Blue with Fern

This is a version of 'Fresh Green with Fern' except the yellow-green background is replaced with a bluish background.

This colour combination is still fairly unique because not many flags use black except as an outline (possibly because of European superstitions). However the blue makes it less unique than its green counterpart. The blue used in this design is different to the darker blue of the current flag which I've traditionally associated with colonial northern Europe (Britain, France, Netherlands).

Like its green counterpart I don't think this flag shrinks very well and looks muddled in a small thumbnail size (and therefore not great from a distance either). Sort of looks like a jandal almost..

Jason Paul Troup Design

One of the few flag designs that includes yellow. The designer claims it is in fact gold, which represents New Zealand's cultural wealth. He also includes a blue sky, white cloud and koru, and green earth.

To me the flag is uninspiring. I can't see myself waving this at a sports stadium. I suppose I think it just isn't expressive enough for some reason.

Feel free to visit the designer's page.

tmexpert @ yahoo Design

This design is the only one I've seen so far that includes a tukutuku (zig-zag pattern). This tukutuku is reminiscent of the Union Jack. The colours and the southern cross link back to the current flag.

I personally think it's a bit boring, especially in a small size. Also I think it can get a bit muddled if the flag is only partially visible such as on a flagpole on a windless day.

Feel free to visit the designer's page.

Kiwi on Blue and Black

The Kiwi is quite iconic, so this flag includes a kiwi shape that many New Zealanders have become familiar with.

The colour combination is unique enough to be recognisable on a flagstaff even with no wind, and the shapes are defined enough to be recognisable when shrunk to thumbnail size.

Michael Smythe Design I

Michael Smythe has other colour variants of this - black and white, and green and blue. I think this design will work well as a flag. I can imagine it being almost hypnotic in the wind. It's certainly identifiable in small scale, at least in this colour scheme of red and black.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Cameron Sanders Design II

Helen Clark suggested that if there is a need to change the flag something along these lines will be easy and provide continuity from our current one. I personally am not terribly keen on yet another red white and blue flag in this world.

Although this design looks good in a large size, I feel it suffers in a small thumbnail size. I'm not aware of any plain blue (at the hoist end) flags in the world so I don't expect there will be much confusion if the flag is furled on a windless day.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Turi Park Design

This is a clever bit of art, but as a flag I think it fails. I think it has the potential to look ugly when flown without a stiff breeze, and when shrunk to thumbnail size or when viewed from afar, it looks quite muddy.

I don't believe this flag will be easy to pick out on the flags outside the UN on a windless day.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Jeffy James Design III

This is a clean simple design, but ultimately uninspiring. It makes use of Maori-esque imagery to form a wave and a koru.

I don't believe this flag will be easy to pick out on the flags outside the UN or a windless day.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Jeffy James Design II

I am keen on maori imagery used on designs, but this is overwhelmingly traditional maori looking and thus to me is an unsuitable candidate for a New Zealand flag.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Jeffy James Design I

Interesting take on the koru which seems to resemble the standard silver fern orientation. I personally don't find this flag very inspiring.

The flag works well in smaller sizes, but I'm afraid that on a windless day it might look a bit like a jolly roger.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Peter Haythornthwaite Design I

It has fresh colours and is culturally neutral. The 'O' is supposed to symbolise unity. Personally I don't see it.

Although the design works in a small size it doesn't feel very flag-ish. It doesn't feel empowering and I don't see myself waving this at the sports stadium.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Dick Frizzell Design I

I like this design. The abstract interpretation of the silver fern works quite well. It almost looks like you are lying on the ground looking up at the southern cross from beneath a silver fern. That's quite New Zealand.

Silver fern designs tend to get a bit fuzzy when shrunk to a small size, but this design manages to overcome that to a good extent. I'm not sure how identifiable it will be on a windless day though.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Friedrich Hundertwasser Design

This flag has an odd aspect ratio. The first time I saw it I didn't much care for it, but it's one of those flags that can grow on me I think. It looks fresh and will stand out even on a windless day outside the UN. It also works well in a small size.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Kyle Lockwood Design

This flag doesn't aesthetically appeal to me. The colours are too drab in my my opinion. Red and blue don't usually go well so close together. Perhaps a thicker fern to break apart the two colours might work.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Mike Lloyd Design

I think the green in this design is too African. It looks particularly African in the small thumbnail size.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more information, discussion or designs
Website
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Cameron Sanders Design I

To me this stylised silver fern looks like a rather flimsy paper dart.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

James Dignan Design

I'm not very excited about the blue in this design (or in the current flag). The silver fern in this design looks like a bloody knife of some sort.

Feel free to visit any of the following sites for more discussion or designs
www.nzflag.com
Facebook group
Bebo group

Union Fern

One half of the white part of the Union Jack is extended to resemble a silver fern.

I think it looks ugly in thumbnail size, and I doubt it will be easily recognised from a distance. But it should be recognisable enough when furled.

Current Flag

The British gave us an ensign with a Union Jack in the canton (as they gave to every other colony), which eventually we defaced with a southern cross (minus the fifth star because the four stars correspond to the four compass points). This is our fourth flag (What can I say, we have a proud tradition of changing our flag :-p ).

You can read more about the flag here.

When shrunk to thumbnail size it's difficult to identify the flag as belonging to New Zealand. When furled it might be possible to misidentify it as well.





It's not from our flag that we gather that these two are from New Zealand.

North & South Islands

Extremely simple design which is culturally neutral. No Maori or British imagery. The North and South Islands surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The Southern Cross establishes location. The green and white for freshness (in environment and thinking) and peace.

This flag is recognisable even in minute thumbnail size. The colours are unique enough to be recognisable even when furled.

Fresh Green with Fern

Some New Zealanders don't like Maori imagery. Since it's impossible to represent all the ethnic groups of NZ in a flag, this flag doesn't have any red or blue (traditionally associated with Europe) nor any Koru or other Maori-esque imagery. It does however use the black and white colours which many New Zealanders have adopted for themselves. The green symbolises fresh-ness in environment and thinking. The silver fern used in this flag is more vertical than that used in sporting team logos and it is old fashioned so that it looks more like a fern than a feather. The Union Jack is also represented in this flag in white in recognition of the ties with Britain that NZ continues to have.

In minute thumbnail size it seems to look like a smear of some sort (a squashed insect?). But the colours are unique enough to be recognizable even when the flag is furled.

Cool Blue

This design uses the New Zealand colours of Black and White over a sea of blue which bears a semblance of the Union Jack. Two red Koru symbolising growth emerges into the white. The southern cross is included on the black background.

I think this design works very well in a small size. The distinctive colours are spread across the flag and so should be recognisable when furled.





Blue symbolising the Pacific Ocean. Red symbolising Maori and wartime sacrifice. White Symbolising peace and the long white cloud. Black being New Zealand's adopted national colour.

NZ Jack I

I like complicated flags, so I made this extremely complicated design.

It pays homage to New Zealand's British and Maori heritage and the English letters 'NZ' make up most of the flag. Lines from the Maori and English national anthems are included which represent the traditional aspirations of most New Zealanders.

When shrunk to thumbnail size or when viewed from afar the flag looks like a white on black Union Jack which is unique. Upon closer inspection more interesting details are discovered which give the observer a feel for who New Zealanders are. When furled the black and white colours (which are present all over the flag) are unique and can be itentified.





I should point out that I don't see 'Maori' imagery as being exclusively a Maori thing. Aspects of Maori culture and language separate us from The other 'western' countries, and as a New Zealander I like to celebrate that difference. This design isn't meant to pander to Maori - it's meant to pander to New Zealand.