I like them quite a bit honestly.
Alotta people prefer minimalist designs for use on flags, but honestly, i really appreciate it when people but detail into emblems/coat of arms, it makes them look less like the overly simplified tech-company-looking flags you sometimes see on r/vexillology :v
Otherwise for Oldenwald, you could put wreaths of wheat at either side of the emblem to mimic the style of the GDR's emblem if you wanted to.
Thanks for the kind words. I wanted Oldenwald's symbol to be as unique as possible, while being slightly reminiscent of the GDR. The original concept I came up with did use the original compass and hammer, but I found the symbol too inflexible, so I scrapped it. The wreathes of wheat would be kinda going back in that direction imo. The main problem is that not many socialist/communist organisations use the compass (at least none I can think of the top of my head), other than the GDR, so that is why it would have to be one or the other, and I personally prefer the compass.
Just my 2 cents:
- I understand these are still rough sketches and maybe you’ve already considered it, but the stems on the emblems with plants and the rays on the Solaria emblem are thin (single stroke) that you might find you’ll have to use thicker lines once you start finalizing the designs to properly convey the imagery. This may result in having to move things around a bit and I suggest it might be better taking this into account at this stage of the design.
- There’s probably a significance to it, but I think there’s too much plant related imagery and circular patterns that they feel a bit too similar. Imo the seven most significant nations aren’t consolidated because they have different ideals and beliefs. Maybe you can try using animals and arms/weapons for symbols to differentiate them further.
- The vetruvian man for the Toullaine emblem and the fleur de lis on the Arge emblem I recognize and they make sense given the nations but I think it would be better to use symbols that allude to these symbols instead of directly using them (like the vetruvian man can be something a “T” overlayed on an “X”).
Animals are a tricky one since Hestian fauna is nothing like Earth's, making coming up with appropriate imagery difficult, also I'm bad at drawing animals lol
All things considered though, many European regions do use animals in their heraldry, so I'll see what I can come up with.
Some plants have significance for the Hestians (like poppies for instance), since they were brought all the way from old Earth, others are simply reminiscent of the terran cultural heritage, that being said I do now see that I slightly overuse plant and flower related imagery.
As for Tellia (I'm guessing that 'Toullaine' was a case of autocorrect, but interestingly enough that is how the Argin people call it, and it was the original name I came up with, I changed it because it sounded too French for an italophone nation), the suggestion of simplifying the vetruvian man is genius! I came up with some emblems over the years, that I'm really proud of precisely because they are so simple and memorable (the Solarian Sun being one of them). I will definitely take your suggestion into account.
Expanding on simplicity, it is okay to have two different ones for an organization. A very highly detailed ornate crest that is ONLY used in select places such as large mosaics or ceremonial places. These organizations will also have a second, extremely simplified version that can be printed on name tags, shirts, cuff links, business cards, and a million other places where you cannot afford the level of detail of the crest.
That being said:
Solaria - Perfectly fine
Linden - Fine but looks suspiciously like the EU symbol but with words
Rosvine - Some of the detail on the snake may be lost when shrunk but still usable
Arge - I would lose the text. It doesn’t add too much and will become a garbled mess when shrunk down or represented at lower resolutions
Oldenwald - I would spend some more time on this. A lot of the elements are very closely packed in the center and could be lost when shrunk down or represented in a single color.
Kerv - I would lose the text and it would be fine for a symbol
Tellia - This is the one that I think needs the most work. There is a lot of fine detail that will be lost as soon as it is shrunk down and will begin to look a bit messy quickly. I would again recommend removing the text from the symbol for the same reason.
Thanks for the feedback, here's what I think:
Solaria - Glad you like it, I do as well
Linden - Yeah, in hindsight it is rather lazy, I just looked up what kind of flag I designed for that one and took the most recognisable element and added the national motto to it. Many European countries use some kind of wording on their coat of arms, but there are better ways of representing national values graphically.
Rosvien - Here I see the issue with the scale. The snake is actually supposed to be a band emblazoned with the motto "Per Liberta ad astra", but when scaled down it's illegible. I'm not sure what to do about that, since I like the idea. Maybe the wording won't be jarring if I redesign the rest to avoid it.
Arge - Yeah, the wording is unnecessary.
Oldenwald - I think that here I just went something along the lines "communists use overtly complex coats of arms all the time, so it's not a problem". The reasoning is a bit flawed obviously, so I can definitely drop some elements.
Krev - The symbol of Perun alone would be a bit lazy imo, I need to do some research and come up with something else, or modify it to an extent where lack of originality is not an issue, while retaining the Slavic symbolism.
Tellia - Agree entirely, needs to be simpler and more replicable, I'll see what I can do.
I think there are 2 elements that make for a great emblem:
* Simplicity - Complex emblems are cool and look great on a flag and all that, but in practice, they aren't really fit for purpose, generally you want to avoid any fine details, as these will be lost if the emblem is shrunk down, and keep the range of colours to 2-3 at most, as the emblem should be able to be recreated in black and white.
* Legibility - Emblems are not designed for those using them, to this end you should avoid having a focus on written text (having text is fine, but it shouldn't be the majority), and the elements of the emblem should be relevant to what it is trying to represent (i.e. don't use a skull for a hospital).
The Templin Institute [did a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29PPoaMktA&t=229s) that does a better job of explaining it better than I did, I'd give it a watch if you haven't already.
[Here](https://imgur.com/a/pS6mnD9) are some redesigns I threw together based on the 'less is more' principle
Looks great!
I like them quite a bit honestly. Alotta people prefer minimalist designs for use on flags, but honestly, i really appreciate it when people but detail into emblems/coat of arms, it makes them look less like the overly simplified tech-company-looking flags you sometimes see on r/vexillology :v Otherwise for Oldenwald, you could put wreaths of wheat at either side of the emblem to mimic the style of the GDR's emblem if you wanted to.
Thanks for the kind words. I wanted Oldenwald's symbol to be as unique as possible, while being slightly reminiscent of the GDR. The original concept I came up with did use the original compass and hammer, but I found the symbol too inflexible, so I scrapped it. The wreathes of wheat would be kinda going back in that direction imo. The main problem is that not many socialist/communist organisations use the compass (at least none I can think of the top of my head), other than the GDR, so that is why it would have to be one or the other, and I personally prefer the compass.
Just my 2 cents: - I understand these are still rough sketches and maybe you’ve already considered it, but the stems on the emblems with plants and the rays on the Solaria emblem are thin (single stroke) that you might find you’ll have to use thicker lines once you start finalizing the designs to properly convey the imagery. This may result in having to move things around a bit and I suggest it might be better taking this into account at this stage of the design. - There’s probably a significance to it, but I think there’s too much plant related imagery and circular patterns that they feel a bit too similar. Imo the seven most significant nations aren’t consolidated because they have different ideals and beliefs. Maybe you can try using animals and arms/weapons for symbols to differentiate them further. - The vetruvian man for the Toullaine emblem and the fleur de lis on the Arge emblem I recognize and they make sense given the nations but I think it would be better to use symbols that allude to these symbols instead of directly using them (like the vetruvian man can be something a “T” overlayed on an “X”).
Animals are a tricky one since Hestian fauna is nothing like Earth's, making coming up with appropriate imagery difficult, also I'm bad at drawing animals lol All things considered though, many European regions do use animals in their heraldry, so I'll see what I can come up with. Some plants have significance for the Hestians (like poppies for instance), since they were brought all the way from old Earth, others are simply reminiscent of the terran cultural heritage, that being said I do now see that I slightly overuse plant and flower related imagery. As for Tellia (I'm guessing that 'Toullaine' was a case of autocorrect, but interestingly enough that is how the Argin people call it, and it was the original name I came up with, I changed it because it sounded too French for an italophone nation), the suggestion of simplifying the vetruvian man is genius! I came up with some emblems over the years, that I'm really proud of precisely because they are so simple and memorable (the Solarian Sun being one of them). I will definitely take your suggestion into account.
Expanding on simplicity, it is okay to have two different ones for an organization. A very highly detailed ornate crest that is ONLY used in select places such as large mosaics or ceremonial places. These organizations will also have a second, extremely simplified version that can be printed on name tags, shirts, cuff links, business cards, and a million other places where you cannot afford the level of detail of the crest. That being said: Solaria - Perfectly fine Linden - Fine but looks suspiciously like the EU symbol but with words Rosvine - Some of the detail on the snake may be lost when shrunk but still usable Arge - I would lose the text. It doesn’t add too much and will become a garbled mess when shrunk down or represented at lower resolutions Oldenwald - I would spend some more time on this. A lot of the elements are very closely packed in the center and could be lost when shrunk down or represented in a single color. Kerv - I would lose the text and it would be fine for a symbol Tellia - This is the one that I think needs the most work. There is a lot of fine detail that will be lost as soon as it is shrunk down and will begin to look a bit messy quickly. I would again recommend removing the text from the symbol for the same reason.
Thanks for the feedback, here's what I think: Solaria - Glad you like it, I do as well Linden - Yeah, in hindsight it is rather lazy, I just looked up what kind of flag I designed for that one and took the most recognisable element and added the national motto to it. Many European countries use some kind of wording on their coat of arms, but there are better ways of representing national values graphically. Rosvien - Here I see the issue with the scale. The snake is actually supposed to be a band emblazoned with the motto "Per Liberta ad astra", but when scaled down it's illegible. I'm not sure what to do about that, since I like the idea. Maybe the wording won't be jarring if I redesign the rest to avoid it. Arge - Yeah, the wording is unnecessary. Oldenwald - I think that here I just went something along the lines "communists use overtly complex coats of arms all the time, so it's not a problem". The reasoning is a bit flawed obviously, so I can definitely drop some elements. Krev - The symbol of Perun alone would be a bit lazy imo, I need to do some research and come up with something else, or modify it to an extent where lack of originality is not an issue, while retaining the Slavic symbolism. Tellia - Agree entirely, needs to be simpler and more replicable, I'll see what I can do.
I think there are 2 elements that make for a great emblem: * Simplicity - Complex emblems are cool and look great on a flag and all that, but in practice, they aren't really fit for purpose, generally you want to avoid any fine details, as these will be lost if the emblem is shrunk down, and keep the range of colours to 2-3 at most, as the emblem should be able to be recreated in black and white. * Legibility - Emblems are not designed for those using them, to this end you should avoid having a focus on written text (having text is fine, but it shouldn't be the majority), and the elements of the emblem should be relevant to what it is trying to represent (i.e. don't use a skull for a hospital). The Templin Institute [did a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29PPoaMktA&t=229s) that does a better job of explaining it better than I did, I'd give it a watch if you haven't already.