Workshop Australian Flag

[just_kick_it]

Draw without lines in middle or using and eraser to remove central lines

Like this??

Heres my crack at it. I used the Canadian flag as a bit of inspiration where theyve got the Maple Leaf I used the Commonwealth Star dunno if the colours work together that well in my design. Then I had a crack at bringing it to life doesnt look that good but its only the second time Ive done it.View attachment 454145 View attachment 454147

The southern cross is uniquely australian

It might not be uniquely Australian but its on our current flag and alot of Australians identify with it so it is a good option in alot of peoples eyes to put on a new flag.

 

[magpienato]

I myself am not that avid of the Southern cross but it can and should hold important symbolism for our countries values. The stars currently are said (by 14y.o designer Ivor Evans) to represent justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. These values are obviously very far flung from our current ones (especially temperance ), but that's not to say we can adapt them to our current age. And whether you like it or not, the Southern cross is the beacon which pointed the way for explorers such as Captain Cook to discover such a rich land.

My point is, while the Wattle can stand on its own for sure, but it doesn't say or represent enough about our country. The southern cross while very unoriginal, can distinguish to other countries our location within the world, the Pacific.

 

[magpienato]

Draw without lines in middle or using and eraser to remove central lines

All you'd have to do is colour it in. The Wattle isn't any easier to draw, the lines and curves have to very specific, one mistake and the 'Wattle' will look like 7 splodges on paper

 

[Billy ray]

Just divide flag in two. Green and gold if we are to persist with those as national colours.

 

[Craegus]

The Wattle is a perfectly good corporate logo, however it fails in two major areas. Firstly it is certainly not as easy to draw as people say, it is a very specific set of geometric shapes that need to sit in the exact right position at the right size to create the star in the negative space. I doubt a child could do this with any sort of ease and unlike a star which can be drawn incorrectly but still be recognised as a star this design does not allow that leeway. Secondly is the star created in the negative space. A flag should have elements that are recognisable by everyone at a basic level. There are a lot of flags that fail at this, especially those that feature coat of arms or seals but the best flags are the simplest ones. The wattle would be the only national flag that I can think of that had a design created in negative space from other elements. This may be recognisable to those who know what they are looking at but for the majority this would not be the case. A flags meaning can be complex, but the design itself should not be.

That is why for me the flag should at least feature the Southern Cross as it is a symbol that people see and associate with Australia (even the NZ flag is confused for ours, but rarely the other way round) and depending on the design, the Federation Star as it is a symbol of the nation coming together as one. Apart from these elements the design and orientation of those elements is hard to pin down as there are so many different ways that either the one or two elements can be used.

Unfortunately I do not see this debate coming to an end anytime soon as one of the largest problems is that too many people are trying to include their own agenda (or one that they believe needs to be mentioned) into the debate to create a design that specifically focuses on either groups or sections of the community (e.g. has to have the aboriginal flag or colours, cannot have the Southern Cross as it is now a symbol of racism) which then further divides the debate, whereas what is needed is a design that has no specific agenda behind it apart from one that brings everyone together under a single symbol of this great nation.

 

[caloschwaby]

Found out you can buy your own full-sized Wattle flag from the guy who designed it for about $40. Currently out of stock but if you’re keen, his email is goldenwattleflag@gmail.com


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Barrybran]

I myself am not that avid of the Southern cross but it can and should hold important symbolism for our countries values. The stars currently are said (by 14y.o designer Ivor Evans) to represent justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. These values are obviously very far flung from our current ones (especially temperance ), but that's not to say we can adapt them to our current age. And whether you like it or not, the Southern cross is the beacon which pointed the way for explorers such as Captain Cook to discover such a rich land.

My point is, while the Wattle can stand on its own for sure, but it doesn't say or represent enough about our country. The southern cross while very unoriginal, can distinguish to other countries our location within the world, the Pacific.

I am all for the use of the Southern Cross so please keep that in mind with the following...

Devil's advocate time! The Southern Cross can be seen throughout the southern skies and has been used for navigation for as long as ships have sailed the seas. Captain Cook isn't special in this regard. The fact that the Southern Cross can be linked to Captain Cook finding Australia may in fact leave a bad taste in the mouths of those that have been arguing for the recognition of Indigenous Australians in our history and Constitution. Also, the Southern Cross is quickly becoming a symbol for boganism. While we don't let a minority dictate things for the majority, symbolism is incredibly important, as illustrated by Nazis and the Swastika, southern Americans and the Confederate flag, etc. It's a consideration at the very least.

The wattle on the other hand represents a fantastic substitute for the Southern Cross. It is truly native to Australia, unlike the Southern Cross. The design of this particular wattle cleverly incorporates the Federation Star, which represents the seven states and territories (because we forgot to update the star when the ACT was founded...). While I don't believe that the artist considered this when designing this wattle, it could also represent community with the leaves facing towards the centre, a prominent feature of Indigenous artworks. Finally, the wattle is as native to Australia as our Indigenous population.

You suggest that the wattle doesn't say enough about Australia; I beg to differ. This particular design says a hell of a lot in such a simple design that is easily recognisable.

Alright, wattle cap off now. I'm all for the use of the Southern Cross in any future flag we may have but the wattle is a brilliant alternative.

 

[Billy ray]

Brazilian flag also has southern cross. Not just NZ and ours.

 

[Jack Stevens]

The "can a child draw it" thing is taken a little too seriously. People keep pointing at Canada's flag as a masterpiece, but I reckon canuck children would struggle to draw a perfect maple leaf. Even the Union Jack is pretty hard for a kid to get right freehand, but you can get the gist of it from a child's drawing. A kid wouldn't be able to draw a perfect Golden Wattle, but they'd get close enough.

I think it's great, but is it too abstract/subtle for your average flag waving Australian? Maybe if the republican movement used it as their symbol it would get a bit more exposure and become synonymous with an independent Australia.

 

[magpienato]

So does almost the entirety of the Pacific Island nations

 

[magpienato]

Decided to make series of state flag concepts following the design I made before hand. Obviously they won't be the same irl, some would feature their coat of arms and other symbolism but this is merely just looking at the colour contrast.

 

[Andonis1997]

Decided to make series of state flag concepts following the design I made before hand. Obviously they won't be the same irl, some would feature their coat of arms and other symbolism but this is merely just looking at the colour contrast.

SA would need the blue and red switched, I'd say.

 

[magpienato]

SA would need the blue and red switched, I'd say.

The other flag did look a bit like it was just outta the USSR

 

[Craegus]

Southern Cross is now far more Australian than any other nation:

Southern Cross star given new name to recognise Aboriginal astronomy

Until last month, the smallest star in the Southern Cross had the no-nonsense title of Epsilon Crucis – literally the fifth-brightest star of the Cross.

No longer. The International Astronomical Union has announced it will be given a new, additional common name: Ginan, the name it has been called for thousands of years by the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory.

Ginan is about 228 light years from Earth. It "represents a red dilly-bag filled with special songs of knowledge", Monash University astronomer Duane Hamacher writes on The Conversation.

The star is one of four the astronomical union will now recognise by their Aboriginal names, as part of a wider project to give the stars in our sky proper titles. Epsilon Scorpii, located in the constellation Scorpius, has been renamed Larawag; in the Phoenicis constellation there is now a Wurren; and in Canis Majoris (the Great Dog) a star has been named Unurgunite.

People all over the planet have different names for the same stars. But none of them has ever been officially recognised.


The astronomical union – the international body responsible for naming celestial objects – recognises many stars using their Bayer designation, meaning they are named by what constellation they are from, and how bright they are within that constellation, writes Mr Hamacher. Hence, Epsilon Crucis.

But recently the union has recognised the system fails to capture the importance of stars to people, and so has been working to give hundreds of them proper human names.

"These names help ensure that intangible astronomical heritage from skywatchers around the world, and across the centuries, is preserved for use in an era of exoplanetary systems," the union said in a statement announcing the new names.

Larawag, Wurren and Ginan are all Wardaman star names, while Unurgunite comes from the Boorong people of Western Victoria.

"Larawag is the signal watcher, noting when only legitimate participants are present and in view of the ceremony," writes Mr Hamacher.

"Wurren means 'child' in Wardaman. In this context it refers to the 'Little Fish', a child of Dungdung – the life-creating Frog Lady.

"In Boorong astronomy, Unurgunite is an ancestral figure with two wives. The moon is called Mityan, the quoll. Mityan fell in love with one of the wives of Unurgunite and tried to lure her away.

"Unurgunite discovered Mityan's trickery and attacked him, leading to a great fight in which Mityan was defeated. The moon has been wandering the heavens ever since, the scars of the battle still visible on his face."

After millions of years of wandering the heavens without proper names, Larawag, Wurren, Ginan and Unurgunite can finally take their proper place above us.

Decided to make series of state flag concepts following the design I made before hand. Obviously they won't be the same irl, some would feature their coat of arms and other symbolism but this is merely just looking at the colour contrast.

NSW needs to have dark blue instead of white, and then the two blues switched (dark blue on the left and light on the right).

Light blue and white would be more for the Australian Antarctic Territory.

 

[Lagooner]

The "can a child draw it" thing is taken a little too seriously. People keep pointing at Canada's flag as a masterpiece, but I reckon canuck children would struggle to draw a perfect maple leaf. Even the Union Jack is pretty hard for a kid to get right freehand, but you can get the gist of it from a child's drawing. A kid wouldn't be able to draw a perfect Golden Wattle, but they'd get close enough.

I think it's great, but is it too abstract/subtle for your average flag waving Australian? Maybe if the republican movement used it as their symbol it would get a bit more exposure and become synonymous with an independent Australia.

The whole issue is taken too seriously.

When you boil it down the major problems with the current flag are that it’s not inclusive, it’s easily confused with other flags and from a design POV it’s a bit shit (all the British ensigns are).

So as long as the new design is inclusive, unique and relatively simple then it’ll be good enough. The Golden Wattle ticks all these boxes, so I say just get it done.

 

[Dylan8]

The Wattle is a perfectly good corporate logo

^

 

[Fizzler]

I think this is a good image here, it shows that you don't need the Union Jack to be part of the Commonwealth (even though just about everyone knows that)

Also while I'm here, this is what the Brits thought when NZ had their new flag design process.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

This is when I'm going to be political. We have had the Australian flag since federation therefore I believe we need to keep the flag. we need to keep our nood to our foundered the British hence why we need to keep our current flag. For 117 years it's been our flag and we need to keep it. As for Australia Day, we need to keep the day because we are celebrating Australia being discovered by Captain James Cook not federation or just another random day. I respect the indigenous peoples views but we need just continue to celebrate our great country. We can't change history so what good will it do.

1)/we havent had this flag since federation. A kinda version of it was introduced in sept 1901. Current flag started 1908

2) australia day is the day the worlds largest prison was opened. Cook first sighted australia in april. Also he discovered shit, dutch had been in wa years before, and indonesians were trading with northern australians for years. Also aborigines may have been here first

 

[magpienato]

Southern Cross is now far more Australian than any other nation:





NSW needs to have dark blue instead of white, and then the two blues switched (dark blue on the left and light on the right).

Light blue and white would be more for the Australian Antarctic Territory.

I was just going off the Wikipedia colours but this might cause some clash with the Victorian state flag

 

[Craegus]

I was just going off the Wikipedia colours but this might cause some clash with the Victorian state flag

Not at all, Victoria would be white with blue stars on the left with white wattle and blue background on the right, NSW would be dark blue with white stars on the left and dark blue wattle with light blue background.

 

[just_kick_it]

I found this one which is quite good IMO

 

[Jarrarrah]

View attachment 454176
Here's my go, incorporates the southern cross and the wattle into a contrasting design.

What would this look like if you made the southern cross gold on a green background and separated it from the wattle with a thin gold bar

 

[magpienato]

What would this look like if you made the southern cross gold on a green background and separated it from the wattle with a thin gold bar

Looks interesting, maybe a bit too much green for my liking.

 

[magpienato]

So I decided to swap the wattle and southern cross on the flags to see if it looked any better and it looks familiar with out current flag.

 

[magpienato]

Decided to add in some waves to make things a bit more interesting and woah...