There's No Crying in Flag Design
Why Hacker News recommends it
Linked whenever flag redesigns come up, and credited as hugely influential on how people think about flag design.
What it is
CGP Grey discusses flag design principles and grades flags, following the Minnesota state flag redesign. It argues for simple, distinctive flags.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2023 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec sandworm101 · 2026-06 · on “Why all new flags look the same”
An article about flag design but no mention of CGP Grey? This one video has had more influance on flag design than any written editorial. [this video]
Cites LinuxBender · 2023-04 · on “Utah’s new flag – and here’s why more states are mulling redesigns”
On a related topic, here [1] is a video of CGP Grey grading US flags. My flag Wyoming gets an F in the S tier. But I am happy he wants to retire here. [Spoiler] Utah is one of 4 states that gets the highest grade. [1] - [this video] [video][19 mins]
Cites ubj · 2023-12 · on “Next Minnesota State Flag”
Obligatory link to CGP Grey's grading of the quality of all U.S. state flags: [this video] Also, a more recent video about Minnesota's new flag: [LINK]
Cites jonchurch_ · 2025-04 · on “BART's Anime Mascots”
It is a useful concept, and letting the whispers of the vexillophiles[0] into your head will lead you to see that most flags are well, pretty bad. CGP Grey has a lot of opinions[1] about this. [0] [LINK] [1] [this video]