Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed | Roman Mars
Roman Mars is obsessed with flags - and after you watch this talk, you might be, too. These ubiquitous symbols of civic pride are often designed, well, pretty terribly. But they don't have to be. In this surprising and hilarious talk about vexillology - the study of flags - Mars reveals the five basic principles of flag design and shows why he believes they can be applied to just about anything.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at www.ted.com/talks/roman_mars_w...
Follow TED news on Twitter: / tednews
Like TED on Facebook: / ted
Subscribe to our channel: / tedtalksdirector
dude came with his own background music
Hey, nice name.
Lol
Wtf?😂
Epic
As a human being, it is your right to choose an acceptable entrance. Reminds me of my birth. good lad
"A flag should be so simple a child can draw it from memory" Yeaaah Japan!
Bangladesh too hahaha 🇧🇩
as I remember my childhood memories with flags I am gonna tell you that circles are not simple.
🇩🇪🇨🇿🇪🇪🇬🇳🇭🇺🇮🇩🇮🇪🇮🇨🇮🇹🇳🇬🇵🇪🇵🇱🇷🇴🇷🇺🇸🇱🇺🇦🇾🇪
simplicity at its best
South Korea and Canada- best flags...though I still can't draw that maple leaf to save my life. 🇨🇦🇰🇷
"There shouldn't be no flag inside another flag" *coughs in British*
Except the union jack marries those elements together into a cohesive design. Then again, the Union is probably going to split up soon, so that may quickly become a non issue.
Well, 2020 is the year of disaster, so anything goes.
+Col-o-nel Mustard yay brexit..
I think you mean Australian or new zealand
@@FuturisticFusilier As a Scot, leaving the Union could not be further from my idea of disaster. Disaster is what England is driving us towards. Leaving the UK is the equivalent of jumping out of the car while it's moving...yeah, it's going to hurt, but at least we wont be in the car with those right wing morons as they drive their country off a cliff.
Roman Mars - His parents named him so that He wouldn't be confused with the Greek Mars, called ares
Nautical Creations lmao
Don't mix him up with Greek Ares.
You just cracked this greek echelon here, 30 seconds to naming
Amsterdam's flag look like it could be an album cover to a punk band
I was thinking the exact same thing
You got a point
Or a banner of a very big redlight district...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 not too far from the truth right now XD
When I first went to Amsterdam, it took me a while to realize that this is their flag when I saw it on all sorts of things. I honestly thought it was some sort of label at first. So cool.
I live in Milwaukee, and I knew he would bring up the flag, I knew it.
Hey fellow Milwaukienite
+Hannah Wallace Not Milwaukean?
During the video I was like wait for it and when he brought it up I died of laughter
11:15 he just looks so done
I just looked up Milwaukee's city flag so sorry
This is my favorite TED talk ever. You can see the crowd go from totally checked out at the start to 100% onboard the flag design train by the end with the standing ovation.
Seriously. They wouldn't have been laughing at Milwaukee's flag at the beginning of the talk.
Roman Mars and his 99% Invisible podcast are very captivating
Imagine if the US flag had "UNITED STATES" printed on it
Frankly, I'm amazed it doesn't. lol
@@leewaters5949 If it had been created after 1960 it probably would have had, at least, "U.S.A." in a field at the bottom.
Or In God We Trust
It does sound like something USA would do.
DON'T TREAD ON ME
the san fransisco flag looks like it was made in MS paint.
According to the talk, a good flag SHOULD be easily painted by MS paint.
So does the California flag lol.
@@alaychem The SanFran flag looks like it was difficultily painted by MS paint.
Then you've never seen Liberias flags
Yep. Text in WordArt. Drawings by MS ClipArt.
Cant believe i actually care about flags now. wtf
+vaansolidor Damn, me too!!!
Yup.. I 100% care about flags, now. I never thought I'd see the day...lol
He did his job beautifully
Me seeing the thumbnail: why would Steve Jobs speak about flags?
He’s a flaggot
Same😂😂😂
So my obsession with flags has a name.
and it has an extra "lol"
Vexolophilia?
@@roseFog_ lol
Profile picture checks out
Steve.
This guy is really likable.
+BlueStone Charismatic
+Blue_ So are you. Keep doing you.
Marc Evans c:
+Blue_ and never makes a bad or unpopular point- rather plays a recording of himself, or someone else saying it! also uses music very well!
+Blue_ I thought he was getting emotional half the time which engaged me.
Four years later and I use this to design a flag in Animal Crossing... The power of Ted Talks, everyone...
That’s a cool idea actually! Might change mine.
I love flags and designed what I thought was a good flag in New Horizons. I then watched this the day after. And I immediately spent all afternoon designing a new one following the rules Roman laid out.
I love animal crossing c:
Hong Kong's flag is the gold standard to me, you could recognize that flower anywhere and from nearly any distance due to it's simplicity
But it is hard to draw :') (for me at least)
yeah i think its pretty recognizablr
laughs in nordic flags
@KristianVal 笑笑
Macau also has a wonderful flag (the stars are kinda intricate but i love it)
Who puts a trademark symbol on their flag??!
@mike sixx And there it is, never takes long to find racism on youtube.
@mike sixx pathetic child lol
I love when people say Judaism is a race
@mike sixx so your saying that racism isn't a bad thing (it is), but then your saying that groups that people are racist to are bad for being racist? sounds hypocritical @ me
Americans.
In the space of 20 minutes ive gone from thinking "Omg, what a nerd", to "Good lord that flag is disgusting". What have I become...
that is what a good 15 minute talk can do to you
A better person who despises flags rather than people
*"Keep it simple. The flag should be so simple that a child could draw it from memory"* Did you hear that? Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming?
Looking at San Franciscos flag that seems to be exactly what happend.
Seems like someone studied their geography lesson
@@basedgaming1826 ah, I'll go take a look then
(Sees my home state flag listed in the comment) What's wrong with my flag? (Looks it up) Now I know why I haven't seen it until now.
Illinois flag is cool
I really admire his presence. He is not trying at all to be heard, to be funny, to sound smart. He elegantly talked about a interesting topic. Am I the only one who really wants to have the mental clarity he has.
Id go one step further and say he made an obscure topic incredibly interesting.
I have played Fallout New Vegas so much that the California flag looks wrong without the second head on the bear.
dangerouslytalented I’m right there with you man aha
i have a shirt with an ncr flag on it and few have noticed the difference
Yes! It just dosnt look right without the other head
Tbh... I actually saw the NCR flag first and kinda thought that that was the real California flag for about 3 years...
Since I am from europe I saw the NCR flag waaaay before the real life equivalent - and this missing head still looks really wrong!
He turned such a seemingly mundane topic into something so engaging, the guy's talented.
+George Rosebush It's his voice and passion combined with this exceptional presentation that engages a lot!
I found his voice distracting to be honest. Most of the time he sounds like he's going to start crying.
+George Rosebush I was thinking the same! Talented guy.
+George Rosebush I was thinking the same! Talented guy.
+George Rosebush I was thinking the same! Talented guy.
The Anaheim city council actually mentioned that this video was one of the things that brought about the idea to change it. They also cited the creation of the new Angel Stadium and the need for something _not-awful_ to fly on the flagpoles in front. Since then, the city has installed the flag in at least 20 public places (as opposed to zero places before) and the old one's been pretty much forgotten. It's 3 horizontal bars of dark blue, light blue, dark blue, and ring of 6 white stars centered to represent the 6 city districts. Nothing inspired or innovative but it's so much better than the old one.
A late late reply but my god that is a well-designed flag. I know nothing about Anaheim but I assume it's a city that sits on either side of a river based on that design language.
@@ConradLarsonGaming they only adopted it from 2018 to 2019 and then went BACK to the old flag T_T there's no hope for us
@@kwombok yeah, i sah that too just now when looking it up. The old/current one is horrible. Why on eartht did they not keep that "new" design. I like it
@@AlexM-WI The official reason given for changing the flag back seems to be "it is traditional". Now - we might argue that it also is traditional to go number 2 in an outhouse without running water and changing your undies once a week, which feels to me about as attractive as this flag, but in the end it's their decision.
As a former resident of Amsterdam: yes, the flag is cool. Immediately recognisable, too. And if you look at the country that Amsterdam is the capital of, the Netherlands, that has a pretty great flag, too. It's the oldest revolutionary flag in the world, and although it started as orange-white-blue, it quickly became red-white-blue. I like to think that those colours inspired many other (revolutionary) flags. It's simple as well: three horizontal stripes, equal in size, featuring primary colours (and white). You just don't see it a lot in the Netherlands, only one single flag on government buildings, because the Dutch aren't that keen on waving flags about.
Personally, I prefer the orange, white, and blue of the Prince's flag. The red, white, and blue might have been original when the Dutch adopted it, but so many countries have adopted flags with those colours and in similar patterns that it is easy to mix them up if you aren't familiar with them. Not a lot of flags use orange, so the Prince's flag is immediately recognizable. Unfortunately, the Prince's flag was hijacked by Dutch Nazis in the 1930s, so flying it in the modern age brings with it certain baggage.
The reason it got changed from orange to red is because the orange was not visible when at sea. Considering the flag was designed during the time of naval exploration and combat it made sense to change it to red.
@@HelloImErik That is not the reason. The red variant was flown on the trade ships and is older than the orange version. Stop telling lies.
Sit tf down. If the Dutch aren't so keen on their flag why did they enforce it on apartheid states. Stfu and stop sounding like a revolutionary country when others had to have revolution and independence from your nation.
And when you're in distress, your flag becomes the flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Yes, I did just watch an 18 minute Ted Talk about flags. Now I'm also extremely disappointed with the state of Florida.
Chandler Farmer my poor poor state of Florida...
Only NOW you're disappointed with the state of Florida?! You're trying to tell me it was THEIR FLAG that broke the camel's back for you??
I am ashamed that I live in a state with such an awful flag
Maybe they could just replace that seal with a yellow circle.
I don't get it? Florida has a solid traditional state flag design that meets all the guidelines.
That San Fran flag redesign with the yellow-black background is so satisfying to look at.
I was expecting something...more colorful
Juan Manuel Penaloza no...
Falufale what...
They did try to pass a more colourful one recently. My city’s flag is a history lesson all on its own! ^_^
Yeah, but the phoenix look too much like screaming chicken on an old Trans Am
Thanks in great part to this video, I ran a redesign contest for Salem Oregon and after years and years, we have a new flag!
The Pocatello flag is now (as of 2017) incredible. It follows all the rules and is just striking.
Well, it actually has 4 colors - but I think we can overlook that one issue. I also thought that the old flag was a good example of "insider every bad flag there is a good flag to come out" - if they just kept the two mountains with whatever those cuts were to represent - immediately recognizable. You can argue about color schemes then and similar, but that symbol would have been great as well. But yeah, good on them to change it to something you can actually fly in your garden happily.
if only people applied these rules to tattoos, my god
+Moment2Forever Think we tried that in the 90s and early 2000s with all the tribal tattoos... no idea why anyone would want that back :P
+Moment2Forever But we need more people with lower back tattoo's of the Egyptian Ankh Symbol. So they can prove how enlighten they are.
+fredguy2 Gosh, don't be so... Ankh-sty... ...
+Moment2Forever ONe guy emphasized this constantly on Tatoo ink, for these same exact reasons. Simple, clean line work, NO backgrounds and colors that cut through.
+eldsprutandedrake I'd argue they break the meaningful design rule.
For those of you who think professional speakers don't get nervous, watch his hand at 4:50.
Yeah, even the best get that adrenaline rush and it messes with your hands and your voice
He's basically DJ-ing his TED talk.
He did an amazing job.
As an amateur public speaker, this makes me feel better about myself
@Bountiful Baboon wow lolwut?
Oh my god. When I was younger this was my mother's favorite TED Talk. I've been listening to 99% Invisible for a few years. Just connected the dots now. Damn.
Cool, huh? I agree!
no one: this guy: "welcome to my ted talk I'm gonna be roasting flags for 20 minutes"
@Adrián I enjoyed the talk, but yeah----he pretty much roasted flags for 20 minutes. He did talk about the elements of good design to explain WHY he was roasting flags, but he definitely roasted them.
@@eddiejc1 i think he was showing bad flags and making fun of them because some people would've found it a boring talk otherwise, it added a bit of fun
So then it wasn't no one that said that, was it? Stop overusing this terrible "joke"
Yiay 276
Very unusual presentation style, but I like it. Surprisingly interesting talk, I never thought of flags as interesting before watching this
+Aerroon Wow, an idea about design and developing things which are engaging and designing things with "intent". You have failed to see the point of this video.
+Aerroon This video does present an idea. That idea being how to create a good design. This isn't a performance, it just has a unique presentation.
This was actually riveting.
Totally agree I didn't even know my city had a flag til this presentation
listen to 99% invisible podcast. he talks about so many cool things and it all in this style
Fun fact: In 2017, Pocatello Idaho changed their flag. And, let's be honest, they chose an incredibly good flag: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocatello,_Idaho#/media/File%3AFlag_of_Pocatello%2C_Idaho.svg
Also a fun fact: The (partial, but significant) reason they did that was this video bringing infamy to their flag
wow, it's really cute.
In fact, Roman Mars (the guy in this video) was given a seat on the council to replace it
LOVE IT
It looks SO GOOD now!
I am actually designing a series of nearly 150 flags as part of a project for my senior year at high school. as the loval vexillologist i have taken it upon myself to make a flag to represent every graduating student for us to fly on graduation day
Is there someplace I could follow your work? I'm a graphic designer too.
I have a facebook page. Nate K Tucker
+Nathan Tucker I found your personal profile, but not an actual page to find your work. I'm interested in liking it and following along your project.
thepurpleflute i have a photo album called Flags of Gordon Lee.
That's so cool!
This is probably one of the best if not the best delivered TED talk I've seen
For those interested in modern flag design: check out the Japanese municipal flags. Most of them are actually designed with the Kanji that makes up the name of the district in mind.
They are cool. Leave it to the Japanese to perfect something.
These look like epic sports logos!!!
they also have really good prefecture flags.
知らなかった！勉強になるなぁ〜
Everyone needs to look up Japanese city flags and prefecture flags! They are the most amazing flag designs of all.
+GeoAl09 Whoa, you are totally right. They are almost mesmerizing to look at, yet..."simple enough a child could draw them."
+GeoAl09 I think they were based off the ruling clans of Japan when each one was independent. I can totally see why people would rally behind those.
+GeoAl09 Wooooah.
+GeoAl09 Yuck, they look like car logos.
+GeoAl09 Some of those city flag "logos" seem to be remnants of "mon", family or clan emblems or symbols going hundreds of years back. The Mitsubishi logo is a stylized version of such a symbol.
I didn't expect this to hold my attention but it did, good talk!
Cory Y Yeah! :)
Cory Y You should listen to him. Podcast: 99% invisible.
+Cory Y Same here! At the start I was thinking... flags? serious... But there is indeed a lot more behind it. Great talk indeed!
+Cory Y Civic pride is the literal heart of successful civilization. This video is all about the element of design, the third letter in TED. It's presented with humor and also novelty thanks to the unique radio style talk, traditional slides, light background music and voice clips of other people to keep which all together keeps the talk light but still stimulating. Easily one of the top ten TED talks I've seen so no wonder it held your attention. Good taste.
for real! he should do s talk on how to make any topic interesting. I was so invested I freaked when I saw that last flag
Our state flag here in California breaks a lot of (almost all of) these design rules and yet, in my opinion, it somehow still works. You see our bear and star everywhere across the state! Taking it a step further. Here in Riverside our flag is more of a mess but the mission bell is still plastered everywhere.
You probably know this, but I find it really interesting that the species of bear on the Californian flag is actually extinct.
the bear and star are very distinctive - if you got rid of the words, people would probably still recognise it… so get rid of the words!!! get rid of the grass too enlarge the bear (why is it specified it has to be only 1/3 the length of the flag? that's too small!) simplify the bear if you want, but first and foremost, get rid of the words!
In Riverside (which I live), they recently changed their flag. Their flag is now on a navy background with a gold-colored mission bell on the left, a golden-colored wave on the right edge, and ocean-blue-colored wave next to the golden-colored wave. The flag is now much better than the old one.
I’ve seen this ted talk so many times and it’s still one of my favorites, if not my favorite over all
Never thought someone could interest me flags. Can't believe I watched the whole thing.
the podcasts are pretty cool too.
Have you watched Fun With Flags by Sh. Cooper
100% of people are interested in flags apparently.
HomegrownTyrone Same
15:42 "But also it could become a symbol of how that city considers design itself" *One, singular clap*
Deserved. Seeing a city as some kind of homogene mass with one shared view on design is so primitive.. You could have the worst flag and be good at design in many other points, and you always will have differnt projets designed by different people, so to measure a city after their flag is just plane stupid.
@@meranger92 The point is if you can apply principles of good, non-frivolous, design at a basic level, then there's more chance to adopt that mentality when it comes to larger projects. Symbols have been incredibly powerful since the dawn of time. The fact you would describe someone invited to a TED talk as having primitive views makes your point seem laughable.
🤣
Dude I paused at 15:41 to look at comments and your timestamp was so close lol
A literal 👏
The Milwaukee flag is the most midwest thing i've ever seen "Lets just have all of 'em and go get a beer"
This is a beautiful thing that man has done here Everyone there walked in knowing nothing about flags and caring even less, and by the end they were so invested and aware of design principles that they (and I) were able to hear flag jokes or see bad flags and genuinely laugh Usually it takes a lot to make a person invested in something enough that they can relate to the comedy based off of it but he pulls it off beautifully Genuinely one of if not my favorite TED talks of all time
"Roman Mars" sounds like an amazing alternate history premise.
FourthDerivative read Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Good stuff that I'll cover it for you.
Leo Chillrud oh my god it's literally roman mars
Also illium by dan Simmons...actually that’s Greek mars but still a cool book.
roamin' romans roamin on mars
Romain' Romans roaming Mars with Roman Mars
Very cool to see a radio host perform on stage. Shows you just how important the voice is in any kind of presentation.
This guys voice is amazing
+Juil indeed so, there area lot of ted talks that are hard to listen to because the speaker laughs awkwardly, or breathes out of their nose right into the mic, either way the what goes into the microphone is very important
+Juil you should go see david sedaris or Ira glass
+Tom Cotter Ugh Ira Glass' voice is really annoying.
+Juil But this talk needs pictures. Any talk about visual design needs pictures. Radio shows need stories that allow the listeners to design their own visuals in their minds. (Try listening to a cheap monster movie without the video. It's better that way.)
The Milwaukee flag is the flag equivalent of every "graphic design is my passion" picture
But it represents it people. saying it needs to conform to some random standard is absurd. Now? its has become the same bland crap redo that corporations have been doing to company logs for years.
"The final element in it that just makes it more ridiculous is that there is a flag, within a flag" Cries in Afrikaans
If this is the original or main location, why isn't it called the "TEDquarters"?
Izumi Chenmeiru That's, good
You're a fucking genius
You may leave now
It's distinctive, I'll give you that
Beautiful. 10/10.
I'm from Pocatello Idaho. Every friggin' citizen of that beautiful town desperately needs to watch this video.
+Ike Evans What?? But aren't you PROUD???? ;)
ShmupShmupPewPew Pocatello is a gorgeous town with world class mountain biking and skiing. I am not proud of that stupid flag.
+Ike Evans lmao that flag looks like it's off an 80's sweater or smthn
Aidan Attema Oh no. It's worse than that!
+Ike Evans I am from Amsterdam and you have my deepest sympathies.
I'm an illustrator (not for flags), and I keep coming back for 9:04 when helping people with their designs, whatever it may be - websites, characters, logos, etc. The points are so simple and salient, even (or rather, especially) non-artists get a profound understanding of "actually, yeah, it does look better that way" when we use a more simplified palette or take out confusingly misplaced detail in a project. Same with the stamp size test (13:25); there's no simpler way to "tactfully nudge" somebody into reconsidering their iconography than showing them how their image dissolves into obscurity when it's scaled down. (within reason, of course. I understand that you can make anything unrecognizable by reducing it to a handful of pixels, the point is more along the lines of "it'll look nice on the marquee, but what about your business cards?") Maybe it's superfluous to comment on a five year old video, but I just want to put into writing how thankful I am to Mr. Mars and his colleagues for putting such a profound thought into such easy to understand words.
I saw an article a few years back where someone redesigned all 50 state flags to match around a common design theme. They were all red, white, and blue, and featured unique ties to their states.
www.bresslergroup.com/blog/united-we-stand/ this might be what you’re talking about? this guy made some great designs and explained his thought process well too
Oooh that's a cool idea. Let's show our connectedness!
Touch the Maryland flag and there will be a riot
@@jennifersingh1834 That ugly crap looks like it's warning you there's an obstacle on a NASCAR course
Yesterday I watched an 11 minute video about aluminum cans. Today, an 18 minute video about flags. And I gotta say, the world of design is amazing, and there are genius behind everything we take for granted in our lives.
I love the internet because somehow I know the exact can video your talking about
Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed Liberian Counties: *Hold my MS Paint*
Oh sweet lord they’re so bad I love them
If anyone of you really thinks that these are bad, then you haven't listened to the Ted Talk at all.
@@pascalstiemer There are better ways to design these flags with the same good symbolism, also, I realized that the Liberian county flags are not the worst flags in the word, the worst flag is Brown County Nebraska's flag
@@nycuba7478 That flag is so terrible that it's crossed over to beautiful
For starters, cities don’t need flags. Nobody cares.
There is a show he might like. It’s called „Fun with Flags“
The best flag show
Tbbt reference! Love it!!
"never use seals" spain has entered the chat
Every European nation prior to the mid 19th century has entered the chat
actually the spain seal appears only for the royal flag, the spain flag doesn't have seal on it!
According to constitution, Spanish flag doesn’t have a seal on it. Many people doesn’t know, even in Spain.
Jose yup I’m spanish and i didn’t know that
Central America has entered the chat.
That second revised San Francisco flag design, with the Phoenix in the middle of black and gold, is gorgeous. Please make that happen!
Agreed. It's reminiscent of a Medieval battle standard.
you could sell the phoenix in the middle as a pin
i second this it looked amazing
As a resident of a not too far away town, I can tell you They’ve tried to change the San Francisco flag many times recently... but in a significantly more... colourful, way.
The only problem is that there's another city you'd more closely associate with a Phoenix (cough)
You should get a guest spot on the final season of "The Big Bang Theory"! The final guest on Sheldon Cooper's "Fun With Flags".
+Pat Doyle Yes, let's have a guy that is genuinely interested in flags show up in an unfunny show that does nothing but make fun of "geeks".
HandjesBreda I think it is a very funny show that humanizes "geeks". I did not watch it until it was in syndication, because I thought that's all it was too. I was wrong. Especially as two of the "geeks" (actually 3 by now), get the hot girls, accomplish great things, and have happy lives. As a former (an to an extent current geek) I find nothing wrong with humor based on the true social awkwardness of many geeks, even though (as is normal with comedy) it is exaggerated for comedic effect. And such an episode could be great by expanding Sheldon's appreciation of flags, by exposing him to the artistic nature of them above and beyond the rote facts that he has displayed. It would tie in well with the arc of the character as they have begun to humanize Sheldon more and more.
HandjesBreda Stop being an over-sensitive, judgment dipshit. It is a very funny show that paints geeks in a very positive light, which is probably why so many famous geeks have made appearances on the show, like George Smoot, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, and Lawrence Krauss.
+Pat Doyle You are very delusional and/or have no taste whatsoever.
HandjesBreda I think the same of you, but apparently, my opinion is in line with the aforementioned great scientists who have been on the show. I much prefer to be in their company than yours.
This worked, people took notice and let their officials know, now Anaheim and Pocatello both have new flags that look great, Reno adopted a really nice looking one, and Milwaukee has a potential design that might eventually get adopted, but they're stuck in limbo cause some people said the competition didn't have enough judges and wasn't inclusive enough.
‘A flag should be so simple a child could draw it from memory’ *South Africans looking awkward*
I love the South African flag, but yeah, I wouldn't know what color goes where.
Narata I know my flag🇿🇦🇮🇱
I bet South African children can draw it from memory though. The US and UK flags are fairly complicated too.
@@vegetablearian_ absolutely, I'm a south African youth and the flag is muscle memory, the colors, shape and design is so vivid and memorable all of us can draw it
I'd say it's pretty easy, just need to memorize the colors from left to right. Also .... does the American flag start with a red or white stripe? (so you get my point....)
I don't know why, but everytime it shows up in my recommended, I have to watch it again. It's been like 10-12 times now. I'm just happy that Pocatello has a great looking flag now! Top country grade flag to say the least.
I can relate to this. Great combination of voice, fun, content, melancholic music
Just looked up their new flag. It's much better! Good for them.
655⁶⁷
I googled "Pocatello" and Google immediately asked me if I was looking for "Pocatello *flag*". I'm guessing this TED talk is the only reason anyone googles Pocatello
Yes! The Amsterdam flag is awesome!
It does remind me a little of the symbol from "The Great Dictator..." ;)
I like how it has triple-Xs on it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
it looks like it belongs on a bottle of booze
Charles Foster Kane it's even better when you walk through the prostitute street in Amsterdam smoking weed. Because yes, these things are legal in the Nederlands
I wish I could disagree, but I can't. Green-white-green is also nice though ;D
This guys podcast is legitimately the best podcast ever. I found it because of this talk about three years ago and I’m so hooked
I think the funniest element of this TED Talk is simply how passionate Roman is about flags...
Fantastic to see the flag of my hometown of Trondheim noted as a example of good design! (lower right of the three mentioned near the end). Makes me proud :)
Ja!
Was literally looking up what our city flag was to remind myself, just before he said that Trondheim has a great flag. Proud to be a Trondhjemmer!
One of my favourite places to visit :)
it was nice to see israel's as well
PurpleLizard 23 not really
Fun with Flags
Ha!
That's what I came to the comments to say!
themalloys am I the only one who'd watch ot
With the overly obnoxio... *BAZINGA*
SHELDON COOPER
"Poor Pocatello." will be my new motto for really specific disappointment.
Yeah but Pocatello adopted a new flag that is actually pretty good, so maybe say "Good job, Pocatello" instead :)
Very disappointed the flag for buffalo doesnt have a buffalo on it🤦♀️
Missed a chance to get Buffalo wild wings to sponsor their city for some moolah. Couldve put their logo on the flag.
Yeah, I question the initial premise, that teaching people about design improves their lives. Teach someone about typographical kerning, and it ruins everything. EVERYTHING.
because you always see poor spacing in text?
TBF are there not already a bunch of videos on YT about kerning?
-kerning- keming
xkcd reference?
You monster.
my dad was a chicago cop from 1966-1998. when he passed away in 1998, his casket was draped with the Chicago flag at his funeral--a gift from the city.
That’s great. I bet Chicago was very proud that it was the city in which he was a cop.
In fact, Japan flag can be drawn by a kid ACCIDENTALLY. What a great design
Fun fact: you can wake up on a flag of Japan if your body has a certain monthly cycle “Woke up on a flag of Japan” is a regular response I have to the question, “how are you” when asked as a salutation
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🔴⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
Congrats to Pocatello. Thanks to this TED Talk, they adopted a new flag, and it's badass!
This guy sounds like CGP Grey... who also likes flags... hmm...
Good to know I wasn't the only one who thought of that!
You should hear what Grey said about this vid.
@@conanichigawa Where did he say this?
WHAT DID HE SAY
@@conanichigawa WHAT DID HE SAY?!
A rare gift for a radio presenter to be more captivating to listen to while looking at them. Congratulations, Roman Mars, you are 100% inspirational
I thought: "huh, my city flag is actually pretty good" Then I realised that I was thinking of the Ohio flag, not the Columbus flag, then I was disappointed
I'm not even into flag design but the way this guy constructs his radio show is so calming and comforting
why tf would you put a trademark symbol on flag?!
Because another city might try to steal it! ;)
[Lives in Amsterdam] "... The most _badass_ city flag in the world." Amsterdams en trots! :')
Its just his opinion. It looks bad, there are others that look way better. Amsterdam flag has weird colors and bad design.
Robka It has good symbolism and is something that I can actually remember forever. It is unique and simplistic at the same time.
I see the Amsterdam flag more often in Boston than I do the Boston flag
@@notyourdad361 It's definitely not perfect, but it is simplistic and memorable. I've never seen the Amsterdam flag before but I can say for sure anytime I see that flag I will recognize it as the flag of Amsterdam.
@@notyourdad361 I go to festivals around the world with my friends. And instead of taking the Dutch flag. We take the flag of Amsterdam. I think it's a badass flag and it's all around Amsterdam. (And you would be surprised how many people ask you if you got drugs 😂)
This is a TED talk specifically tailored to my interests.....I like it.
I've been hearing Roman's wonderful voice for so long without seeing him. Strange how your imagination builds these faces for people you only hear on podcasts or radio. I'm off on a mission to put faces to all these lovely voices now
So it's people like him that changed the Google logo.
+Abey Babu I take it you don't like the new one?
Nope. Not a tad. Simon H.
Abey Babu Ah.
+Abey Babu New one is so much better tho. (If you disagree I'll fite you IRL)
+Abey Babu I understand why people would think it is less interesting but I also understand the change. Most google searches are probably performed on cell phones, tablets and notebooks nowadays instead of desktops with huge screens. most big companies are simplifying their logos so they can be easier to identify on smaller screens.
My dad found this talk years ago, proceeded to have the entire family sit down and watch it, and now it is one of the things that we insist new people we meet see at least once.
A flag is as important now as a coat of arms would’ve been for royalty in olden times. Recognizable design that can be easily replicated has always been a key to a good design. Maybe if people designing the flags thought of it more as a representation of their family and themselves they might make a better design that would be liked or at least approved by the populace. Lol idk anything about flags other than this video but that’s my two cents on the topic
This has become the same bland crap that corporations have been doing to company logs for years. there is no personality in them
I never gave that much attention to flags of the cities, well presented topic with lots of details and humor! Well done!
the Austrian flag was "designed" after a battle, when "Herzog Leopolds" white surcoat was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth beneath remained unstained, revealing the combination of red-white-red. Thats how you design in austria XD
German flag, Colors where taken from the uniform of the Lützow Free Corps: black fabric, red facings, golden buttons.
@@ulliulli that's just a theory, not a fact. there are several origin theories about the flags colors, none is confirmed. Some say the black comes from the color of gunpowder, gold for the flame of firing and red for the blood spilled. There is no official statement of why the colors were chosen. It's quite possible that nobody knows anymore.
@@notjustforme8857 that isn't even a theory. just a myth that arose much much later. Leopold babenberg dynasty used golden eagles on blue to represent themselves. Flags of duchys or Counties weren't really used at all. There was no Austrians in the middle ages.
French flag: red and blue are the colors of parisian peaple, and white is the color of french monarchy. Which mean the king (in the center) have to be controlled by the people (on his right and on his left) ^^ We don't have kings anymore, but the flag's still the same.
@@aymericd.6126 This is an explanation, but the reality might be more complicated. I read that we made our flag using the colours of the American flag, whom we helped with their revolution. I don't think the current flag existed in 1789. It was shown during the second revolution.
poor cpg grey, he just had a video about flag design nearly done, when this video was released. i hope one day he will release it!
yupp.....
+voice of reason I still want to see his.
+sowingtreesinstorms same here :)
I love you because you know CPG grey...
I love people who can actually type his name correctly.
This video represents many of the things I love. A great presentation; the care behind the text and the audio cues, flawless. A great presenter, with a great voice and who really cares about what he is saying. Great sense of humor, he is funny even when he is calling some city´s flag "that thing".
I've watched this multiple times now and it never disappoints.
This makes me all the more thankful that Denver has a great city flag!
+Cubik are you from colorado?
***** Yeah, what gave it away? Haha
Cubik your amazing youtube avatar
***** Thanks!
+Cubik I live in Portland, OR and I think its flag is great and one of the best in the country, but Denver, CO's flag is just wow. Phoenix, AZ's flag is also amazing.
He looks kind of intimidated by the big show and audience, but he killed it, with one of the most mundane subjects in the world this is one of the best TED talks and I've seen it many times. Props to the guy
15:02 that’s literally the Watford FC flag (English soccer)
I thought that too! But hey, if Watford FC's flag was good enough to stick in your head then they've made good design decisions. Without looking up the flag can you remember the colours and two desigs on Sheffield F.C.'s flag?
Aluas Crossed Blades (their nickname is the blades, they from the ‘steel city’) and the Yorkshire rose, because they’re from Yorkshire. Pretty perfect if you ask me. Oh and red, white and black. If you know football you’d probably get this one easily.
@@Bottyization You know, fair play, I'm a pretty passive viewer. Cool to hear that the background of the flags stick so well though!
Exactly what I thought
Yup! We love our flag here in Chicago. I have a winter hat and a shirt with the flag on it.
The way he says things reminds me of CGP Grey.
+Jonathan Rouse i think he might actually be cgp grey!!! when he said "noooobody cares" omg word for word same voice as cgp. the microphone is probably just making him sound different
+Jonathan Rouse His intonation is nearly perfect in some points. 03:09 to 03:11 and 03:17 to 03:20 are very similar. But the most eerily perfect intonation is at 04:16 to 04:21. That was just spot on. This guy is not CGP, but his intonation is why you'd probably think he is.
+Jonathan Rouse Reminds me of "This American Life" with Ira Glass. Very NPR-sounding.
+Jonathan Rouse. So glad that I'm not the only one thinking that.
+Jonathan Rouse No it isn't him, there have actually been leaked photos of Grey as people have shared images and accidentally tagged him in, to then take it down, but hey its the internet; once its up it never goes away.
I saw the Pocatello flag and was like "No... why Idaho... why must you do this?" But then I looked it up and they have a new flag, that looks hecka cool. Good Job Idaho.
Legit this vid is why it changed
@@Malevolent_Q it seriously is, you can see it on their website. www.pocatello.us/732/Pocatello-Flag they even embeded a TEDx talk about changing it because of this video.
New flag is definitely far superior.
Jesus, it looks really good, thanks for the info.
@@Xerlash The new design is definitely way better, but it's also, like, totally Captain Marvel. And can we talk about how someone still insisted on shoehorning an entire actual landscape drawing into their already poorly-letterspaced and unreadable wordmark/logo? Yikes.
Shout out to cgp grey for making a flag video 8 years after saying he wouldn't make one specifically because this video came out while he was in the process of his own similar video!
How is this so amazingly funny, engaging, unique, and informative all at the same time??????
When he started talking about city flags, I thought for sure he was going to call out Provo, Utah, with its WordArt-looking design. Then he showed some of his examples and I realized that Provo doesn't even crack the top 10 bad designs. Wow.
I live in southern California and am from St. Louis city. My employer hung flags of the US and all the customers/business partners from the shop ceiling. I suggested the St. Louis flag because it is my hometown and it is really cool. He wasn't impressed till our lead saw it and agreed with me. It now hangs alongside flags from the US, China, Austraila, and the US Marine Corp flag representing a coworker who served in it and many more. I was so proud to be the person who installed the flag from my home. It has become the subject of question and curiosity from visitors and investors who are unfamiliar with it. Every one who sees it has stated what a terrific flag it is. AND it meets all of the flag design criteria in the video.
Yes, the St. Louis flag is awesom!
I agree. I live in the Metro-East (Belleville, to be specific) and while my town's flag isn't as cool as the St. Louis flag, I feel better about it after having seem some of the unfortunate examples in this video.
porcelaintree Hey, I live in Belleville too, except it's a different one, because I'm in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. :D
I'm a St. Louisan who absolutely loves the flag, but it's not quite perfect. A lack of detailed specification leads to significant differences between produced versions. Wavy lines will be different widths or have varying amounts of waves, and the fleur-de-lis varies greatly as well. I'd like to see an effort into hammering out the details so we get a more uniform look. Still cool we're being represented out there - thank you!
I've always been complaining about this in my head for years. Finally someone puts it out.
This was an excellent video. Could listen to flag talk for hours.