६ जानेवारी, २०२१

"South Carolinians Mock Redesigned Palmetto Tree on Proposed State Flag."

 The NYT reports.

Scott Malyerck, a political consultant who helped create the design as a member of the South Carolina State Flag Study Committee... "It’s hard to come up with a quintessential palmetto tree that everyone will be in favor of.”... 

Ronnie W. Cromer, a state senator who helped create the flag study committee, said... "It would be nice to have a little nicer-looking tree.”... 

[T]he state has not had one official design for the flag since 1940, when the flag code was repealed.... “The idea is just to make it historically accurate and uniform,” Mr. Malyerck said. “Flag manufacturers should not decide what it should look like.” 

Here's the proposed flag, which relied on a 1910 pencil drawing:
And here's the pencil drawing, which was done by a woman:

The new flag designers seem to have gotten caught up in the idea of honoring the woman, and they went quite literal. A flag image needs a stark, shapely outline. A pencil drawing — like this one — can be sketchy, impressionistic, indicating light and shade. That's not going to work for a flag.

To make a good palmetto tree flag, look for some actual flags that use an image of a tree and select the most successful ones, for example this flag of a county in Norway (Vest-Agder) that depicts an oak tree:

२४ टिप्पण्या:

R C Belaire म्हणाले...

FWIW, I've always liked the SC flag the way it is now.

stlcdr म्हणाले...

Why does it need to change? Just take one of the current flag makers designs, get the correct blue, and say that this is the design. It is one of the most iconic designs in the US.

Doesn’t this just demonstrate that government doesn’t have a job anymore?

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I'd go with the traditional trailer park and approaching tornado.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

The wiki page for their state flag shows a nice stylized tree which they didn't use, way back when.

Marcus Bressler म्हणाले...

The palmetto palms in Florida are full of palmetto bugs and ants. I had a hard time keeping the ants out of my house years ago. I sprayed and patched (where necessary) every inch of the foundation and still, ants, ants everywhere. Then one day while painting some trim, I noticed where the ants were getting in: a cable line that ran through a palmetto palm on its way to the house. Solution: I put Vaseline on the cable and the ants could not get through that sticky mess.

THEOLDMAN

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"FWIW, I've always liked the SC flag the way it is now"/"Why does it need to change?"

There wasn't a standard design!

mockturtle म्हणाले...

Why not just make it look like a palmetto? It's a state flag, not art exhibit.

MayBee म्हणाले...

They should hire whoever redesigned Mississippi's flag.

Churchy LaFemme: म्हणाले...

"FWIW, I've always liked the SC flag the way it is now"/"Why does it need to change?"

There wasn't a standard design!


And yet somehow it hasn't been a problem, ever, in my whole life. Everyone flies the flag, and they all look about the same, and they all look pretty good. Certainly better than this!

As far as I can tell, Norway does not have a flag.

Doug म्हणाले...

The new flag designers seem to have gotten caught up in the idea of honoring the woman, and they went quite literal

There's your problem right there.

richlb म्हणाले...

Any design with fine lines will not reproduce accurately or consistently.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

A good tree-derived design is the flag of Canada.

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

Soooo... They opted to portray a feather duster instead of a tree?

Assistant Village Idiot म्हणाले...

Nice to see Scott continuing to do well. His late older brother was my best friend in high school. The younger Malyerck (pronounced "MAL-er-ick" BTW) has been active in SC politics since he moved down there decades ago, following John who played basketball at the University.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

I would go with Arte Johnson on his tricycle saying "Wanna Palmetto?"

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Here's the proposed flag

It cries out for a camel caravan passing by in the background.

Temujin म्हणाले...

I guess it's a sign of the times. They have a flag that looks great, that everyone recognizes, and most all people agree is a fine state flag. (I mean, look at the Ohio state flag. Looks like a cross between the flag of Puerto Rico and a target at the shooting range.) But suddenly it's not standardized? Who knew? If they had not said anything, would anyone have ever known?

Frankly, the palmetto is a scraggly looking member of the palm family. The current flags used paint it in the best light. They should keep it, otherwise it'll never be accepted. Kinda like our new President.

Heh. Had to get that in.

Churchy LaFemme: म्हणाले...

If they had not said anything, would anyone have ever known?

This.

Yet another solution in search of a problem.

In the meantime, We Are Good Sandlappers!

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

Churchy LaFemme: said...
Yet another solution in search of a problem.

In the meantime, We Are Good Sandlappers!


It's just the price you're going to have to pay for the generations you spent desecrating perfectly good barbecue sauce with mustard!

Yrs. Truly,

An Old Tarheel (Expat)

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

"And here's the pencil drawing, which was done by a woman:"

Who the fuck cares? It's a scribble at best, and not a good one.

These types of graphics need to be 'stylized,' maybe not to the extent of the oak tree. But they need to be recognizable at-a-glance.

They also need to be scalable both up and down, and need to be reproducible in print, on T-shirts, embroidered, etc.

This is branding 101. Trust me, I've been doing it for 30+ years...

And while they're at it, maybe get rid of the Muslim crescent moon.

john burger म्हणाले...

That Norwegian flag is nice, but according to the Maples, the Oaks are just too lofty and grab up all the light. The Oaks, though, don't understand why the Maples are happy with the way they're mad and wonder why they Maples can't be happy in their shade?

jvb

PS: Yes, that's right. I made a reference to Rush's "The Trees" simply because I could. I love Rush. Everything about them.

john burger म्हणाले...

Erm ... that should be "happy with the way they're MADE", not "the way they're mad". Sorry. The commenter's editor has been sacked.

jvb

ken in tx म्हणाले...

I lived in SC for 30 years. The flag looked the same everywhere and I never heard any complaints about it not being standardized. One thing, Clemson fans have a version that is orange instead of blue, and The USC has a red version.

RobinGoodfellow म्हणाले...

“ Blogger john burger said...
Erm ... that should be "happy with the way they're MADE", not "the way they're mad". Sorry. The commenter's editor has been sacked.”

Maybe the maples are democrats. They’re always mad.