Vexillology is the study of flags- something that might seem boring, but the deeper you go, the more fun it is.
First things first: the terminology.
When you study flags you need to know the 5 main terms:
Vexillophile: A fan of flags.
Vexillology: The study of flags.
Vexillography: The art of flag-designing.
Vexillologist: Someone who studies flags.
Vexillolographer: Someone who makes flags.
Got it? Great! Now that you know the basics, you can get into the details of vexillology.
When designing a flag, always refer to ‘Good Flag; Bad Flag’ by NAVA (The North American Vexillography Association), which teaches you the 5 rules of making a flag. They are:
- Keep it simple.
- Use meaningful symbolism.
- Use 2-3 Basic colors.
- No lettering or seals.
- Be distinct or be related.
Once you’ve got the hang of that, you can finally learn the anatomy of flags:
The Canton = The top right corner.
The Field = Everything except the canton.
The Hoist = The part near the pole.
The Fly = The part farthest from the pole.
And that’s all… Now you can start making and studying flags with barely any confusion about the terms or guidelines. As congratulations, here are some flag facts:
-The Kuwaiti flag is the only flag that currently uses a trapezoid.
-The best US state flag according to NAVA is the flag of New Mexico.
-The oldest flag currently used is the flag of Denmark.
-Northern Ireland has no official flag; they use the Union flag of the United Kingdom.
-The current Russian flag was designed by Peter the Great.
-Only one flag doesn’t have red, blue, or white and that is the flag of Jamaica.
-China is the only country in The Big Five that doesn’t have blue or white on its flag.
-The star on the flag of California represents Texas.
-The flag of Japan was changed in 1999 and replaced the maroon circle with a red circle.
-The flag of Canada was designed to be inoffensive.
