Flag Designers' Guide

Designing a national flag is an extraordinarily difficult task. The challenge is to symbolise an entire nation with a few colours and simple geometric shapes. It is important before attempting to design a flag to understand what a flag is and the basic principles of flag design.

In simple terms, a new Australian flag should proclaim clearly and unequivocally our identity to other nations as well as to ourselves. It should not be confusing. When designing a flag, the following principles should be kept in mind:

Simplicity: The design should be kept simple.

Heraldry: Only five colours are in general use in heraldry (the study of arms and shields), the principles of which vexillology has largely followed. These colours are red, blue, black, green and purple. There are also two colours known as `metals': gold (yellow) and silver (white). Colour is not normally placed on or immediately adjacent to another colour, nor metal on metal, as they are too indistinct at a distance. No national flag currently uses purple.

Colours show up well on or next to metal, and metal on or next to colour. Light colours should not be placed next to or upon other light colours and similarly, dark colours should not be placed next to or upon other dark colours.

Animals or birds should preferably face the flagpole. When the flag is used in a march-past, the animal faces in the same direction as the flag bearer. This is known as the advance position.

Recognition: The design should be recognised internationally. It should not be confused with the flag of another nation or colony. However, many national flags are deliberately similar to the flags of other countries, reflecting regional identity or common history.

Practicality: A flag has two sides. Today, many flags are screen printed as the cost of manufacturing flags by the appliqué increases. Designs or graphics, such as a map of Australia, will appear in reverse on the opposite side of a printed flag and will generally be inappropriate.

If a flag is to be made by the appliqué method, then the pieces should be simple to cut out and sewn on to the main piece. Additionally, the fly section, the end furthest from the flagpole, wears out first as it is the part which flaps in the breeze. It is also the section that is least visible when the flag is not fully unfurled. For this reason many flags feature designs that mainly occupy the top left hand corner closest to the flag pole (canton).

Colours or shades that are difficult to reproduce in fabric or in the printed form should be avoided. Colours which stand out from a distance and are readily recognisable against the sky and sea are preferable.

A flag is not a static object and makes fluid shapes. Flags are frequently represented as flat graphics, or used as decals. The best flags work as well on cloth as they do on paper.