MY (HEALTHY) OBSESSION WITH FLAGS.

I used to collect full-size flags. My hallway looked like a corridor at the United Nations Headquarters. So it struck a chord when I saw Oscar Pernefeldt’s design for a world flag. Why don’t we have a flag that represents the idea of Planet Earth? The closest thing out there right now flies over U.N. buildings. Designing a flag that represents our world is a noble idea, and will be useful when we are moving freely around the galaxy. Talking of warp factor 10, a much larger area is represented by Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets symbol. Clearly inspired by the earthbound United Nations.

The International Flag of Planet Earth, by Oscar Pernefeldt. From the website: “Centered in the flag, seven rings form a flower—a symbol of the life on Earth. The rings are linked to each other, which represents how everything on our planet, directly or indirectly, are linked. The blue field represents water which is essential for life—also as the oceans cover most of our planet’s surface. The flower’s outer rings form a circle which could be seen as a symbol of Earth as a planet and the blue surface could represent the universe.”

United Nations. Olive branches and azimuthal projection.

Not the Klingons’ favorite flag.

Back to Earth

The Flag of Europe represents the European Union.  A design by Rem Koolhaas in 2012, (really just a concept), was dubbed the “barcode.” It includes all the colors of the (then) 15 EU member states’ flags.

Perhaps the world’s most unusual current flag shape comes from Nepal. The other day, a Nepali-born taxi driver was pointing this out proudly to me. (Yes, I talk to cab drivers about flags.) No traditional rectangle here. Centuries ago, it was two separate pennants.

Then there’s the square Swiss flag, so often represented as a rectangle (it matches the others better that way), and that mistake drives eight million people crazy.

Flags are pictograms on poles. At least, they are in Grimwade’s world.