A New Flag for San Francisco

Client Self
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.

The current and new flag designs.

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