are great because everything is fully customizable with endless flag possibilities.

---

• Canva: This one is probably the easiest for beginners while still have great customization options. Although it’s free many built-in graphics and some new features (the unused ones) sr behind a paywall.
• BeFunky: This is much like Canva and is a great tool for graphic design beginners who still want to be able to have full customization.
• Adobe Photoshop: This one has by far the most customization. It is quite pricy though but if you are going to make a lot of graphic I recommend this one. It is not for beginners as there are so many features that it can get even get overwhelming
• Gimp: This one is another great one with many options. Much like Adobe Photoshop it’s not for beginners but it still is great if you want lots of options. It has existed for a long time leading to it being able to fix may issues and improve it more over time, thus making it better.

[Notanam]

I personally prefer Paint.NET and the GIMP. Don't need any fancy online stuff imo.

[Aetherlina]

keolot! i love that site. im more than likely to use it to remake my flag

[Soviet Fighter Plane]

Hey Mods! Sticky this pls

[Tianming]

tag you're it

[Kreigsreich of Iron]

I found my flag on Tenissenine.