Vexillology Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The flag of the State of Wisconsin is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms. Originally designed in 1863 when regiments from Wisconsin wanted a flag for battlefield use, it wasn't until 1913 that state statutes specified the design of the state flag.

In an attempt to distinguish it from the many other blue U.S. state flags, Wisconsin's flag was modified in 1979 to add "Wisconsin" and "1848", the year Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. (Including words on flags is generally considered bad vexillogical form because words are hard to read on a flag that is flapping in the wind, is limp, or when the viewer is oriented towards the flag such that the words appear backwards. The solution to backwards text, a double sided flag, more than doubles production costs.)

In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) ranked Wisconsin's flag among the bottom ten flags in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territory flags, placing it 65th out of the 72. The NAVA stated that about half of U.S. states used blue fields making them difficult to distinguish and the survey ranked flags with words and complex seals the lowest. The NAVA survey "favored strong, simple, distinctive flags" and ranked "seal-on-a-bedsheet" type flags the lowest.

Proposals for a New Flag of Wisconsin[]

Shown below are designs that have been proposed for a new flag of Wisconsin.


Advertisement