来源：《经济学人》
原文见刊日期：2023年7月1日
Too many flags deceive: they are cluttered with imagery, a mess of colours and all too easily forgettable. Yet flags matter. A fine flag can be something that citizens feel proud to pledge allegiance to, as well as an excellent marketing tool. Canada’s red maple leaf, for example, has advertised the country on countless backpacks across the world.
太多的旗帜具有误导性：它们充斥着图像，色彩混乱，很容易被遗忘。然而旗帜很重要。一面精美的旗帜可以是公民自豪地宣誓效忠的东西，也是一种优秀的营销工具。例如，加拿大的红枫叶在世界各地无数的背包上为这个国家做了广告。
A bad banner has an obvious solution: change it. That is what several American states and cities have been doing, or at least contemplating. In March, Utah approved a new standard with a beehive to replace its fussier old flag. Maine may ask voters to decide in November whether it should switch from its current, over-intricate design to a different one with a plain pine tree and a blue star.
一个糟糕的旗帜有一个明显的解决方案：改变它。这是美国几个州和城市一直在做的，或者至少在考虑的。今年3月，犹他州通过了一项带有蜂巢图案的新标准，以取代其过于繁琐的旧州旗。缅因州可能会要求选民在11月决定是否应该将目前过于复杂的设计转换为一个不同的设计，上面有一棵普通的松树和一颗蓝星。
Many people in Minnesota may not even realise they have a state flag—which is lucky. Its imagery includes three dates from the 1800s, a French motto and a Native American riding away in the background while, in the foreground, a farmer tills the land. A new design is due to replace it next May.
明尼苏达州的许多人甚至可能没有意识到他们有一面州旗——这是幸运的。它的图像包括19世纪的三个日期、一句法国格言和一个骑着马的印第安人，而前景是一个农民在耕地。新设计将于明年5月取代旧设计。
Fortunately, the world has centuries of experience that can help guide better flag design. This has led to a few well-established rules. First, keep it simple. A good test is whether a child can draw it from memory. Japan’s red circle in a white rectangle passes the test.
幸运的是，世界上有几个世纪的经验可以帮助指导更好的国旗设计。这就产生了一些公认的规则。首先，保持简单。一个很好的测试是看孩子是否能从记忆中画出来。日本的白色矩形中的红色圆圈通过了测试。
Second, use meaningful symbolism: think Israel’s Star of David, the Soviet hammer-and-sickle or America’s 50 stars, representing all its states, and 13 stripes, evoking the original colonies. Third, use just a few basic colours. The fact that banners are often viewed from the back helps explain a fourth sensible rule: avoid lettering.
其次，使用有意义的象征：想想以色列的大卫之星、苏联的锤子和镰刀，或者美国的50颗星，代表其所有的州，以及13条条纹，让人想起最初的殖民地。第三，只使用一些基本颜色。旗帜通常是从背后看的，这一事实有助于解释第四条合理的规则：不要添加文字。
Last but certainly not least: be distinctive. You will then avoid the situation of Indonesia and Monaco, whose flags look the same, as do Romania’s and Chad’s. Nepal’s jagged double pennon, by contrast, is delightfully unique—the only national flag with an irregular shape. Similarly, Jamaica’s is the only one without red, white or blue. Switzerland and the Vatican stand out as the only countries with flags that are square.
最后但尤其重要的是：与众不同。这样你就可以避免印度尼西亚和摩纳哥的情况，它们的国旗看起来一样，罗马尼亚和乍得的国旗也一样。相比之下，尼泊尔参差不齐的双角旗却别具一格——它是唯一一面形状不规则的国旗。同样，牙买加是唯一一个国旗没有红、白、蓝的国家。瑞士和梵蒂冈是仅有的两个国旗是方形的国家。
Sometimes proposals for new flags fail. Badges of identity arouse strong feelings. New Zealanders rejected a switch in a referendum in 2016. Traditionalists can feel attached to old badges. But from Maine to Milwaukee, plenty of places have dreadful, old-fashioned banners that are ripe for change. In 2004 Pocatello, Idaho, was reckoned in a survey to have the worst city flag in America. It was changed in 2017, and in a survey last year the new flag ranked 11th in the country.
有时新旗帜的提议会失败。身份象征唤起强烈的感情。新西兰人在2016年的公投中拒绝了这一转变。传统主义者可能会对旧象征产生依恋。但从缅因州到密尔沃基，许多地方都有令人讨厌的、过时的旗帜，这些旗帜已经到了需要改变的时候了。2004年，爱达荷州波卡特洛市的旗帜在一项调查中被评为美国最糟糕的城市旗。它在2017年进行了更改，在去年的一项调查中，新市旗在全美排名第11位。