NationStates Flag Bracket II (Congratulations to Albali!)

[Voxija]

I prefer Greechwichian Arcadia because Albion makes me squint too much.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Top 64 Match 11: Albion (by Sildorian Empire) defeats Greenwichian Arcadia 13-12.
Congratulations, Sildorian Empire! This is a rather surprising result, given how commanding a lead Greenwichian Arcadia had in the middle of the match.

Top 64 Match 12
True New England Commonwealth (by Dukin Donuts) vs Satra (by New Spiedska)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Time for the top 64! Submissions are now locked in, no substantial changes allowed. Good luck to the remaining competitors.

True New England Commonwealth

Satra

My opinion: I'll go for Satra this round. It feels much cleaner than Dukin's and the design is interesting. Dukin has some interesting design ideas, but especially with the use of words in the symbol it is too detailed in the center.

[Drongonia]

I'll go for Satra, even though it burns my eyes.

[Grootfries Rijk]

Frankly I'll go for Dukin Donut's. His flag is pretty more interesting imo (I just wish he hadn't essentially CTE'd)

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Which flag, between Satra and True New England Commonwealth, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:For me, it is pretty obvious that Satra's flag is more simplistic as their flag is comprised of a pair of yellow and purple stripes on the top and bottom side with a yellow sign of Tanit at the centre amongst a white field. All of those features, including the central sign of Tanit, are quite simplistic and I don't see a child have any problem drawing it. However, the same can not be said for TNEC's flag which is comprised of a red symmetrical cross, with an emblem in the centre, all amongst a stitched up layout (get it?). The emblem is comprised of a rather detailed wreath with stars in between in the outline, with a cup of tea (or coffee) in the centre with the text, ''Dukin Donuts' '', amongst it. The only simplistic features that I can imagine would be drawable for a child would be the symmetrical cross and cup of tea (or coffee). The rest of it would be extremely difficult to do, from the complicated wreath in the outline of the emblem to the stitching effect and the way in which ''Dukin Donuts' '' has been written out and displayed.

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Originality:As for originality, this is a bit of a tough one for me. While Satra's flag does, indeed, exhibit the more original colours, coupled with a unique use of symbolism, TNEC's flag definitely has the more original symbol, at least for a national flag, the outline of the emblem does exhibit quite a distinctive pattern. Not to mention, I find the concepts that both flags reflect on to be quite original and distinguishing. However, I'd argue that TNEC's flag has more originality simply due to its sheer unconventionality, emphasized by the details within the emblem that clearly give off a corporate feel to it.

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Colour Scheme:For the colour scheme, this is also a bit of a hard one for me to determine. TNEC's flag does have some pretty solid colour choices, both in terms of colour scheme and the implementation of those specific colours. Red, blue, yellow, black and white do make for a potentially appealing colour scheme and their implementation is excellent. However, I do have one issue with the colour scheme and that is the stitching and shadow effect which heavily ruin the weight and appeal that these colours could potentially bring. Satra's colour scheme is quite intriguing as it is comprised with purple, yellow and white. However, it also isn't without its issues as well. For one, I don't like the way or the fact that yellow and white border each other as it can make the design a bit blinding to my eyes. Also, for some reason, I feel like the purple makes for a rather odd addition, probably because of how contrasting it is with the yellow and it doesn't really feel ''right'' in terms of the way its been implemented. And secondly, judging by the Carthaginian aesthetic that the flag is going for, I really don't think the colours, especially the purple, really execute the concept that well in my honest opinion. Therefore, to improve on the colour scheme, I would personally replace the white and purple with something like ochre brown or chestnut brown while, perhaps, replacing the yellow with something like gold. Having said that though, I'll have to give a slight edge to Satra's flag purely because the colour scheme doesn't feel quite as rough as TNEC's design due to a lack of stitching or shadow effects. If those effects were eliminated from TNEC's flag though, I would have considered them theirs as the superior colour scheme as the colours do feel more grounded, balanced and just more appealing as a whole.

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Design:In terms of the design, this is yet another tough category to decide on. Satra's flag does have quite an interesting and memorable design and use of symbolism through its sign of Tanit which creates a good sense of symmetry and traditional aesthetic. However, there are, frankly, several flaws with the design even if I do now know what that symbol is. For one, I feel like the sign of Tanit is a bit squished up and it does make it feel a little off-putting. Secondly, the outline of the sign of Tanit is a little too thick in most areas and there are some areas where the edges can be a bit rough and jagged, especially the ears which, personally, I do find to be a bit unnecessary as they don't really add much to the flag in terms of weight and aesthetic. And thirdly, the purple and yellow stripes don't feel that balanced and, in fact, feel a bit unequal when comparing top and bottom. On the top, the purple and yellow stripes are pretty much equal in thickness. The same can't be said for the bottom though, where the yellow stripe, which is nearer to the centre, is thicker than the purple side. I'm personally not the biggest fan of either proportion of the stripes both individually and collectively. To improve on the flag, I would get rid of the ears of the sign of Tanit and thin out the outlines slightly. I would also increase the height of the symbol and make the edges more consistently crisp throughout. While you're at it, you could either thin out the stripes, with the purple strip being thicker than the yellow stripe on both sides and equally such, or you could get rid of the stripes entirely, both of which would add more space for the symbol (I'll explain the latter solution in the next category). Although TNEC's design is, again, ruined by the stitching and shadow effects (which, honestly, is the feature the flag could easily do without), I don't think it is ruined as much as the colours by those effects and the design feels very memorable, striking and appealing (without the effects). Not to mention, the central symbolism does add quite a bit of charm and humour (in a silly but good way if taking into account the concept) to its character which the flag emanates. Therefore, I will have to give this to TNEC's flag since it feels far more memorable, feels more grounded and balanced and the design just feels a bit more fitting to its desired concept in my opinion.

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Realism:In regards to realism, I think I am giving this one to Satra's flag because TNEC's flag, while it does have quite a grounded in reality layout, as a whole, it is obvious that the cup of tea (or coffee) and the bold lettering clearly feel more at home as a corporate flag than a national flag and, therefore, it does feel more unconventional. Satra's flag would look a bit unusual for a flag at the time of when Ancient Carthage existed not only due to the inconsistent edges, but also because of what would have likely have been considered as an off-putting layout and unconventional colours. To improve on the realism, they could go for the second solution that I mentioned in the design category and also go for the brown and gold colour scheme I mentioned in the colour scheme category as any sort of ''flag'' at that time were less layout-reliant and more symbol-oriented while also being distinguishable enough to fit in. However, Satra's flag does at least have features that are implementable on a national flag, if incorporated correctly that is.

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Verdict:Overall, this was a pretty tough one to decide on but, winning in 3 out of 5 of the categories above, at least from my point of view, I will have to hesistantly vote for Satra's flag partly due to them being more realistic as a national flag, and having more simplicity through its design. However, the only major reason their flag has my vote is because they don't have any shadow or stitching effects that ruin their colours or design like their counterpart. In fact, if TNEC's flag had just got rid of those aforementioned issues, then they would have earned my vote as it just feels more creative and innovative (which ironically suits the nation), its more appealing and emanates more charm, originality and character to it through its colours, layout and design.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

If you want an idea of what the prizes will be, these are the cards I plan to give to the top 8. Note that if I find a more suitable card the prizes may change.

All are Legendary cards and hopefully players some of you will recognize. The card with the highest Market Value in the collection will go to 1st place. Good luck!

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Satra (by New Spiedska) defeats True New England Commonwealth (by Dukin Donuts) 12-10.
Congrats, New Spiedska! I was surprised at how close the vote was.

Top 64 Match 13
Lura vs Alanis Star (by Valentine Z)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Time for the top 64! Submissions are now locked in, no substantial changes allowed. Good luck to the remaining competitors.

Lura
The Luran flag is in a 1:2 ratio.
The flag is divided into three equally-sized vertical stripes, coloured white, white and black from left to right.
The two white thirds represent the knowledge already obtained by Lura.
The black third represents the knowledge yet to be learned by our population.
Taking up the right half of the leftmost third of the flag is a rainbow band of seven short horizontal stripes, which each represent a province of Lura. Each is coloured for the respective province's state colour, being their distinct pigment colour only they produce, and have become major exports, popular as dyes for the vibrance of the colours.

Alanis Star
The current flag of my second oldest puppet, just right after Valentine Z being my first.

My opinion: These are both good designs. Lura's flag still looks like a TV test card, and while unique it doesn't have as much character as Alanis Star's flag. (does that make sense?) The great colors and equally unique design of Alanis Star's flag get my vote.

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Which flag, between Lura and Alanis Star's, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:This is a little tough to decide on but I think Lura's flag is the more simplistic of the two because its design has no central symbol and is, instead, comprised of seven rainbow coloured horizontal stripes separating the two white sections and there is also a black vertical stripe at the right. All of these features can easily be drawable by a child. What Alanis Star's flag lacks in layout, they make up for in central symbolism which is comprised of a heart emblem with a pair of wings extending out from its side. Now, while the central symbolism is, indeed, simplistic in its own right, I feel like the shape of the symbol would be a tad bit more complex for a child to sketch out than Lura's flag.

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Originality:As for originality, this is also a tough one for me as both flags do have some pretty unconventional designs. For instance, the symbolism used in Alanis Star's flag would pretty much be like nothing seen on any real world flag and pink, especially, as well as the shades of blue used, is also quite distinctive. Lura's flag uses a pretty original use of colours, for a flag that is, and uses a pretty unfamiliar layout to it. That being said, I think I'll go for Lura's flag since the colours and overall layout do look more unconventional and unusual compared to real world flags.

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Colour Scheme:For the colour scheme, I think Alanis Star's flag has the superior colour scheme since it feels much more grounded and implemented properly. Not to mention, it just feels more balanced in terms of the amount of colours used and it executes its desired concept much more effectively. The colours of Lura's flag, while they are definitely memorable for their unconventionality and are, arguably, more intriguing and meaningful in some areas, aren't really incorporated to their fullest potential and I don't think it executes the concept quite as effectively.

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Design:In terms of the design, I still think Alanis Star's flag has the superior design because it just feels more memorable and recognisable while using good symmetry, great use of symbolism and much more in-depth character. Also, even though Lura's flag is only one of the two that has a description of their meaning, for some reason, Alanis Star's use of symbolism just feels far more meaningful. For Lura's flag, I'm not really the biggest fan of their design and it just feels a bit unbalanced in my honest opinion. To improve on it, I'd replace the rainbow-coloured stripe with a ring (with the same colour) and have the left third of your flag be a black section. Within the emblem, it could then have a symbol in the centre (maybe a star perhaps to show unity within those 7 provinces?).

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Realism:In regards to realism, this is a pretty tough category to determine. Alanis Star's central symbol looks more like a logo that would be featured as a symbol for an air force than for a nation and the pink heart is a bit of an unconventional choice of symbolism. But the use of blue as well as the overall layout doesn't detract from the flag's realism that much and it look pretty decent in regards to its realism. Lura's flag looks more like a TV test card than a flag, especially due to the layout and colours that make it look oddly familiar to a TV test card. Not to mention, the proportion of the features that make up the layout don't make the flag look that tidy or organised compared to some of its real life counterparts. Considering this, I think I am giving this one to Lura's flag because the colours are, at least, not too detracting from the realism and its features do at least feel more flag-like than Lura's, although they do give off more of a PMT-FT aesthetic than MT.

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Verdict:Overall, winning in 3 out of 5 of the categories above, at least from my point of view, I will vote for Alanis Star's flag because as unconventional as both flags are, it does, at least, feel more flag-like with better composition, feels more organised and characterized and the design is just far more memorable and appealing to my very eyes. While Lura's flag does have an interesting premise and use of colours, it just doesn't have as much character to it, coupled with its bizzare TTC-like colours and layout and a not so balanced design. These features are pretty much what prevents me from earning them my vote.

[New Solaurora]

Not gonna lie, the fact that the Lura's hoist third isn't all rainbow is mildly upsetting. I do find it more appealing than Alanis Star however. It's a good example of a flag that breaks the "2-3 colors" rule. Alanis Star's flag does blue on blue well but I don't think its really all that great. Mostly just stuff that I personally find upsetting like fimbriation size, unaligned wings, overall size of the symbol, etc.

Thus I vote for Lura.

[Kromi]

Lura's looks pretty good, It's great even though it breaks the “2 or 3” colours rule while still looking good. About Alanis Star's, something seems off about it; I feel like something is missing, I just can't put my finger on it.

So I'm going to vote for Lura's flag.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Alanis Star (by Valentine Z) defeats Lura 16-9.
Congratulations to Valentine Z!

Top 64 Match 14
Esceanian Union (by Paradeavenlisian States) vs The Albali Republic (by Fallen Albali)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Time for the top 64! Submissions are now locked in, no substantial changes allowed. Good luck to the remaining competitors.

Esceanian Union
The red represents the phoenixes as the co-inhabitants while the blue represents the maritime culture that has been associated with the native Homo Coelum. The white stripe represents the peaceful interactions between the humanoids and the phoenixes. And, lastly, the torches represent prosperity and hope maintained throughout the Esceanian Union.

The Albali Republic
The Albali Republic's flag consists of a stylised bird of prey, in the colours in of United Nations. Following the military coup and the end of a major galactic conflict in 2017, the Republic brought new ideals of peace and harmony to the Albalian people, which in my mind is what the UN's colours represent. The bird of prey has its origins in ancient Albalian lore, when an ancient king took a dozen of them for his pets. Since then, raptors have been associated with both power and grace, and has been a common pet for rulers embodying such qualities (and those who don't) ever since those cold, dark days of prehistory.

My opinion: Two great flags are matched together again! I think that, between these two, I prefer Esceanian Union's. It's got a great color palette and layout. Albali Republic's color scheme could have better contrast, and besides, it's very similar to Albalian Kingdom - which is already in the top 32!

[Onocarcass]

Esceanian has better colors, and a 10/10 structure.

[Drongonia]

In my opinion these two flags represent one of the toughest matchups so far. I'd have to go with The Albali Republic, but only by a whisker as I prefer the simplistic styling. But then, Esceanian Union also has simplicity, so I guess the simpler one gets my vote

[Valentine Z]

I'm going for Albali! I love the colors, I always am a big fan of those colors! That's not to say that the other one isn't nice. I just prefer this one! :3

[Lura]

Oh well, basically what I expected. Congrats Valentine Z! I'm just glad I wasn't absolutely clobbered like I expected I would be.

Esceanian Union gets my vote because there's just something about the design I prefer over the Albali Republic, though I couldn't tell you what it was. The layout is more interesting I guess? I don't know taste is subjective and both designs are quite good.

[Kromi]

Esceanion's flag, It looks pretty good and has a good structure. Albali's seems pretty good too, but the colour scheme is pretty common among "UN"-type nations. Maybe change the colours a bit?

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Oh boy... this is looking real tense... I feel like this could go either way at this point... Still though, for the sake of fairness, I'm abstaining, even if I'm probably going to lose this.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Esceanian Union (by Paradeavenlisian States) defeats The Albali Republic (by Fallen Albali) 15-13.
Congratulations to Paradeavenlistan States! Albali did remarkably well too; in fact, were it not for four votes just this morning, they would have won.

Top 64 Match 15
Vidinaz - Star of Discovery vs Ssejekistan (by Voxija)
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Time for the top 64! Submissions are now locked in, no substantial changes allowed. Good luck to the remaining competitors.

Vidinaz - Star of Discovery
The star and the wheel are important icons within Vidinese/Vidkvndan culture. Astrology is a hallowed occupation much the same as clergy, its importance lying in religion and navigation. Their gods were represented by the stars, both far and near, and the people of yore used the stars to determine their location and important events. The wheel symbolize Vidinese civilization itself and its constant march towards the future. Blue symbolize the sea and the void beyond. White symbolize the firmament that protects earthen life from the cold, endless void. Yellow alludes to gold - which then represent the eternal pursuit of Vidinaz's prosperity, and Red represents the sun and the warmth it brought.

In universe, this is the modernized version of the original flag.

Ssejekistan
The current flag was adopted after the Second Serican Occupation, to rejoice at our freedom. The blue represents the sky, justice, and liberation. The green represents hope and the forests. The white represents the snow on Ssejekistan's mountaintops. The flame emblem in the middle is a symbol of Ssejekistani polytheism, the national religion of Ssejekistan.

My opinion: Both flags do well in terms of their symbolism, but I prefer Vidinaz due to its more appealing color scheme.

[Paradeavenlisian States]

...Wow. I honestly did not expect to win this... Thanks to everyone who voted!

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Which flag, between Vidinaz's Star of Discovery and Ssejekistan's, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:It is quite obvious that Ssejekistan's flag is the more simplistic of the two because it is comprised of a simple tricolour design and a flame emblem with a wreath below. Even though some areas of the symbols are a bit detailed, they aren't quite as detailed as that VSoD's flag whose design is also comprised of a simple tricolour but with the additional white outlines between the borders of the stripes, as well as a central emblem consisting of a ring of stars surrounding a wheel. The central emblem, in particular, is considerably more clustered and complex than Ssejekistan's flag, especially the wheel.

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Originality:As for originality, I'm also giving this one to Ssejekistan's flag because although it has a fairly similar tricolour design and colour scheme to Uzbekistan's flag, it does at least make up for it in unique use of symbolism, especially the flame emblem, although the wreath is also designed fairly uniquely. While VSoD's flag does have a few original features, it does have the general layout and colour scheme of the Ecaudorian and Venezuelan flags as well as the ring of yellow stars of the EU flag and the wheel of the Indian flag but a bit bigger. While these features do make for a unique combination, collectively, Ssejekistan's symbols are more unique, at least individually, which is what makes me give it to them.

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Colour Scheme:For the colour scheme, I think VSoD's flag has the superior colour scheme because it just feels more appealing and striking to my eyes. Not to mention, I personally find the meaning of the colours to be more intriguing and distinguishing. The only minor issue I have with their colour scheme is the fact that the white outline meets with the yellow stripe but there aren't that much problems beyond that and I don't think it would necessarily be replaceable without completely altering the entire flag. While Ssejekistan's colour scheme is implemented well and with a well-rounded meaning, I don't think their meaning is quite as in-depth or intriguing and I don't think the colour scheme is as striking or appealing mainly because of the blue which I personally find to be a tad bit drab. Personally, I'd lighten the shade of blue a tad bit to make it more striking and more appealing at the same time.

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Design:In terms of the design, I still think VSoD's flag has the superior design because it just feels more memorable and recognisable while using surprisingly excellent symmetry, great use of symbolism and much more in-depth character. Ssejekistan's flag does have a great minimalist design, coupled with some good use of symbolism, symmetry and meaning behind it. However, I do feel like the flame is a tad bit too big and, in my opinion, I feel like it shouldn't be touching the blue stripe at the top as it makes it feel more off-putting.

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Realism:In regards to realism, this is a pretty tough category to determine. VSoD's flag does have a mostly realistic layout and colours and the symbols at the centre aren't really anything too out of the ordinary to not be fitting as part of a real world flag. However, I do feel like the central emblem might be a little too big and clustered to be that grounded in reality. While Ssejekistan's flag does have some surprisingly grounded in reality colours and layout, I do find the fact that the flame tip is penetrating the top stripe to be a bit off-putting to fit as a real world flag. Therefore, I will have to give this to VSoD's flag to be slightly more realistic since the positioning of their symbols isn't as off-putting.

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Verdict:Overall, winning in 3 out of 5 of the categories above, at least from my point of view, I will vote for VSoD's flag as it feels slightly more grounded, more crisped, balanced, more in-depth meaning and more striking and appealing colour scheme and layout. While I do like Ssejekistan's comparatively minimalist, traditional approach to their design, it just isn't striking, appealing or memorable enough to really earn my vote.

[-Astoria]

Vidinaz.

[Valentine Z]

Since Vidinaz knocked my GIF flag out... Ssejekistan it is!

/s
Both are pretty good, in all honesty. Can't really decide on which, but veering on Vidinaz.

[Drongonia]

Vidinaz I say

[Fennoscandia Union]

I think Vidinaz is better.

[The Cosmic Mainframe]

Vidinaz - Star of Discovery defeats Ssejekistan (by Voxija) 15-5.
Congratulations Vidinaz on that landslide victory!

Top 64 Match 16
Nova City (by New Solaurora) vs Bloodshade
Vote for your favorite flag and, if you want, explain your preference in the thread!

Time for the top 64! Submissions are now locked in, no substantial changes allowed. Good luck to the remaining competitors.

Nova City
Nova City is a world renowned hot-spot of Art Deco architecture. Its most famous example is the Century Building. An abstract depiction of the Century Building can be found on this flag.

Bloodshade
The flag of Bloodshade is a representation of the plight of the Bloodshadian people: A mixture of refugees consisting of humans, elves, dwarfs and vampires who sailed an interstellar ark ship, 'Erebus', in order to find a paradise of their own amidst the stars, after the cataclysmic 'War of Woes' brought about extreme instability to their former homeworld's tectonic plates, enabling it to be plagued by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes until it would eventually blow up, exterminating all life along with its death. Now then, onto the meaning behind the flag which I shall go into detail. The colours and emblem on the flag represent a myriad of meanings:

• The light blue is a representation of the perseverance of the Bloodshadian people as they travelled the black null void of space in order to find a place which they can finally call home. Some believe that it signifies the liberation of the people from the shackles of tradition and ancient grudges, joining in a common struggle to finally grant future generations a planet that they can call home, free from hazardous bigotry and xenophobia.
  
• The blood-red aspect is an extremely significant part of the flag as it is supposed to immortalize those whose blood was spilt in the unfortunate 'War of Woes' and in the pursuit of a new home-world, currently named Tejon. The people of Bloodshade are not ones to shy away from conflict because they have everything to lose. Tejon is their home and they refuse to allow anyone to snatch that from them.
  
• The white should represent the purity and innocence of the Bloodshadians as they roamed the galaxy in the hopes of settling down. They were a substantial collection of plucky, desperate survivors that simply wanted another chance at life, hoping that fate would be a merciful mistress for once. At their lowest point, they were finally of one heart and mind.
  
• The 'Vega Eagle', named after the brightest star in Lyra, is supposed to represent the burning sensation in the souls of the Bloodshadians as they soar across the void of space. To them, the 'Vega Eagle' is a sign of hope, courage and regal power. Your typical eagle is known to be able to travel for 255 miles a day during its migration period, showcasing its determination and zeal. Coincidentally, the people have Bloodshade spent many years on the interstellar ark ship known as 'Erebus', neither stopping nor resting until they could settle down in greener pastures.
  
• As for the bundle of arrows, officially, it is supposed to acknowledge the power being wielded the Vega Eagle. Some say it is a or should be a representation of the the militaristic nature of their people but most found this unofficial meaning to be rather traumatic and malicious in nature, considering the 'War of Woes' is still a rather fresh memory. Others claim that the 'three arrows' is a sign of resistance against the ancient ideologies that had resulted in the destruction of the Bloodshadian's original home planet. Those ideologies being ethnic nationalism, communism and absolute monarchism.
  
• Simply put, the thunderbolt is a divine weapon. It is supposed to represent the instantaneous retributive destruction that Bloodshade could wreak upon its rival if its people were angered or wronged. Despite the depressing turn of events due to the 'War of Woes', this has only created stronger men and women that will rabidly protect what they believe is dear to them.

My opinion: I really like Nova City's flag, but I will be voting for Bloodshade's. Bloodshade's symbolism is just so detailed and the flag is quite visually appealing, particularly with the unique eagle. My only issue with Bloodshade's flag is that it's a bit too brightly colored to represent the "plight of the Bloodshadian people," but in general the colors work very well together.

[Paradeavenlisian States]

Which flag, between Nova City's and Bloodshade's, will I vote for?

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Simplicity:It is quite obvious that Nova City's flag is the more simplistic of the two because it's flag consists of an olive border with a blue bordure on the edges of the flag and with the design of the Century Building, all amongst a dark blue background. In terms of symbolism, that's pretty much as easy as it can get and, similarly, no layout can get more simple than that (unless it is literally just a background). Bloodshade's flag is comprised of a red fess with a white outline separating by a thin blue band on each side. Dissecting the two halves of the fess is a diamond-shaped emblem. Within this emblem, it contains an eagle clutching a grain of wheat and a thunderbolt in its talons. Therefore, not only does Bloodshade's flag have more features in its layout, but its symbolism is far more detailed and it has more colours.

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Originality:As for originality, I'm also giving this one to Nova City's flag because a building is rarely featured in a flag and its colours are also relatively unique too, in regards to their implementation. Now, while the emblem of Bloodshade's flag does feature some unique aspects such as its diamond-shaped outline, some unique details on the eagle, and the rare featuring of a thunderbolt, the flag does share some similarities such as the American eagle, and the Cape Verde-like layout and colours. The only difference in regards to the colours is the fact that they are considerably more vibrant and that there is no use of yellow but they are still implemented in a similar way to that of the colours of Cape Verde's flag.

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Colour Scheme:For the colour scheme, I think Bloodshade's flag has the superior colour scheme because it just feels far more appealing, meaningful and striking to my eyes. Not to mention, I personally find the meaning of the colours to be more intriguing, in-depth and distinguishing. There are only two issues I have with the colour scheme. One, I feel like the colours might be too vibrant to represent the ''plight of the people''. And two, I've just noticed that the bottom edge of the bottom white outline has a streak of red which is especially off-putting when considering that the other white band doesn't have it. Therefore, to improve on it, I'd dim the brightness of the colours a little and get rid of that streak of red on the white outline. However, Nova City's colour scheme, though implemented decently, doesn't look too appealing in all honesty and could do with the complete opposite; brighten them up a little (for both the blue and the yellow).

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Design:In terms of the design, I still think Bloodshade's flag has the superior design because it just feels more memorable and recognisable while using surprisingly excellent symmetry, great use of symbolism and much more in-depth character. Nova City's flag does have a great minimalist design, coupled with some intriguingly good use of symbolism, symmetry and meaning behind it. However, the design doesn't quite have the striking appeal equal to Bloodshade's and it isn't quite as clean, probably due to the JPEGness of the flag. To improve on it as a starter, I would simply improve the quality and cleanliness of the design

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Realism:In regards to realism, this is a pretty tough category to determine. Bloodshade's flag does have quite a grounded design and colours as well. Nova City's flag does have quite a grounded in reality layout and colours for a city flag. However, the one thing that might make it detract from the realism would have to be the JPEGness of the flag as shown with the lack of crispness consistently shown throughout the design. Therefore, I will have to give this one to Bloodshade's by a thin margin only because of how clean the flag feels as a whole, at least comparatively.

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Verdict:Overall, winning in 3 out of 5 of the categories above, at least from my point of view, I will vote for Blppdshade's flag as it feels more grounded, more crisped, balanced, more in-depth meaning and more striking and appealing colour scheme and layout. While I do like Nova City's comparatively minimalist and intriguing approach to their design as a city flag's, it just isn't striking, appealing or memorable enough to really earn my vote.