r/Vexillology

Best of 2023 Voting Thread ### /r/vexillology Flag Design Contest Website - Vote Here! ### Previous Contests It's been another fantastic year for vexillography! To wrap up the year, we're having one final voting thread to pick the best flags of the year. There are 55 flags eligible to be voted on. These flags were selected in two possible ways: 1. Top 3 flags in a given month 2. The top flag for each of the 30 highest users in the **annual standings** The 30 highest users were determined by total score on flags submitted. Each of these flags are truly excellent, and bear in mind the contests they were submitted for. Since we've published the flag author's earlier in the year, true anonymity isn't a possibility for this contest. We'd encourage you to judge each flag on its merits rather than its author, and while you can look up authors, we will remove comments specifically alluding to them. Here's how the contest has looked over the last few years: Year|Users|Flags -:|-:|-: 2015|370|1236 2016|509|1406 2017|480|1397 2018|508|1489 2019|507|1430 2020|574|1623 2021|464|1287 2022|383|1006 2023|367|1151 For the 9th year in a row we've had over 1,000 flags submitted! A lot of really great designs came in this year. This final best flag of the year vote will be held to determine the best flag from all 12 months from December 23-27. Good luck and may the odds be in your favor! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please [contact the mods](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fvexillology) https://redd.it/18p8r9p @r_vexillology

Flag of Contrasts: The Flag of Kochi Prefecture](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/C4DwN6vx.png)|2.643|Kōchi 40|/u/VertigoOne|[Tottori Claw Dune Banner](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/6xZKu1iC.png)|2.621|Tottori 41|/u/saladinmander|[Aichi](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/SgzZXaiu.png)|2.6|Aichi 42|/u/c-the-ditty|[Nagano Cross](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/yTnEA8Db.png)|2.58|Nagano 44|/u/saladinmander|[Osaka](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/AQYgnD6C.png)|2.56|Ōsaka 45|/u/ethyl3517|[Volcano Among the Clouds](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/2vNOoeuz.png)|2.558|Shizuoka 52|/u/mahoganyleafboi|[Neo Akita](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/3EQi3379.png)|2.395|Akita 57|/u/Hogrider26pog|[Okinawa Flag Redesign](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/YeW7bno7.png)|2.25|Okinawa 58|/u/Cookie_Cutter_Cook|[Kyoto Flag Redesign](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/kPOIYWjb.png)|2.182|Kyōto 63|/u/Possumsurprise|[Empress At The Summit - Nara](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/rJHryxW7.png)|2|Nara 71|/u/lenzflare|[Hiroshima Itsukushima Shrine flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/64BEdcDN.png)|1.663|Hiroshima ### Annual Top 20 Rank|User|Total|Contests|Flags|Top 20 Flags|Winning Flags|Average|Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec --:|:--|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--: 1|Emi6219|74.196|12|24|21|2|3.092|6.694|6.042|6.951|6.9|6.762|5.085|6.333|5.634|4.328|6.421|6.261|6.787 2|qwerty_sfs|70.716|12|24|13|0|2.947|6.633|5.965|5.772|6.226|6.17|4.324|6.054|5.713|4.589|6.027|6.582|6.661 3|no_apologies|68.023|12|24|10|1|2.834|5.901|5.638|5.744|5.817|6.508|5.239|5.276|4.367|5.071|5.818|5.836|6.809 4|VertigoOne|66.354|12|24|9|1|2.765|6.813|5.75|5.323|6.412|6.437|4.991|5.191|4.138|4.652|5.73|5.272|5.644 5|FXBR|62.787|11|22|12|0|2.854|6.393|5.603|6.652|6.318|5.953|5.046|5.534|4.319|5.508|5.714|5.746|0 6|Miguk4Real|62.303|12|24|7|0|2.596|5.89|3.423|6.186|6.527|5.255|3.594|5.713|5.548|5.701|4.511|4.472|5.484 7|saladinmander|55.348|11|22|4|1|2.516|4.753|5.423|5.844|5.237|5.46|4.932|5.102|4.788|3.848|0|4.799|5.16 8|coldbrewcoffeecake|52.113|10|19|7|0|2.743|2.963|4.904|6.39|0|5.999|3.747|6.113|5.908|5.192|4.984|5.914|0 9|dksetiavan|50.196|8|16|11|1|3.137|0|0|0|6.427|6.869|0|6.199|5.826|5.918|6.214|6.163|6.58 10|Johhny_Geo_Flags|48.401|11|21|4|0|2.305|4|4.822|4.387|5.757|5.749|1.524|5.547|3.146|4.119|0|3.722|5.629 11|imagiflaggi|47.637|8|16|9|1|2.977|0|0|0|6.007|5.435|0|6.757|5.761|5.675|6.031|5.953|6.018 12|NewFlags|44.675|12|22|2|0|2.031|2.315|3.748|6.256|4.772|3.145|1.768|4.824|3.353|1.504|2.995|4.415|5.579 13|eenachtdrie|43.472|11|19|1|0|2.288|2.1|2.792|0|2.844|5.986|4.37|3.939|3.972|3.456|4.602|4.155|5.257 14|flagsdotwin|42.696|7|14|4|1|3.05|0|0|6.416|6.536|5.93|0|6.11|0|0|6.509|5.596|5.597 15|DWPerry|37.732|11|20|0|0|1.887|0|2.27|2.32|5.211|4.681|2.663|3.788|4.238|1.923|3.48|4.539|2.62 16|Present-Baby2005|33.964|7|14|2|0|2.426|0|4.372|0|0|5.205|3.283|0|4.62|0|5.426|5.34|5.718 17|VG7396|30.732|12|24|0|0|1.281|2.095|0.917|3.665|3.456|1.797|3.435|2.627|2.916|1.889|1.678|3.743|2.515 18|TuxKitten|30.723|5|10|6|0|3.072|6.554|5.731|6.88|6.214|5.344|0|0|0|0|0|0|0 19|Interlectualtrex|30.378|6|11|4|0|2.762|0|0|0|0|0|0|5.771|5.146|1.959|5.864|5.496|6.142 20|bmoxey|30.185|7|12|2|0|2.515|0|2.534|0|0|4.601|2.324|5.061|4.641|0|5.979|5.045|0 [Full annual standings and past winners](/r/vexillology/w/contests) Congrats to /u/Emi6219 on their 9th win, tied for 1st all-time! They will receive a custom flair of the winning flag and it will be forever enshrined within our **[Hall of Fame](/r/vexillology/wiki/contests)**, and can provide the theme for next month's workshop. They'll also get a custom flag from our new contest sponsors over at [Flagmaker & Print](https://flagmaker-print.com/)! https://redd.it/18p019b @r_vexillology

December Contest Winners Thread ### [Full Results Page](https://go.vexillologycontests.com/dec23) The website above has a finalized standings page so you can see the final ratings for all flag submissions, their authors, and what you voted them (if you did). ## [Contest Voting Link](/r/vexillology/comments/18ka23z/december_contest_voting_thread/) ## Prompt: [Japanese Prefecture without a Central Charge](/r/vexillology/comments/1887wze/december_2023_flag_design_contest_redesign_a/) We want you to redesign the flags of the Japanese prefectures. But with one big change. Your redesign CANNOT include a central charge on a solid background colour. Central-charge on a solid background is the design philosophy of almost all of the current Japanese prefecture flags. Can you make a good flag that represents these prefectures that DOES NOT do that? You have no limits on colour types. No limits on shape. No constraints on format. Just DON’T do a central charge on a solid background. ### Contest Top 20 We had 145 submissions, here's the top 20: |Rank|Username|Submission|Score|Category |-:|-|-|-:|- 1|/u/Emi6219|[Fukushima - The Island of Fortune](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/L6aoKTFk.png)|3.609|Fukushima 2|/u/qwerty_sfs|[White, Gold, and Purple](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/8joLjwNS.png)|3.544|Gifu 3|/u/no_apologies|[Flag of Gifu Prefecture](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/IYhwWgNx.png)|3.419| 4|/u/Brasitino_do_Sul|[The Northern Rose](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/ESGrD3kW.png)|3.411|Hokkaido 5|/u/Brasitino_do_Sul|[The Dove of Nagasaki](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/l6DrhQOX.png)|3.396|Nagasaki 6|/u/no_apologies|[Flag of Yamaguchi Prefecture](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/KTCxXX9O.png)|3.391|Yamaguchi 7|/u/dksetiavan|[Udon Flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/DVlVHifQ.png)|3.344|Kagawa 8|/u/dksetiavan|[Three Colors of Saitama](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/5Dvh2Ady.png)|3.236|Saitama 9|/u/KUPPERCUP|[Land of the Sunshine](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/r9d01Aq6.png)|3.222|Okayama 10|/u/imagiflaggi|[7 Rays of Ehime](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/GA5blH3X.png)|3.186|Ehime 11|/u/Emi6219|[Ōita - Honor and Heritage](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/FtmWVvJ1.png)|3.178|Ōita 12|/u/Interlectualtrex|[Iwate](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/rvsIbVia.png)|3.12|Iwate 13|/u/qwerty_sfs|[The Cherry Red Banner](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/fD9nbLY5.png)|3.116| 14|/u/Johhny_Geo_Flags|[Iwate Redesign](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/ceSDb1Eh.png)|3.057| 15|/u/Effective_Balance_92|[Northern Goryōsei (北の五稜星)](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/zDuKe5kd.png)|3.045| 16|/u/VertigoOne|[Yamanashi Mountain Pear Flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/tpnZA2x8.png)|3.023|Yamanashi 17|/u/Interlectualtrex|[The Mountain Flower](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/AsVG3hvs.png)|3.023|Aomori 18|/u/Present-Baby2005|[Gunma](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/gUNxCCoD.png)|2.911|Gunma 19|/u/FireChickenPzVI|[Bonsai under the Sun](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/EDJTiDQb.png)|2.886| 20|/u/Meevious|[Views of Fujiyama Flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/gV4yQEqa.png)|2.881| 22|/u/flagsdotwin|[New Tochigi Flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/vBv4u7Ad.png)|2.859|Tochigi 23|/u/Miguk4Real|[Rising Sun of the Tokyo Prefecture flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/ANTnQQbe.png)|2.841|Tōkyō 24|/u/ethyl3517|[Three Mountains](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/WflMEHng.png)|2.839|Yamagata 26|/u/Present-Baby2005|[Saga](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/rA3GI0xV.png)|2.807|Saga 30|/u/eenachtdrie|[The Mountain Range ](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/vKP4XsPk.png)|2.775|Miyagi 31|/u/avipav|[The New Lagoon](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/msFL74P3.png)|2.769|Niigata 32|/u/flagsdotwin|[Miyazaki Prefecture Flag](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/p6rEXASg.png)|2.739|Miyazaki 34|/u/Coliop-Kolchovo|[Chevron for the future - Mie Prefecture](https://www.vexillologycontests.com/i/fLOBvmPR.png)|2.683|Mie 37|/u/Miguk4Real|[A

December Contest Voting Thread ### /r/vexillology Flag Design Contest Website - Vote Here! Voting takes place at the link above! Rate all entries from 0-5. We've moved away from Reddit contest threads, see **January's announcement**. This is part of an ongoing effort to improve the contest, and is generously sponsored by our New Contest Sponsor, Flagmaker & Print! --- ## Prompt: Japanese Prefecture without a Central Charge We want you to redesign the flags of the Japanese prefectures. But with one big change. Your redesign CANNOT include a central charge on a solid background colour. Central-charge on a solid background is the design philosophy of almost all of the current Japanese prefecture flags. Can you make a good flag that represents these prefectures that DOES NOT do that? You have no limits on colour types. No limits on shape. No constraints on format. Just DON’T do a central charge on a solid background. We approved 80 entries, in 34 of the 47 prefectures, with the following category breakdown: \# Entries|Categories -:|- 8|Hokkaido 5|Tōkyō 4|Aomori, Kyōto, Okayama, Okinawa, Yamanashi 3|Akita, Ehime, Mie, Ōita 2|Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Iwate, Kagawa, Kōchi, Nagasaki, Saga, Saitama, Tochigi, Tottori, Yamagata 1|Aichi, Hiroshima, Kagoshima, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nara, Niigata, Ōsaka, Shizuoka, Yamaguchi --- This voting window goes from Dec 17-22 to allow time for our best of 2023 voting thread, so get your votes in by then! Good luck and may the odds be in your favor! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please [contact the mods](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fvexillology) https://redd.it/18ka23z @r_vexillology

The flag of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (Russia) https://redd.it/18jmxxr @r_vexillology

Polish LGBT activist at the Sejm https://redd.it/18gqgtd @r_vexillology

Is Australia the only country in the world to not have any of its national colours on its flag? https://redd.it/18aitl5 @r_vexillology

December 2023 Flag Design Contest - Redesign a Japanese Prefecture Flag ##Prompt: Redesign a Japanese prefecture flag WITHOUT using a central-charge-solid-background design ##General Knowledge on Youtube: “Japan, a country in East Asia that has a lot of flags, and they are almost all very beautiful” ##Alternate History Hub: “Yeah, so Japan has the best flags for some reason” ##CGP Grey: "This {the Liberian county flags} are like the opposite universe version of the Japanese prefecture flags...they’re very good" ##BetterMarketing.pub: “These timeless, gorgeous marks, teach us so much about visual identity design.” The Japanese prefecture flags are widely (but far from universally) regarded as some of the very best flags in the world. They always follow all the rules of good flag design. They work well at accomplishing the goals of being distinctive and related while also simple, and rarely (if ever) use more than two or three colours. But what if they did this... in a different way. The last flag design challenge of 2023 is a special one. We want you to redesign the flags of the Japanese prefectures. But with one big change. Your redesign CANNOT include a central charge on a solid background colour. Central-charge on a solid background is the design philosophy of almost all of the current Japanese prefecture flags. Can you make a good flag that represents these prefectures that DOES NOT do that? You have no limits on colour types. No limits on shape. No constraints on format. Just DON’T do a central charge on a solid background. ###Here is the list of all the Japanese prefectures Each redesign you make should represent ONE of these. ##Make sure to read the general contest rules IN FULL. These are the rules used for every contest, and are all available at this link ###GO HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR FLAGS TO THE CONTEST There is also a SLIGHTLY different timetable this month You must submit your designs by Saturday 16th December The voting window runs from Sunday 17th December through to Friday 22nd December The reason for this change is that it leaves room for... Best of 2023! Which will feature the best of every category in every contest we’ve had in 2023, as well as the top three overall in votes each time (in some instances those will overlap!) Best of luck! https://redd.it/1887wze @r_vexillology

November Contest Voting Thread ### /r/vexillology Flag Design Contest Website - Vote Here! Voting takes place at the link above! Rate all entries from 0-5. We've moved away from Reddit contest threads, see **January's announcement**. This is part of an ongoing effort to improve the contest, and is generously sponsored by our New Contest Sponsor, Flagmaker & Print! --- ## Prompt: Redesign a national tricolour using only two of its colours We asked designers to take one of the twenty-three national flags that are simple tricolours and make them a little more interesting. We want you to redesign the flags of these countries using only TWO of the colours that are currently present in the design. We approved 145 entries, with the following category breakdown: \# Entries|Categories -:|- 13|Estonia 10|Germany, Ireland 8|Armenia, Belgium, Gabon, Hungary 7|France, Italy, Ivory Coast, Lithuania 6|Netherlands, Sierra Leone 5|Chad, Colombia, Luxembourg 4|Mali, Romania, Russia, Yemen 3|Bolivia, Bulgaria, Guinea --- Good luck and may the odds be in your favor! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please [contact the mods](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fvexillology) https://redd.it/17yq2kj @r_vexillology

November 2023 Flag Design Contest - Turn Tricolours into Bicolours ## Prompt: Redesign a national tricolour using only two of its colours In November 2023, we’re giving you a design based challenge. We want you to take one of the twenty-three national flags that are simple tricolours and make them a little more interesting. We want you to redesign the flags of these countries using only TWO of the colours that are currently present in the design. The countries in question were highlighted in a list posted last month in the contest thread. You can see the list in full in the first comment below. Your design MUST only have two colours. No more. Not even outlining or detailing colours. ###How to Enter the Contest First, make sure to read the general contest rules IN FULL. These are the rules used for every contest, and are all available at this link ###Second, ALL FLAG SUBMISSIONS can be made directly on vexillologycontests.com through THIS LINK HERE. If you are unsure of how to submit your flag, you can click on this paragraph and it will take you to where you need to go. All will be explained at this link. It’s just through here. Click here to submit your flag. You can submit up to TWO designs. You will need to submit each individual design separately. You must submit on or before Saturday 18th November 2023. https://redd.it/17l86g5 @r_vexillology