Flag advice super thread

[Volitopia]

(Feel free to take my advice for a grain of salt; I'm no professional)

What's up guys? I've just finished my coat of arms and I'm somewhat iffy about the overall design now that is placed on my flag. So I'd like some feedback from you guys.

The coat of arms is quite nice (i.e. keep it), but I think the reason why it might seem a little "off" or "bland" even, is that your block of yellow color seems to kind of offset the flag, as it blends too well with the neighboring white.

Generally, I've seen 2 main kinds of flags: The ones that use contrast colors to stand out, and the ones that flow all their colors and designs in really well. (A mix is possible, but tricky to accomplish)

In the rest of your flag, there's a contrast between blue and white and blue and yellow, which you used well in your coat of arms as a "white substitute", if you will.

(WARNING: Guessing Ahead)
I'm not too sure how to fix it other than drop the yellow block and replace with blue, or use some rearrangement of the color strips.

However, if you liked the design without the coat of arms; you should definitely keep your current design as it is now. The coat fills space well and gives a focal point to the flag.

[Mount Seymour]

What's up guys? I've just finished my coat of arms and I'm somewhat iffy about the overall design now that is placed on my flag. So I'd like some feedback from you guys.

I must say, unless you're going for a very modern or "whoa, dude" type of flag, that's quite a nice, pleasing, and fitting flag for an RP-type nation. I wouldn't change a thing.

[New Delaire]

(Feel free to take my advice for a grain of salt; I'm no professional)

The coat of arms is quite nice (i.e. keep it), but I think the reason why it might seem a little "off" or "bland" even, is that your block of yellow color seems to kind of offset the flag, as it blends too well with the neighboring white.

Generally, I've seen 2 main kinds of flags: The ones that use contrast colors to stand out, and the ones that flow all their colors and designs in really well. (A mix is possible, but tricky to accomplish)

In the rest of your flag, there's a contrast between blue and white and blue and yellow, which you used well in your coat of arms as a "white substitute", if you will.

(WARNING: Guessing Ahead)
I'm not too sure how to fix it other than drop the yellow block and replace with blue, or use some rearrangement of the color strips.

However, if you liked the design without the coat of arms; you should definitely keep your current design as it is now. The coat fills space well and gives a focal point to the flag.

I must say, unless you're going for a very modern or "whoa, dude" type of flag, that's quite a nice, pleasing, and fitting flag for an RP-type nation. I wouldn't change a thing.

I'm glad you liked my design. Thanks for sharing your viewpoints guys, and I'll doubtlessly test Volitopia's suggestions just to see how it looks.

[Agadar]

Is this thread still alive? If so, I'd love to receive feedback on my current flag. I'm content with it, but not ecstatic. There is room for improvement, I feel.

[Cerillium]

Is this thread still alive? If so, I'd love to receive feedback on my current flag. I'm content with it, but not ecstatic. There is room for improvement, I feel.

It's pleasing to the eye. What's the history behind the colors, etc?

--

Stumbled on this mini-seminar earlier and wanted to see if fellow flag makers felt the same regarding lettering, seals, etc on flags.

[Agadar]

Is this thread still alive? If so, I'd love to receive feedback on my current flag. I'm content with it, but not ecstatic. There is room for improvement, I feel.

It's pleasing to the eye. What's the history behind the colors, etc?

--

Stumbled on this mini-seminar earlier and wanted to see if fellow flag makers felt the same regarding lettering, seals, etc on flags.

When I first went out to create a flag, I wanted it to have a phoenix on it, because phoenii are probably the coolest things to put on a flag besides dragons and lions. Found a pretty good .svg picture of an artsy looking phoenix. Phoenii are fire birds, so naturally I went with a red/yellow scheme. I'm not a fan of bright colors, and I wanted the flag to look royal, so I went with these rich, darker shades of red and yellow.

Later on I added the crown to symbolize the nation's monarchy, and again later on I added the cross in the background to symbolize its christian roots, something often seen in IRL flags as well.

I'm definitely going to give that video a view by the way.

[Almonaster Nuevo]

For me, the cross and phoenix are fighting. A chevron would be a more harmonious background division.
I don't think the crown quite works either. You could do with a bit more contrast, too.

I'd suggest moving the cross and/or crown to the top left. Outline the cross in white. Then darken the red and lighten the phoenix slightly for better contrast.
If you keep the crown, try using a transparent base, rather than the block fill.


Pictures are clearer than words, so here's a mock-up.

[Agadar]

For me, the cross and phoenix are fighting. A chevron would be a more harmonious background division.
I don't think the crown quite works either. You could do with a bit more contrast, too.

I'd suggest moving the cross and/or crown to the top left. Outline the cross in white. Then darken the red and lighten the phoenix slightly for better contrast.
If you keep the crown, try using a transparent base, rather than the block fill.


Pictures are clearer than words, so here's a mock-up.
(Image)

I am going to very seriously consider the suggestions you've made. Thank you for the elaborate reply.

[Mount Seymour]

Stumbled on this mini-seminar earlier and wanted to see if fellow flag makers felt the same regarding lettering, seals, etc on flags.

It's my motto and watchword of flag-design

When I first went out to create a flag, I wanted it to have a phoenix on it, because phoenii are probably the coolest things to put on a flag besides dragons and lions. Found a pretty good .svg picture of an artsy looking phoenix. Phoenii are fire birds, so naturally I went with a red/yellow scheme. I'm not a fan of bright colors, and I wanted the flag to look royal, so I went with these rich, darker shades of red and yellow.

I think the flag is generally good, and the phoenix is a nice centerpiece, but I have seen that specific phoenix symbol in many other unrelated places-- I think it's one of those designs you find on Google and say "oh, look, this is really pretty, but it's sort of different, I bet I would look unique with this cool design" when in fact, everyone else thinks the exact same thing

[Agadar]

Stumbled on this mini-seminar earlier and wanted to see if fellow flag makers felt the same regarding lettering, seals, etc on flags.

It's my motto and watchword of flag-design

When I first went out to create a flag, I wanted it to have a phoenix on it, because phoenii are probably the coolest things to put on a flag besides dragons and lions. Found a pretty good .svg picture of an artsy looking phoenix. Phoenii are fire birds, so naturally I went with a red/yellow scheme. I'm not a fan of bright colors, and I wanted the flag to look royal, so I went with these rich, darker shades of red and yellow.

I think the flag is generally good, and the phoenix is a nice centerpiece, but I have seen that specific phoenix symbol in many other unrelated places-- I think it's one of those designs you find on Google and say "oh, look, this is really pretty, but it's sort of different, I bet I would look unique with this cool design" when in fact, everyone else thinks the exact same thing

I'd lie if I were to claim my thought process at the time wasn't almost exactly what you just described, lmao.

[Glaeschland]

I recently left a region and decided to make my own (there were no hard feelings or anything, our region just deteriorated to 4 people including me), and now I'm faced with the issue of making a flag. I don't remember what I used to make my nation's flag.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

[Sleet Clans]

Pixlr

[Big Jim P]

I just make my own using ms paint.

[Conscentia]

I recently left a region and decided to make my own (there were no hard feelings or anything, our region just deteriorated to 4 people including me), and now I'm faced with the issue of making a flag. I don't remember what I used to make my nation's flag.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

I make my flags myself using a program called paint.NET, but you want a quick flag generator try this:
http://flag-designer.appspot.com

It'll give the output as an .svg file, so you'll need to convert it or you can just take a screenshot and save that.

[Maichuko]

Flag designer app.com is okay as long as you don't want something complicated.
http://flag-designer.appspot.com/#d=1&c ... 1&s=0&c5=0

[Kitchost]

It would be best to use a program like Inkscape to make your flag, design sites don't offer complicated ones.

[Luxil]

https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/co ... gmaker_jr/

There's an EXE version and a web version, the EXE version has more features though. If you decide to download the EXE version, you should also download the bonus pack as well.

Also, the EXE version along with the bonus pack are extracted, so you'll have to un-extract them before using them.

[Federated Kingdom]

It would be best to use a program like Inkscape to make your flag, design sites don't offer complicated ones.

From what I've heard Adobe Illustrator is also a good option.

[Conscentia]

https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/2ei5wf/flagmaker_17_flagmaker_jr/
There's an EXE version and a web version, the EXE version has more features though. If you decide to download the EXE version, you should also download the bonus pack as well.
Also, the EXE version along with the bonus pack are extracted, so you'll have to un-extract them before using them.

This is pretty good. Much better than the flag designer site.

[Republic of Tacos]

I used PicMonkey to make my flag.

[Rannoria]

https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/2ei5wf/flagmaker_17_flagmaker_jr/
There's an EXE version and a web version, the EXE version has more features though. If you decide to download the EXE version, you should also download the bonus pack as well.
Also, the EXE version along with the bonus pack are extracted, so you'll have to un-extract them before using them.

This is pretty good. Much better than the flag designer site.

Here's the new and updated version.

http://flagmakerjr.stg7.net

I used to use the flag designer site but then I stumbled upon here.

[Pope Joan]

I used to get help from a gif hosting site, mytheme.com
they have pointers, applications, and links.
I tried to go there just now and it wouldn't load, but that may just be my computer or ISP.

http://mytheme.com/

[Bessarabia]

I personally like to you GIMP for all my image manipulation needs no matter if its making a simply flag or editing images it include logos or flags from my NS nations. Its free and pretty easy to get the hang of after just playing around with it.

[Chun Nan]

Google Drawings

[Randsbeik]

This flag wasn't made by me, but when I'm making them I use AutoCAD to sketch the shapes, and use GIMP to color it.