Design Your Own Flag

I had a lot of fun with The Dwarf Name Generator, how about you? I have names for all the characters in my ebook now!

Ready to have more fun? This week I’m sharing an excerpt from a blog a friend of mine wrote. She’s a talented artist and her heart is to help people discover their creativity. Here’s why I’m sharing this with you; she blogged about creating a personal (or group) flag. I thought, seeing as most of you are writers of fantasy like me, you’d love knowing how to add that creative element to your books. You could even create a flag for your fantasy world and use it on your book cover.

On her blog, Ann-Margret digs deeper and gives you links to resource further. Cool, huh? Here’s part of her blog post:

Ann-Margret Hovsepian

Saturday, March 24, 2018

“This activity is perfect for a family, youth group, classroom or any themed club. It would make a great ice breaker for a big event, too.

I want you to imagine that you (or your group) are a country. What would your flag look like?

There are endless ways to design a flag because you have these options to consider:

Shape (most flags are rectangular but there are a few exceptions)
Pattern (stripes, cross, quadrisections, canton, etc.)
Colours
Symbols

Vexillology

According to the North American Vexillological Association (vexillology is the study of flags), here are five basic principles for designing a flag:

Keep It Simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory…
Use Meaningful Symbolism. The flag’s images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes…
Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors. Limit the number of colors on the flag to three which contrast well and come from the standard color set…
No Lettering or Seals. Never use writing on any kind or an organization’s seal…
Be Distinctive or Be Related. Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections…

(Ann-Margret adds a link here on her post to a flag creator)

If you want a more old-school approach to designing your flag, you can print out this simple template and then colour it in. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

–Ann-Margret

Follow the rest of Ann-Margret’s post with fun ideas for completing your flag design at annhovsepian.com (and PS–she has freebies!)

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

Lynne

Author: Lynne Collier/Author

Hello. My blogs are primarily about my work as a writer, faith as a Christ follower, gardening and my childhood in mid-century England. I hope that something I say will make you smile today and encourage you in your journey. View all posts by Lynne Collier/Author