Congratulations! You've just overthrown the Empire or won the
Battle of the Trident or consolidated the 24 warring houses. However you've done it, you’ve united a
large part of Westeros or Middle-Earth, our Earth, the Galaxy or whatever under a single
banner. But now you must decide what goes on that
banner and that's where things get tricky. Back in 2017 when the world was young and
yet to know the bitter sting of winter, the Templin Institute launched its first investigation
into the world of vexillology, or you know, the study of flags. Now, just about five years later and seemingly
out of ideas, we return to discuss some more of the best and worst flags and emblems from
across alternate worlds. But first, I’m excited to announce that
the Templin Institute has partnered with our friends over at Kaiser Cat Cinema to host
an ongoing flag design competition. Starting right now, you can submit your own
flag design to us via Twitter, along with as much of a description as you can fit in
240 characters. The winner will have their design produced
and then sent their way so it can be prominently displayed in your home, or carried into battle. They’ll be a new winner each month, so if
you haven’t already, be sure to follow us on Twitter, and if you’d like to see the
full details of the contest, you’ll find all the necessary information in the description
below this video. Okay, so let’s quickly review what makes
a good flag. According to the North American Vexillological
Association or NAVA, this comes down to five basic principles. The first is to keep it simple. Most of the time flags are going to be waving
majestically when there’s a steady breeze, or hanging limply when there isn’t one,
either way, the more complex a design the harder it will be to identify. If a child can draw it from memory, you’re
in a good place. The second is to use meaningful symbolism. Flags are meant to represent something, so
it's important that every element, the colors, shapes, layout or pattern, are not arbitrary. They should be deliberate manifestations of
history, heritage, emotions or whatever else is important to those raising this flag. Next up, you should aim to limit the number
of colors to between two and three. Any more, and they might be harder to distinguish
from one another. You should also be careful that the colors
used have effective contrast, and work equally well when reduced to a black and white design. If your flag has 3 slightly different shades
of blue, their subtleties are going to be lost pretty much immediately. The fourth principle is to avoid lettering
or seals. This should hopefully be obvious, not only
will these complex shapes quickly be lost on a moving or hanging flag, but if you need
to write the name of your country or whatever on your flag, doesn’t that defeat the entire
point to begin with? And lastly we have “be distinctive”. This flag is likely going to be flying alongside
many others and it's important that the design stands out. That said, it is okay for flags to draw inspiration
from others, provided there is some sort of connection between what they’re representing. Ideally though, you want local elements to
be emphasized. There are of course many other considerations,
the width-to-length ratio of the flag, or even its overall shape if you want to abandon
the standard rectangle. But we must also consider the immortal words
of Captain Hector Barbossa. While these basic principles are a good starting
point, it’s entirely possible to craft a great design that breaks these rules. It’s just important to understand the purpose
behind those principles before you break them. Or as NAVA would say “depart from these
five principles only with caution and purpose”. It should also be mentioned that these rules
pertain mainly to federal, provincial or municipal flags, those related to the military and regimental
flags especially will have their own different set of rules and traditions. Lastly, it needs to be said that poorly designed
flags aren’t necessarily unrealistic. Bad flags are pretty common across our world,
I mean take it from someone who’s lived in Kelowna, Vancouver, Lethbridge and Arby’s,
I mean Calgary. While an established interstellar state is
probably going to have a well-funded graphics department, a colony out in the borderlands
might just have to make do with somebody who took an art course in college. Okay, so which flags from alternate worlds
adhere to these principles and end up with a great design. These are in no particular order, so let's
start with the Kingdom of Gondor. This is a perfect example of how to blend
aesthetics with symbolism. The most prominent element is of course the
White Tree of Gondor, an important symbol to the race of men stretching back to the
Kingdom of Numenor and the friendship that existed with the elves. The seven stars represent the seven ships
that first carried the Palantiri or Seeing Stones after Numenor fell, while the crown
represents the royal line of Gondor’s kings. Aesthetically this all works very well, the
tree is detailed enough to be iconic, yet not so intricate that its character would
be lost when the flag is waving or when viewed from a distance. The seven stars and crown meanwhile, help
accentuate the shape of the tree. I also love the black field on which these
symbols are placed. It is equal parts graceful and imposing. Above all though, this flag is unique, even
across alternate worlds it is immediately recognizable and unlikely to be confused with
any other. Next we have the emblem of the Romulan Star
Empire. This features a predatory bird clutching the
twin worlds of Romulus and Remus. The symbolism here is pretty straightforward,
but it's the distinctiveness of this design I’d really like to discuss. If and when the Templin Institute annexes
the North American Vexillological Association I’m going to add another principle of flag
design. #6 is going to be “stop with all the predatory
birds”. Across alternate worlds, I think these are
the most overused design element, and more often than not, the end results are generic
or forgettable. Not the Romulans though, by featuring either
an alien bird native to Romulus or some mythological creature from their history this design stands
out. And incorporating the twin planets into it
adds another layer of symbolism. The emblem of the Romulan Star Empire is the
ultimate exception to my no-birds rule. If you simply must incorporate a predatory
bird into your flag, then you would do well to take some inspiration from the next emblem
on our list, that of the Global Defense Initiative. Your mileage might vary, but this emblem works
for me because of its simplified and stylized take on the bird motif. This is not an attempt to represent one naturally
and as a result, it stands out. Using a side profile also adds a feeling of
agency or momentum which elevates the entire design. Contrast that with the emblem of United Nations
Space Command, which while equally stylized, resembles far too other designs across alternate
worlds to really be unique and memorable. The emblem of the Carja Sundom is another
design that really succeeds, even while breaking a few rules. It’s a little too complex, I feel like a
lot of these small details are going to be lost in the wind, but these small details
are what makes it brilliant. The Carja are a post-apocalyptic society that
has emerged within the ruins of a far more advanced world that they can’t possibly
understand. Just as many civilizations adopted elements
from the natural world to use on their banners, the Carja have drawn inspiration from the
advanced technology all around them. They’ve taken a simple shape, but constructed
it using the visual language of circuit boards, which to them, undoubtedly have some special
meaning or significance. Even if we don’t know the exact symbolism
behind this design, it tells you so much about the state of the world the Carja find themselves
within. Last on our best designs list, we have the
state banner of the Helghast Nation. Now this design should immediately tell you
something, even if you are entirely unfamiliar with Helghast history or society. The red, black and white evokes the colors
of various fascist or revolutionary movements, while the three arrows are reminiscent of
the both the Nazi swastika, the yoke and arrows of falangist Spain and the Arrow Cross of
Hungary. Overall it comes across as aggressive, intimidating,
ambitious and powerful. The emblem gets some extra bonus points though
as it has some interesting symbolism and history. Known as the Helghast Triad, this symbol was
originally based on an earlier symbol used during the colonization of Helghan; three
interlocking arms representing peace, justice, and freedom. When the new government came to power, it
simplified the design and changed its meaning, with the three arrows representing Duty, Obedience
and Loyalty. This is a great example of how the meaning
of national symbols can change depending on the ruling regime. This design though, is perhaps just a bit
too successful. If a flag like this were adopted in the modern
world, it would certainly provoke some controversy. The facist ideology has been so soundly destroyed
across public opinion, that even authoritarian governments with facist elements have to distance
themselves from this kind of aesthetic. So let's move on to the flags and emblems
that in my opinion, really don’t work. And we’ll start with the modern incarnation
of a flag, whose previous version actually made it into the best of list in our previous
video; the United Federation of Planets, circa 3189 or so. I hate this design. One of the things that made the original Federation
Flag so good, was that the stars present in its central emblem didn’t have any assigned
meaning, they were not supposed to represent specific stars or planets. This implied that no Federation member was
more prominent than any other, the stars simultaneously represented every planet, and none of them. But the 32nd Century version of this flag
ruins that meaningful symbolism. Stars have been removed, one would assume
because the Federation in this era has lost many of its former members. As a result, the flag looks rather empty and
lifeless with a bunch of empty space. Now you might say, ah, but that’s the point,
this is actually a great representation of how far the Federation has fallen. And you’d be right, but that’s exactly
why this flag should never have been adopted. What Federation President is going to their
graphic designer with the direction “we want the new flag to evoke feelings of decline,
loss and depression” which is exactly what this design does. Our next design is kind of tricky, because
on the surface, it’s actually quite good: House Atreides. Again, a few versions of their emblem exist,
but I’d like to focus on this one in particular. Now based on everything I’ve been talking
about, this design doesn’t belong on this list, it conforms to every rule, except my
no predator birds one, but we’ll let that slight for now. What instead bothers me is, this design is
too sleek and modern for the universe it exists within. Atreides is an ancient house within an even
more ancient Imperium. The galaxy revolves around this archaic feudal
system in which thinking machines are outlawed, and yet this design looks like its fresh from
Adobe Illustrator. It might make sense as a roundel on Ornithopters
or other equipment, but for giant banners rolled out to mark the entrance of the Duke,
I would have hoped to see a more complex, baroque design. Something like this for instance. Okay, just one more predatory bird, I promise. The insignia of Spartan Operations within
United Nations Space Command is pretty bland. Aesthetically the design is very competent,
but like many UNSC emblems, the inspiration from American designs is just way too obvious. Why is a Special Operations military branch
using a bland copy of the Seal of the United States? But what I really hate about this emblem is
how it seems to have avoided any kind of meaningful symbolism in favor of yet another bird emblem. You have an organization called Spartan Operations
that is full of soldiers called Spartans, who you might say have been inspired by ancient
Sparta, so what symbol do you choose? Of course, a bird. Like the Helghast Nation, the Principality
of Zeon seems to have taken some inspiration from Nazi Germany, but they’ve gone a bit
too far. They have essentially copied the naval ensign
of the Kriegsmarine and then replaced the Germanic eagle with their own symbol. I’ll give Zeon the benefit of the doubt
here, maybe there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they’ve copied a 20th
century facist flag, but regardless, I still don’t think the design works. Their unique symbol just doesn't fit very
well into a nordic cross like that. There’s a bunch of empty space towards the
bottom, and very little at the top. It makes the whole design feel a little unbalanced. I think these guys need to come up with something
more accommodating to their insignia and stop ripping off others. We end our list of bad flags with that of
the Chiss Ascendency. Now, right off the top, we do need to give
them a bit of credit, their current design is a notable improvement over their previous
one. It still just doesn’t quite work though. We can assume there’s some symbolism going
on here, each circle representing a planet of the Chiss home system maybe, but its hard
to say. There doesn’t seem to be a strong relationship
between any of the elements and the placement just comes across as arbitrary. It’s certainly not visually appealing, this
is another design that feels unbalanced. I think Grand Admiral Thrawn should spend
a little less time judging the art of his adversaries and get his own house in order
first. So those are my picks for some more of the
best and worst flags and emblems from across alternate worlds. But even though I have raised a perfectly
designed banner atop a fortress on unassailable truth, I’d still like to hear thoughts. Do you disagree with my selections? Should every flag feature a predatory bird? And do you have any favorites I haven’t
mentioned yet? Let me know in the comments below, and until
next time, this has been incoming.
