Max Pretorius Archives - the bird on fire

Vexillology: The Art of Flag Design

March 5, 2026 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Feature Post

By 8th-Grade Blogger Max Pretorius

Whether it be a flag of a state, nation, town, or a school, flags are used everywhere. Having a flag lets your community be represented in a recognizable banner. Though making a flag seems simple, it is very complicated, and making a good flag can take a very long time. To help with this, vexillologists and designers have created certain guidelines for making flags. The main guidelines were made in a collaboration between the North American Vexillological Association and the UK’s Flag Institute and can be found in “The Commissioner’s Report on the Guiding Principles of Flag Design” (https://www.flaginstitute.org/pdfs/Flag_Design_Commission_Report.pdf). These guidelines can help you make an amazing flag of your own!

Rule 1: Keep It Simple

One of the most important things about flag design is simplicity. Your flag should be easy enough for a child to draw. You have to remember that flags are seen from a distance, so they must be simple. The line between flags that are too complex and not too complex would be something like the United States’ flag. Simplicity is important in flags because, again, you are likely looking at them from a distance. Complexity could muddy up what you’re seeing. You should not have seals on a flag, as they are far too complex and minute to be seen.

The new Minnesota flag is a simple, great flag, easily drawn by any child (Graphic Source: https://www.sos.mn.gov/media/4k3o50q2/2023-state-emblem-redesign-commission-report.pdf ).

The old Minnesota flag is a horrible, mess of a flag, with an overcomplicated design (Graphic Source:https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Minnesota ).

Rule 2: No Text

One of the most important, yet commonly broken rules, is that there should be no text on a flag. A flag is not an essay. A flag is NOT a note card. A flag is a design, a design that lets you convey messages and ideas through it. Text completely ruins the point of having a flag and is far too complicated to be seen from a distance.

Iowa’s flag is a mess, with it using a lot of over-complicated text (Graphic Source: https://www.customflagcompany.com/product/iowa-state-flag/?srsltid=AfmBOooZKlP9P-4bX0NezujB38CD8TNC44ewWfbczxC3tRhbF1u9pDe8).

Ohio’s flag is a great flag, with it hiding the O into design (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Ohio ).

Rule 3: Use Symbolism

Flags should have meaning. You don’t just want to make a flag with a couple colors you like; flags should represent something symbolic about its people. Symbolism on a flag should represent the entirety of the community it represents, as opposed to specific parts of it. Symbolism could be anything from a symbol, to a shape, to a color.

The flag of the United Kingdom has great symbolism. The Union Jack uses its design to reflect England, Scotland, and Ireland within the crosses (Graphic Source: https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/ ).

The French flag is a tri color. This means it has symbolism through the colors of the flag. Though it’s better to have designs to incorporate symbolism, this still works (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-France).

Rule 4: Be Careful with Colors

This is similar to the idea of not being too complex; flags need to not have too many colors. Too many colors can make flags complicated and expensive. When you use colors, you should try to contrast dark and light colors, so that if you were to create a grayscale image, they would still contrast.

The flag of the United States has three simple colors: red, white, and blue. These simple colors help make it a great flag (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-the-United-States-of-America ).

The flag of Dominica has a whopping seven colors. This makes the flag a lot worse, as it is an over-complicated mess, with each extra color having less and less symbolism (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Dominica).

Rule 5: Be Distinct

When designing your flag, being distinct is very important. If you have a flag that’s similar to other flags, it can hinder your flag’s meaning and symbolism. And, people might not recognize it. However, you can make your flag similar to another flag if it is relevant to the symbolism of your flag. For example, Liberia, a country in Africa, has a flag very similar to the flag of the United States. This choice was intentional as the country was founded by former slaves from the United States.

The flag of Liberia is intentionally similar to the flag of the United States due to Liberia’s history (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-the-United-States-of-America, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Liberia ).

The flag of Chad (above) is very similar to Romania (below), although they have completely different symbolism. This is an extreme example of why it’s important for your flag to be distinct (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Chad, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Romania ).

Rule 6: Flags Go on Flag Poles

When you make a flag, you need to recognize that it will be flown on a pole. This means that it needs to be distinct as said before, but it also needs to be distinct when there isn’t any wind. Try to avoid similar flags, especially on the right edges of the flag. A great example of a flag that recognizes this is that of Tennessee. Tennessee’s flag had a blue stripe on the right that helps it be distinct when flown on a pole, especially when the wind stops.

Uruguay and Greece have very similar flags, so that, when seen on a flag pole, their canton (the top left corner of the flag) is very hard to see. Thus, from a flagpole, they are easily confused (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Uruguay, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Greece ).

Tennessee’s flag is a great flag when on a pole due to its distinct blue stripe, which helps you spot it even when wind has gone down (Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Tennessee ).

The Exceptions

Just because these guidelines exist, doesn’t mean that you have to follow all of them. Sometimes, not listening to the guidelines can make your flag better. Usually, when you make a flag that doesn’t follow the guidelines, it’s to enhance a different part of the flag. Some flags might be very complicated but make themselves distinct to enhance their symbolism.

(Graphic Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-California, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-South-Africa, https://preservationmaryland.org/history-maryland-flag/, https://flagpedia.net/bhutan, https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Colorado )

Overall, flags are great ways to represent a community and a people, and I hope you feel excited to learn more about the amazing world of Vexillology.

A Year Since The LA Fires

February 4, 2026 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

Part of The Bird on Fire’s What’s in the News

By Blogger Max Pretorius

Over a year ago, on the seventh of January, 2025, Southern California was shocked as Los Angeles was consumed by fire. By the time the dust settled on the 30th of January, according to The LA Times, an estimated 31 people died with an estimated damage cost of $250 billion, and, according to NBC News, 13,000 homes were destroyed.

A year later, we still see the effects of the fire. Despite a year having passed, according to NBC news, “fewer than a dozen homes have been rebuilt in Los Angeles County since Jan. 7, 2025.” Furthermore, NPR’s Capradio states that “insurance companies have paid $22.4 billion of the expected $40 billion in total claims from the L.A. fires.” We hope that in the future, LA can finally be rebuilt and that people can return to their homes.

Photo Credit: Britannica, “Los Angeles wildfires of 2025”

First we Bopl, Then we Battle

January 23, 2026 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

By 8th-Grade Blogger Max Pretorius

Bopl Battle is a game published by Zapray games. The game was first published on November 23, 2023, for Windows and Steam Deck. And, despite the simplicity of its nature, it is, in my opinion, the greatest game of all time, and everyone reading this post should give Bopl Battle a try!

Bopl Battle is a game that prides itself on simplicity. You, and 1-3 other people, go into a round–playing as little slime creatures with three abilities on a map that consists of oval-shaped platforms. You battle it out with those abilities. Despite being simple, the game is fun and addictive.

Bopls start a game with three abilities. The player chooses the abilities. Here I chose “grenade,” “blink gun,” and “air dash.” (Screenshot by Max)

The abilities in Bopl Battle are different tools/actions that the Bopls can use with “cooldowns” to help them be the last one standing. The abilities in Bopl Battle are also very intuitive, but they work because of the complexity added when you combine them with other abilities or the map itself. For example, you could just throw a grenade using the grenade ability, or you could combine it with “duplicate” to send four–instead of one–grenades flying towards your opponents. Or, you could just use a missile to explode your opponents, but you could also combine a missile ability with smoke in order to have larger explosions. Ability combos are what make Bopl Battle so re-playable.

To employ a grenade ability, you simply throw it. (Screenshot by Max)

But, this isn’t just my opinion; I asked some of my friends who play Bopl Battle what their favorite thing about this game was, and these were their responses:

Hunter Fossey: “Killing you.”

Mason Mello: Beating you (paraphrased).

Jaxon Pacilio: “That I can play multiplayer.”

Mason Conway: “I like how the devs abandoned the game because the abandonment makes it niche.”

These replies, though varied, show off the most popular part of the game, being the multiplayer between friends. When my friends and I play Bopl Battle, we are very competitive and have a lot of fun beating each other–so much to the point where we make rankings on how good we all are at the game. (I’m last.) Furthermore, if you want to play with your friends and family on the same device, you can! Bopl Battle supports a shared screen, meaning you can play with multiple people by connecting multiple controllers to a device.

Overall, Bopl Battle is a fun yet competitive game that you can play with your friends and family. So give it a shot!

Mason Mello, Hunter Fossey, and Max played Bopl Battle two weeks ago. Max compiled clips of the game.