A New Flag for San Francisco
Client Self
Deliverable Flag
Year 2019
Deliverable Flag
Year 2019
A new design for the flag of San Francisco, inspired by a "99 Percent Invisible" podcast about city flags.
San Francisco is a small city, roughly 7x7 miles. It has been called "49 square miles surrounded by reality." So its flag should also be a square on a 7x7 grid.
For a city of free-thinkers, a feature of this flag is that it can't be hung wrong: upside-down, sideways, or backwards, it's correct in all orientations. Nobody can judge how you want to fly your flag!
Every part of the design has symbolic meaning:
- Square shape: The shape of the city, approximately 7x7 miles.
- Symmetry: Equality of diverse perspectives.
- Compass: People come to the city from all over the world, following their own moral compass, with their own orientation. It also celebrates San Francisco's nautical history.
- White: The color of peace and pacifism.
- Blue: The color of liberalism and freedom, and of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.
- Yellow border: The Gold Rush, and historic continuity with the current flag. San Francisco is proud of its history.