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Alabama

Current flag

My redesign

While Alabama has a somewhat decent flag from a purely vexillological perspective, the design is a veiled Confederate reference and so for that reason, it needs a change. My design keeps the similar appearance, but steps further away from the Confederacy by inverting the colors and adding black.

Alaska

Current flag

Alaska's existing flag is unique, distincive and vexillologically sound. No changes.

Arizona

Current flag

Like Alaska, Arizona has a distinctive and attractive flag. No changes.

Arkansas

Current flag

My redesign

There's a busy but half-decent flag hidden in here. But with the name printed on the flag, the veiled Confederate imagery and the meaningless “Red-White-And-Blue” colour scheme that could apply to any state, it's just not up to scratch.

My redesign strips it back, the green and white colour scheme reflects the natural landscape in the state, while stepping back further from referencing the Confederacy. Removing the name badge also helps with increased spacing around the four central stars.

California

Current flag

Proposed redesign

We're so close. California has a great distinctive, iconic flag. And I know what it represents, and the history, but the whole point of a flag is to have a symbol, not your name. So the “California Republic” has to go. I'm not completely averse to text on flags, but a name on the flag is counterproductive. Lots of suggestions online match this, almost exactly. The earliest I could find was from Reddit user zxxx some nine years ago.

Colorado

Current flag

Proposed redesign

My goodness, if California was so close, Colorado is 99.9% there. Maybe it's just OCD brain, but I can't stand that the edge of the “C” doesn't align with the edge of the white band. From what I can work out, Reddit user GanymedeanOutlaw seems to be the first to suggest this (online at least).

Connecticut

Current flag

My redesign

Connecticut starts the “ Seal-on-a-Bedsheet” trend. The grapes have nothing to do with the state, and there's nothing symbolic about this.

My redesign throws out the old completely. We'll keep a vague reference to the grapes in the purple band. The fly half then contains an oak sprig, representing the Charter Oak, an important part of the state heritage.

Delaware

Current flag

My redesign

A coat of arms on a diamond with the date is only slightly better than a seal on a bedsheet. I know Delaware wants to show off their first state credentials, but writing the date isn't the way to do it.

Keeping the colonial blue and buff, I add white to separate them. Then using the design from the coat of arms of Thomas West, the Baron De La Warr after whom the state was named, as inspiration, we get a distinct and well-fitting flag that also evokes the spirit of beach.

Florida

Current flag

My redesign

Thinly veiled Confederate symbolism again, but this time with the addition of a complex and unattractive seal. My redesign steps away from the Confederacy, turning the saltire into the Cross of Burgundy, reflecting the state's Spanish heritage. Then we combine it with the sun/orange highlighting some of what Florida is known for.

Georgia

Current flag

My redesign

Georgia doesn't even try to hide it, the flag is essentially a state version of the Confederate Stars and Bars. My redesign steps it back from the confederacy, removing the 13 stars as there's no need for a federal symbol. I keep the whole arch and soldier, including all the text. This is essentially the main symbol of Georgia, and any simplification makes it unrecognisable. Then to further differentiate, the canton expands to the whole hoist. Then, the four stripes represent Georgia as the fourth state.

Hawaii

Current flag

The flag of Hawaii is well-regarded, historic and well-designed. Some will disparage the British Union flag being included in a US state flag, but this has a very specific and historic reason, and is not indicate a colonial connection (as Hawaii was never a British colony or territory). Therefore, we keep the existing flag with no changes.

Idaho

Current flag

My redesign

Removing the seal on a bedsheet, I use the unofficial Idaho state colours. The red star gem represents the star garnet. The two chevrons denote progress, and reflect the mountains and Snake River.

Illinois

Current flag

My redesign

Not only a seal on a bedsheet, but one of the least interesting state ones. There is nothing in this seal that says Illinois, instead of just “any old US state”. But there's a design just sitting there that says Illinois. The Centennial flag by Wallace Rice.

My redesign uses Rice's Centennial flag but instead of 21 stars, I reduce it to 5. This represents the five native tribes. The central star of 6 points evokes the stars on the Chicago flag without referencing it too directly. The total points of the stars total 21, representing Illinois's entry to statehood.

Indiana

Current flag

Proposed redesign

Indiana actually has a pretty decent design. It's distinctive, unique and not just an eagle and red white and blue. Because it's distinctive, there is zero need for the state name to appear. Take that off and we're all good. It seems Andy Rash was the first to propose this idea online.

Iowa

Current flag

My redesign

Iowa, like Illinois, has only federal symbolism in their flag. Red, white and blue and an eagle could apply to any state. That's probably why they felt the need to stick the name badge on there.

So I wanted a strong departure. The blue stripes represent the Mississippi, Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers that make up the eastern and western borders of the state. The black represents the soil and the yellow circles represent an abstract corn cob. The 29 circles in the corn represent the entry as the 29th state.

Kansas

Current flag

My redesign

The sacrilege of the Kansas seal on a bedsheet, when the state banner is right there, distinctive and unique. Anyway, I take it and add a blue and green bicolor, representing the sky and fields behind the sunflower.

Kentucky

Current flag

My redesign

Another seal on a bedsheet, another name on a flag. I replaced it with a blue-green, representing the Bluegrass state. The three stars represent 15 points as the 15th state to enter the union. Finally, the white bars subtly nod to the Kentucky Derby as rails of the racetrack.

Louisiana

Current flag

My redesign

Not quite a seal, but close enough. However, Louisiana actually does has some state iconography there and a story. So we keep the pelican. I thought about incorporating the New Orleans Mardi Gras colours of purple, gold and green, buth then changed my mind. Louisiana is not just New Orleeans, and lets face it, a lot of Louisiana isn't at all like New Orleans. But what Louisiana is, is undeniably French. French in its history and culture. So we reference the French Tricolour, add a fleur-de-lis, but change the colours and make the fleur-de-lis gold. I like the pelican-de-lis concept, but this is my own take on it.

Maine

Current flag

Proposed flag by Adam Lemire

Another boring seal on a bedsheet. But Maine missed their best opportunity to have decent, iconic and distinct flag with their referendum in 2024. I think Adam Lemire's updated version of the 1901 flag is the best redesign for Maine.

Maryland

Current flag

The flag of Maryland is definitely distinctive. It's definitely iconic. It's also overly complex, messy and quite frankly not really attractive. But, because it is so iconic and so recognisable, there is no way I'm even considering making any changes to it.

Massachusetts

Current flag

My redesign

Seal, bedsheet, potentially inappropriate First Nation symbology. Check. It's all gotta go. Using the state colors of cranberry, blue and green, and the state flower, the iconic mayflower, we combine them together, including 6 stripes for the state's entry to the union.

Michigan

Current flag

Proposed redesign

So another seal on a bedsheet. I take the design first proposed by Reddit user Full_Metal_Machinist and make the hoist wider, the stars larger and flip the top one. The two stars representing the two peninsulas, the points more closely represent the Straits of Mackinac. The five blue and white stripes represent the Great Lakes.

Minnesota

Current flag

Preferred redesign

Yes! Minnesota got rid of a seal on a bedsheet, and gave us an awesome flag. I love the design, what it represents and everything about the fact they managed to actually change it. However, I'd have preferred the B2 design from the contest better. It had the triband, and the green, white and sky blue just appealed more to me.

Mississippi

Current flag

My redesign

Mississippi was the first to give us an awesome flag. Even better, they got rid of the Confederate symbolism, and didn't try to sneak any more in. But then, they go and ruin it by adding "In God We Trust" unnecessarily to the circle of stars. So, once we take that off, close up the stars (and very slightly resize them to fit), we now have an awesome flag.

Missouri

Current flag

My redesign

So Missouri isn't terrible, and for a flag with a seal, at least it's got some structure behind it. The problem with Missouri is there's very little that doesn't just give the feeling of generic US state.

My redesign, rather than just using the crescent and bear, takes inspiration from the flags of St Louis, Kansas City and Jefferson City. The Missouri River is represented running through the centre of the state, and the three aforementioned cities are shown as the three stars south of the river.

Montana

Current flag

My redesign

Horrible seal on a bedsheet with a great big name tag plastered across the top. So we evoke the spirit of Big Sky and mountains with blue and gold. Then the state flower, the bitterroot adds a unique and distinctive element.

Nebraska

Current flag

My redesign

One of the worst seal on a bedsheet designs, even more so it's so complicated and monochrome. My design represents the fields, the wheat and the open spaces.

Nevada

Current flag

My redesign

Nevada is tricky, because even though it's a seal on a blue background it's not quite as bad as the standard seal on a bedsheet designs. The offset to the canton makes it more flag-like, and it's not the state seal, but rather an emblem. And it's actually a good design. Well, except the name which doesn't need to be there. So we remove the name, make the star slightly bigger and lower it so it's centred in the emblem. But note we're keeping the Battle Born as the star and sagebrush looks incomplete without the scroll. And words on a flag aren't always bad, and this is a case where they're acceptable. So then to finish it off, we'll add some stripes to the bottom of the flag representing gold and silver, as well as desert and snow.

New Hampshire

Current flag

My redesign

New Hampshire has another seal on another blue background. And it's quite complicated, and then it's surrounded not just by 9 stars, but 9 stars interspersed with laurel leaves, despite the seal already using laurel leaves as a border.

But New Hampshire has unofficial colours, red, orange and yellow. There was a case to get it made official, but of course it didn't go anywhere. But that won't stop me from using these colours to create a design. We'll keep the 9 stars, representing the entry into the union, on a bicolour flag. It's not the most exciting, and probably my least favourite design, but it at least has some New Hampshire references.

New Jersey

Current flag

My redesign

Yet another seal, or in this case, a coat of arms, at least this one is on a different colour. So at first I considered a banner of arms, but really the ploughs are not really representative of a modern New Jersey, and I personally don't like the way they are drawn. So we take inspiration from "Old" Jersey, i.e. the Balliwick of Jersey in the Channel Islands. We use the saltire from the Jersey flag, but swap to the New Jersey traditional colours of Jersey Blue and Buff. Then to emphasise 3 stars represent the entry to the union, as well as the 3 districts (North, Central and South Jersey), as well as the three main waterways, the Delaware, the Hudson and the Atlantic.

New Mexico

Current flag

Probably the best existing flags. Iconic, unique, represents the state, not freaking Red White and Blue. Perfect.

New York

Current flag

My redesign

Seal on a bedsheet, gone. To represent New York, I tried to make sure we represent the whole state, not just NYC. And I know that orange, blue and white can sometimes be seen as too connected to New York City. But, there are several upstate flags in New York that use an orange with blue, including Albany, Hamilton, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, Ulster, Oneida, and Orange.

So I think there's enough to support the colours. Now the design, I wanted to avoid the white rose of York, because it doesn't really have anything to do with the state, except link to the name. So instead, I went with the 11 stars, representing the state's entry to the union. The five stripes represent several things important to New York. The five Iroquois tribes, the five boroughs of New York City, the five waterways of Hudson, Mohawk, the Erie canal, the Great Lakes, and the Niagara River.

North Carolina

Current flag

My redesign

Oh, look! Another Confederate-inspired flag. This time with dates, and letters. I take inspiration from the Guildford Courthouse flag, but the original design is a bit complicated and the proportion is all off. So we reduce it to two 8-pointed stars representing the Mecklenburg Declaration and the Halifax Resolves, while 12 stripes represent the 12th state to join the union.

North Dakota

Current flag

My redesign

Generic US symbolism, on a bedsheet. The thing is North Dakota has a genuine real coat of arms, but they don't use it. I considered just making the banner of arms the flag, but unfortunately, North Dakota has a very specific shield shape. So creating a plain banner of arms loses the shape, and the significance. The solution could be to add the arrowhead symbol to the flag, but then it's changed to a completely different coat of arms. So, my solution is to include the whole coat of arms, in a triband. The colours have some significance to North Dakota too.

Ohio

Current flag

My redesign

Ohio has one of the great state flags and I'm not about to change it. The Burgee shape and Buckeye design are iconic. The only thing I want to fix is the somewhat chaotic placement of the stars. I know the 13 symbolise the original colonies and then the extra represent Ohio's admission to the union. But this isn't a flag of 13 colonies. They don't need to be shown. I neaten it up and just make all the stars surround the buckeye.

Oklahoma

Current flag

My redesign

Another design that almost gets it but then feel they have to stick a great big name tag on. Get rid of it and you have a decent flag. I've simplified the design a little, making it more graphic and less pictorial. But otherwise we have a good flag that has significant local meaning.

Oregon

Current flag

Current flag – reverse

My redesign

Oregon has the making of an awesome, unique flag. But they stick it on the back and make the front horrible. Let's turn it round, make the beaver the symbol. For some further symbolism we add green and gold stripes representing the beach, the forests, and the Oregon Trail.

Pennsylvania

Current flag

My redesign

Another boring coat of arms on a bedsheet. I take the week known and iconic license plate design of blue, white and gold. Then inspired by William Penn's coat of arms (white with a black bar and 3 white circles in a row), I invert the colour and make it 3 black keystones on the white bar.

Rhode Island

Current flag

My redesign

Rhode Island is close, so close. But the gold on white can be hard to see, and the banner with the single word is really unnecessary. So the banner goes, the anchor turns to blue to give it greater contrast, and I outline the gold stars in blue. Oh yeah, the gold ¾ border disappeas too.

South Carolina

Current flag

Perfect flag already. Iconic and I'm not changing a thing.

South Dakota

Current flag

Proposal by Dick Termes

South Dakota sun is actually a good concept, ruined by a complex seal, and printing the name of the state across the flag. Twice. The older flag with just the sun would have been better. Anyway, I choose the proposed flag by Dick Termes, but removed the outlines. This is a flag that exhibits South Dakota and should have been chosen already.

Tennessee

Current flag

My redesign

Tennessee has a great flag, vexillologicaly speaking. But it hides a dirty little Confederate secret. Also, Red, White and Blue, just because it's America. So a minor tweak. Tennessee loves orange.

Texas

Current flag

Yeah, not touching this one.

Utah

Current flag

My redesign

Utah changed their flag from the seal on a bedsheet, and it's streets ahead. But it's a little corporate, designed by committee, and unnecessarily contains red white and blue, because, you know, America.

So my redesign takes it a bit more Utah. I ditch the red white and blue, using blue, black and yellow as the colour. removing the hexagon (the beehive already represents it), and simplify the mountains.

Vermont

Current flag

My Proposal

Vermont is yet another nothing seal on a bedsheet. But the historical flag of the Vermont Republic, the Green Mountain Boys flag is the perfect alternative.

Virginia

Current flag

My redesign

A seal again. This one seems to have some type of gravitas. But it has no connection or link to Virginia as a sure, as opposed to the motion of the revolution.

So no chains or spears or crowns. I use the state flower, the dogwood, and combine it with a blue & red bicolour. The yellow star at the centre evokes the closeness to Virginia to Washington as the capital.

Washington

Current flag

My redesign

So Washington makes a difference from the usual seal on a bedsheet with a green background, evoking the natural beauty of the state. But it's still a seal on a bedsheet. My redesign keeps that green symbolism but uses Washington's banner of arms in green, instead of red. Then, to emphasise the position of the state in the west, we rotate it to point west.

West Virginia

Current flag

My redesign

West Virginia has another seal on a bedsheet. This time in white with a blue border. Apparently the border represents the state joining the union and breaking away from the Confederacy. So, we'll keep that. But inside, we add seven rhododendron flowers, the state flower. The seven, with five petals each, represents joining as the 35th state.

Wisconsin

Current flag

My redesign

The last seal on a bedsheet. But the crest contains a badger, an appropriate symbol for Wisconsin. Keeping the black, white and yellow colours, and evoking the stripes on a badger, the spikes here are fitting, unique and distinctive.

Wyoming

Current flag

My redesign

Wyoming has a decent flag hiding under the horribly complicated, badly placed seal. Take that off, and we're almost there. But again, the colours are red white and blue, because it's America. So, we swap it to brown and gold, using colours actually relevant to Wyoming.

District of Columbia

Current flag

George Washington's banner of arms is apt for the capital named after him. A good, well-known design. No change.