Gassu's Fun With Flags #1

Europe is a continent flooded with very simplistic flags. While not they're terrible, they're not outstanding either. Great Britain, however, is different. It's a catchy and well-known flag. Simple but unique - and most importantly not boring. It follows heraldic rules and is very aesthetic for the eye. Would be perfect if the red diagonals were aligned centrist. Big plus points for its representation of Scotland and (Northern) Ireland. Also asserts English dominance in a completely fine manner. Would get an even better rating if Wales was visible on the flag.

As you'll notice in the ratings, it's not a terrible flag. I very much like the waving pattern, this very uniquely represents Belarusian culture. But that's really the only positive aspect of the flag. I dislike the red-and-dark-green pattern on the right. The proportions seem off and the dark green lets the flag appear in a very somber and dirty manner. Also, red should not have the right to border green directly.

The race for the top country flag was a very close one between Canada, Panama, and Jamaica. In the end, I decided for Jamaica because of its unique color pattern. It's the only country to not feature either white, red, or blue in its flag. The colors match each other very pleasantly. Dark yellow fits perfectly for this flag. Also, I'm always having a weakness for crosses.

The ABC islands all have top tier flags, but Bonaire has hands down the best. The yellow-white-dark blue pattern is not very common, but an amazing sight - I love it! Again, the unproportional diagonal stripe looks magnificent, and the little symbol fulfils the flag.

First of all, I don't like the blue-red pattern; it's not very aesthetic for a flag. Secondly, the red stripes seem too thin to my eye. Lastly, I'm not a fan of seals in flags, they're too detailed. Also the blue is way too dark.

I don't even know where to begin with this flag. I dislike flags with the Union Jack in their canton. In fact, the only Union Jack flag which looks good is the UK's. Secondly, what is this coat of arms supposed to represent? Three randomly chosen, indecipherable objects not connected to each other? Sorry Turks and Caicos, you're definitely a candidate for the worst flag ever.

As opposed to Belarus, Suriname knows that red and green does not go well together. By adding little white stripes, they made the flag very awesome! There is nothing to complain about the proportions. Simple but efficient.

Colombia on the other hand, is too simplistic. The yellow-blue-red patterns is not unique, especially not in this region of the world. But the reason why I gave Colombia the lowest marks in all of South America - although still high compared to other flags - is the proportion. Yes, the 2-1-1 proportion is unique, but I'm personally not a fan of it; I'd prefer a 1-1-1. But don't let that fool you, it's still a cool flag, as represented in the rating.

Oh Africa, you have such wonderful and colourful flags. The decision to pick my favourite African was not easy, and in the end I had to decide between the unique Seychellois flag and the Namibian one. In the end, I chose Namibia, by a hair's breadth. The Namibian flag follows heraldic rules and does not let red border blue or green, but rather keeps space using white. You might start to see a pattern in my judgement here. They did everything right with their color arrangement. As explained before, I have a foible for diagonal flags. The yellow sun in the dark blue - magnificent!

I'm gonna state it once again: green should NOT border red, under ANY circumstances! There's too much green in this flag, and it is very right-side-biased. Not my type.

What a badass flag! The only flag to feature a dragon! (Sorry, Wales doesn't count). The first thing where my orange bias comes to light. Yellow and orange is a very pleasing combo, and the detailed white dragon completes the flag perfectly!

Okay, so first of all this looks like a copy of the American flag (I know it isn't), but has weird proportions. The canton takes up too much space. But probably the worst thing about this thing is the fact that the lowest stripe is white, which makes the flag appear even more stretched, especially without a black frame. Note: I still consider the flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to be the official one. The Taliban flag would receive an even lower rating.

Again a cool flag which features an exotic animal. Black and red goes very well together, and the yellow bird tops it. The Southern Cross nicely represents the country's location. In all, it's an amazing symbolism.

Wow! What a flag! I love the combo of dark yellow, red, and white. I'm most impressed by the black tiki head. I love Polynesian culture, and this flag probably best represents Polynesia. Simple, but unique - definitely a top flag in my books.

You know the story by now. Red and blue does not go well together. This heraldic rule is being broken regularly. The flag is actually quite boring, a red flag with a blue canton. If it wasn't for the (amazing) Southern Cross, Samoa would've been given a way lower rating.

What is that flag even supposed to represent? Putting the colonizing nation in your canton is not cool - independent of the colonizer. Also the flag is too red-ish and the symbol is meaningless to me. A white x, what is that supposed to mean? Wallis and Futuna, please change your flag. The only upside is the white line that separates the French flag from the rest. Edit: If you look at their Wikipedia site, you'll notice that every single flag W&F ever had was plain boring.