The 25 Worst State Flags

Arizona, California, and New Mexico please stand up! Your state flags are tremendous. So are those of 22 other American states. Sadly, the other half fly curious design choices that either fail to represent cultural or environmental glory, or are simply affronts to good taste.

Flag Day (June 14) commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States. Established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, this holiday gives us all reason to applaud Betsy Ross for making the first of what has become a true icon. Sadly, the individual parts of the union don't always match the glory of the whole. And with that, we're using this day to point out the nations most ill-conceived flags.

The 25 Worst State Flags

Why are you yellow, New Jersey?

We're glad that the flag was modified in 1979 to include "Wisconsin," because that's the only part of it we understand.

The Delaware flag needs real help. We're glad they decided to ratify the constitution on December 7,1787, but it doesn't make up for such haphazard design.

The Missouri flag's colors are supposed to rep valor, purity, vigilance, and justice. We think they're red, white, and blue.

No more birds with banners in their mouths! Plus, this bird looks like an angry bird.

Nebraska was one of the last states to adopt an official flag, and time clearly wasn't used wisely.

It has to say Kansas on it because otherwise you wouldn't know what the fuck it is.

Trying to be different, are you, Maryland? #fail. This is the only state flag based on English Heraldry. Or, as we view it, the most Un-American.

So, a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood is not the move.

This seal is supposed to show two friends embracing, but did someone just learn how to draw? Apparently it was designed by an art teacher, who we think should stick to teaching.

This version of Georgia's flag is sad, so sad that they got rid of it in 2001.

There's hardly any waterfront in New Hampshire, so why the waterfront, guys?

This flag makes South Dakota look like they were having a major identity crisis. "Under God the People Rule?" or "Under God the People Suffer From This Terrible Flag Design?"

While the coat of arms is definitely garish, the blue border on the West Virginia flag is what kills it for us. Awful.

"He who transplanted still sustains," but this flag only sustains a pure headache over its terrible design. It might have been approved in 1897, but we are disapproving of it in 2012.

While this is the only green flag on the list, and we have to give props for that, that portrait of Washington gets no love.

The two-sided Oregon flag has an awesome back and a terrible front. We get the the standards of typography were different back in the day, but we think they could have done better in 1925.

The Montana Flag looks like it was drawn by a child.

No disrespect to Colonel LeRoy Reeves of the Tennessee National Guard who designed this, but maybe he should have stuck to the guard.

What were you thinking, North Carolina? "Blue union" or not, this flag is awful.

Well, this one's easy to criticize, because it's a BANNER, not a flag! While the large blue triangle reps Ohio's hills and valleys, and the stripes represent roads and waterways, we can't give much love to a flag in a banner's clothing.

X marks Alabama's terribly uninventive idea for a state flag. The cross of St. Andrew or not, this flag gets no respect.

This may be the worst flag on the list. Apparently "Battle Born" refers to Nevada becoming a state during the American Civil War, which is cool, but the composition and "sagebrush" illustration is wack.

Was there no better way to arrange this text? The banner coming out of the bird's mouth is definitely an instance of struggle graphic design.

The Mississippi flag still contains a semblance to the confederate flag. Time for an upgrade. (Georgia knows).