Part 1: Deciding on a flag is not subjective
There are plenty of Red Peak detractors out there, I certainly have heard my fair share of “It doesn't say New Zealand”, “It looks like an American Engineering Firm”, or “No one even likes it, they’re just jumping on the bandwagon”. (I'm not even going to dignify New Zealand First’s argument with a response due to Godwin’s Law.)
I’ll address the detractors at the end, but first I want to emphasise that no one should begin to describe their feeling about a particular flag with “I prefer..” “My favourite…”. Flags are not paintings in a livingroom, they fulfil powerful functions with cultural, social and utilitarian significance. There are clear guiding principles and a scholarly pursuits as well as professional disciplines devoted to the practice of flag design. In much the same way as referendums are not called on to design bridges, buildings, or websites, the uninformed public are often not uniquely qualified to weigh-in on flag design.
We may never know how we ended up in this situation, but here we are: Three and a half ferns and a last minute addition to the $26m process have left the public with a very bitter taste in their mouth. Heck, it seems as if the government appointed Flag Consideration Panel never even bothered to watch their own informational video. So what are we to do? My hope is that most people will read this and place emotional bias outside of the decision making process to make an objective choice for New Zealand’s replacement flag based on the following five principles:
Number One — Keep it simple
A flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory, I have seen a few attempts by people to draw some of the flag finalists and it hasn’t been spectacular. There is no doubt that Red Peak is the winner here being able to be completed in just 22 seconds with crayons and paper.
Number Two — Use Meaningful Symbolism
This is an excellent test to identify how well thought out a design really is:
Q -How many leaflets are there on the silver fern and why?
A- No one knows, and it doesn't matter.
Almost anyone could tell you how many stars and stripes there are on the United States flag because they carry with them a meaningful representation. None of the four other flags have attempted to dive deeper with symbolism in any meaningful way, they have just cut and pasted motifs without questioning why we have five-pointed stars for the southern cross, or why they are red in the first place.
Number Three — Use two to three basic colours
No issues here. All the flag shortlisters get a pass mark on this test. (South Africa may be the only exception to this rule)
Number Four — No Lettering or Seals
All the fern flags fail this test, however, the black and white fern egregiously violates this rule. It is literally the NZTE logo and it is a registered trademark. How this flag made its way on the the ballot paper is highly controversial, but more importantly, offensive. It is a cheap attempt to sell NZ Inc. to the world, it reduces our visual identity down to nothing more than a brand, its banal, lifeless, and definitely not something citizens will rally behind.
As Roman Mars said in his TED Talk “By having bad flags we don’t use, we cede that territory to sports teams, chambers of commerce and tourism boards… a great flag is one that represents a [country] to its people and its people to the world at large.”
(With that in mind I think it is safe to say that Pocatello, Idaho has the worst flag in the world.)
It’s also no secret that John Key favours the approach taken by the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce with regard to flag design. As minister for tourism linking back to the New Zealand Story brand will be his legacy.
Numerous commentators have called out the PM on the process as nothing more than a branding exercise. People forget that the purpose of a flag is not to advertise our existence to the world, its something that needs to unify people as well as rally behind. Many great flags own their visual identity through simplicity without cheapening it by cutting and pasting motifs. Applying the same design language to other nations reveals the flawed logic:
Number Five — Be Distinctive or Be Related
This is the one principle that seems to be taken out of context the most. If a proposed design meets all four other criteria in order then we can begin to asses its merits on distinction. So many people fear that our flag will be immemorable and therefore we require, above all else, a flag that screams New Zealand.
I think the crisis of identity stems from being a small island nation tucked away on the other side of the world constantly getting confused with Australia. We want to be bold we want to stand out, and that’s a good thing, but I want to caution — a flag is not the right medium to do that. We are smarter than that, we are more sophisticated than that, and above all we are mature enough as a nation accept that and not end up with a bad tattoo.
“But.. It doesn’t ‘say’ New Zealand”
The reason the flag as inspired a cult following so late in the game is precisely because of its abstract design. People see in it what they want to see, it means something different to a wide group of people. This is the beauty of abstract design (and if all you see is Nazi iconography, then sorry NZ First that says more about you than it does about the flag)
“But… No one really likes it, they’re just jumping on the bandwagon.”
Some commentators and broadcasters were quick to point out that the “Red Peak” got off to a very uninspiring start. Citing a UMR Poll they concluded that because it was one of the least popular of the long list, it must be a revolt and a protest against the referendum, a “Rebel Flag”. They are partially correct, it was one of only a few abstract deigns to make the final 40 and the rest borrowed heavily after familiar motifs. I suspect this is why it fell to the bottom of the 40, it looked out of place, unsure and unloved. This is understandable considering that the majority of the public are not designers nor vexillologists. However well before Red Peak began to peak in popularity, Gareth Morgan ran a competition specifically calling on deign firms and professionals to use fundamental flag design principles.
Aaron Dustin never entered his “First to the Light” design in the competition, however both designs draw from the same design language and acknowledge our unique bi-cultural heritage and natural landscape. The fact that to very similar concepts were designed independently of each other by following flag design principles speaks to its suitability as a national ensign.
Oh and the people who are too hung up on it looking too much like the peak engineering logo: I doubt that when the New Zealand team marches into the stadium for the 2020 Olympic opening ceremony the crowds will be asking themselves “Is that the Peak Engineering team?”
Please, when you have pen and allot paper in front of you, don’t rank the flags you feel most comfortable with. Think objectively, which design is the strongest? Which one will stand the test of time? Think like a designer, place function over form. We will write our own New Zealand Story, we’re a nation of trailblazers, mountain conquerors and innovators. To hell with your comfort zone, Red Peak is the only worthy alternative to our blue ensign, lets get behind it!
