Roman Mars: Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed
罗曼 马尔斯: 为什么你从未注意的城市旗帜设计的如此糟糕
With his show 99% Invisible, Roman Mars discovered new ways to jolt public radio out of its old paradigms, while at the same time spinning riveting tales of design. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
with the design that they care about
to all forms of design.
with design intent in mind,
the definition of design:
on your flag, Canada.
"I don't care about flags,"
“我一点也不关心旗帜,”
about flags, and trust me,
that works on our emotions.
as flags this year,
and sure enough,
someone left a comment that said,
and shove it up your ass." (Laughter)
about flags, you know?
the design of flags,
what makes a bad flag,
什么是坏旗子,
the design of almost anything.
of my radio show,
to reconstruct it here on stage,
principles of flag design.
American Vexillological Association.
is the study of flags.
that makes it sound weird.
让它听上去很奇怪。
keep it simple.
that a child can draw it from memory.
had their own flags.
do have flags.
That's Ted Kaye, by the way.
对了,那个是Ted Kaye。
RM: He's a flag expert.
RM:他是一个旗帜专家。
a scholarly journal on flag studies,
有关旗帜研究的学术的周刊,
with the Portland Flag Association
Vexillological Association.
the book on flag design.
It's about 16 pages.
"Good Flag, Bad Flag:
“好旗子,坏旗子:
I discovered in Chicago
down the middle.
use meaningful symbolism.
原则二:运用有意义的象征。
the water, the river and the lake.
colors or pattern
significant events in Chicago's history.
on the future site of Chicago,
which everyone remembers
use two to three basic colors.
is to use two to three colors
就是使用两到三种
green, yellow and black.
has complete buy-in
at least one store on every block
some sort of Chicago flag paraphernalia.
印有芝加哥市旗的日常用品。
from Chicago magazine.
I went to get a haircut,
that the barber kept all his tools in,
a Chicago flag on the wall behind me.
有一面芝加哥市旗。
a Chicago flag badge on his backpack.
背包上有一个芝加哥市旗的徽章。
show up in all kinds of places.
of Chicago pride.
or a firefighter dies in Chicago,
United States on his casket.
into the civic imagery of Chicago.
love Chicago and therefore love the flag.
而爱芝加哥市旗。
between great symbolism and civic pride.
正反馈循环。
to San Francisco in 2008,
that a child can draw it from memory.
of the San Francisco flag is a phoenix
rising from the ashes
在1850年代灾难性的大火后
to both be too crude
at the same time,
又包含太多细节
puts that element in the plus column.
这是加分项。
the background is mostly white,
背景基本上是白色的,
gold border around it.
design element.
(Laughter) --
(笑声) --
no lettering or seals.
there's a motto on a ribbon
"Gold in peace, iron in war,"
“和平繁荣城,战时钢铁都”
象征的东西的名字
doesn't say "USA" across the front.
they tend to behave.
and Turkey and Israel
向这些国旗设计致敬。
of really great country flags,
because the stakes are high.
是因为他们的风险比较高。
that good design
sometimes it is, actually,
有的时候确实是这样,
flag design principles.
北美旗帜学会的设计原则。
basic principles of flag design.
TK: Keep it simple.
TK:化繁为简。
TK: Use meaningful symbolism.
TK:运用有深意的象征。
TK: Use two to three basic colors.
TK:使用两到三种基本色。
TK: No lettering or seals.
TK:无涂鸦和官方标志。
writing of any kind.
read that at a distance.
TK: And be distinctive.
TK:要独特。
to stick to these principles.
most country flags are okay.
大部分国旗都不错。
to any designer of almost anything,
simplicity, deep meaning,
简洁,有深意,
thoughtful about colors,
writing you can't read --
不要在上面写你看不到的字 --
are rarely invoked
seems to be that fourth one.
with tiny writing on them.
to be on pieces of paper
flapping in the breeze.
在空中飘着。
what city they go to,
of the municipal seal
a lesson for how to do things right.
coat of arms of Amsterdam.
the whole coat of arms
"Amsterdam" below it,
of the escutcheon, the shield,
badass city flag in the world.
are found throughout Amsterdam,
在阿姆斯特丹随处可见,
are particularly painful
in vexillological history.
by the name of Fred Steffan
representing industry,
from Milwaukee, wants to change it.
平面设计师希望修改这面旗子。
the Milwaukee flag over the top,
battle flag of the Milwaukee regiment.
密尔沃基兵团的战旗。
that much more ridiculous,
within the Milwaukee flag.
of this flag, though,
two major redesign contests.
大型市旗重新设计比赛。
entries were received.
of the Milwaukee Arts Board
were worthy of flying over the city.
to change that thing! (Laughter)
to make you think
to try one more time
to reveal his design yet.
proposing one of these things
which also has a great flag,
inch rectangle on a piece of paper.
within that tiny rectangle.
and simple the design can be
这个设计可以做得多么简洁而使人信服。
that in every bad flag
(Laughter)
(笑声)
San Francisco's flag a good flag
that's got to go.
必须得去掉。
or stylize the phoenix.
was designed by Frank Chimero
if we was completely unfettered
我不知道他会怎么修改
flags of the world more beautiful,
upon themselves
and look into the feasibility
并且喜欢,
a design rule or two.
也或许它存在,
to try to change that.
considers design itself,
is becoming more design-aware.
is at an all-time high.
as an indicator of how a city
可以看出
than worry about a city flag,"
for people to rally under
what a good city flag can do
and civic pride
of the community.
人们共同所有的设计语言。
and graphical imagery
bad flags we don't use,
让给了运动队
and tourism boards.
and break our hearts.
don't really care about sports.
can just be cheesy.
a city to its people
一张名片。
can be as inspiring as Hong Kong
像香港旗、
about Pocatello, Idaho,
Vexillological Association
symbol on it, people. (Laughter)
and Keegan DeWitt (@keegandewitt)"]
Keegan DeWitt(@keegandewitt)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Roman Mars - Digital storytellerWith his show 99% Invisible, Roman Mars discovered new ways to jolt public radio out of its old paradigms, while at the same time spinning riveting tales of design.
Why you should listen
From its humble beginnings in his home, Roman Mars’ podcast and radio show 99% Invisible accumulated a massive following to become a broadcast and internet phenomenon. Its premise -- 10- to 20-minute episodes focused on a single compelling story -- subverts public radio’s reliance on long, strictly formatted shows, and has garnered national praise.
Over a series of three runaway crowdsourced fundraising campaigns, 99% Invisible generated over $1.2 million, making Mars the most successful crowdfunded journalist in Kickstarter history.
Roman Mars | Speaker | TED.com