Okay so this is kind of old news since this competition was held in late 2008. However the designs that the winners came up with are quite compelling. The idea behind this competition was to create a flag that was free from language and well-worn clichés – that embodies the idea of global citizenship.
Following are the winners:
First Place: Marc Arroyo Ortiga from Berlin
Flag Description: I’m from a minority nation submitted to a flag that I don’t feel, but they say it has to be mine. With this the concept of a meaningful flag changes completely and becomes a symbol of oppression. Because of this, I don’t like flags in general. For this reason the idea of creating one was personally very challenging. A flag for the idea of global citizenship, free from any establishment or language. First I thought that a flag can’t achieve this project. It has too much symbolism in itself. It shouldn’t be a flag. But maybe, it should be a flag that doesn’t need to be a flag. It needs to be a kind of spirit that people all over the world know and understand in their own way.
Second Place: Luba Mikhnovsky from Montreal
Flag Description: While creating the concept for my version of the universal flag, I established two constraints. The first, simplicity, and the second, effectiveness. With little detail, I gave it a narrative side, so it would be understandable and accessible. I chose an uncomplicated image of the world by uniting all the continents together, which adds a dynamic to the design. White represents peace, togetherness, and life. Blue is the color of sky, water, tranquility and the planet earth itself. My idea for One Flag was to represent our planet’s unification, where each part of the world contributes to its whole.
Third Place: LBizhan Khodabandeh from Richmond
Flag Description: The black flag has been used to embody the idea of global citizenship since the 1880’s. It represents the absence of a flag, therefore, the absence of nations and of borders. The addition of the circle is intended – like many tribal cultures – to illustrate a decentralized social structure. The circle doubles as a globe without any natural distinctions or borders. The flag is asymmetrical allowing for it to be displayed in such a way that it implies times of distress or of peace. The simple flag design allows for easy reproduction. Anybody can easily draw a rectangle with an offset circle in it. Symbols easy to reproduce ensure longevity and have a viral effect. One need not rely on expensive reproduction methods to create their own flag or scrawl it’s image on a wall.
Below are some other entries I thought were pretty cool:
For more about this contest and other entries go to the Adbusters One Flag Campaign. Also let me know if you like this kind of stuff and I’ll put more up on this site.
Great collection mon, I really dig the second place winner. Great content I hope to see more of this kind of stuff on here.
Interesting comments, I did not know this blog and found it by clicking on something else. It’s allready in my bookmarks so you will see me back soon.