^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Fiji: 23 designs for the new flag

Description of the process
Colours

See also:

Fiji

Description of the process

On the website http://www.newfijiflag.com, you will be able to participate and evaluate the 23 designs chosen after reviewing the more than 2,000 received during the national flag competition and give feedback (Fijians only) on as many or as few designs as you would like.
Jens Pattke, 16 June 2015

Ted Kaye spoke at the ICV 26 about the process he has been part of as the Fiji government has decided to change their flag. Kaye is a member of a committee along with a broad cross-section of leaders of the Fijian community. They met for 2.5 days to learn about basic flag design principles, then narrow the 2,000 submission (not including 7,000 copies of the existing flag from the opposition party) down, first to 167, then to 47. At this point they settled on a field colour of "Fiji blue" (a "banner blue" features in the national anthem) and a 1:2 ratio. The committee then went down to 20, then 10 and finally presented 5 designs to the government for consideration. The government (with some consultation with committee members), then expanded this shortlist to 12, then 24, then with some changes released a shortlist of 23. The new flag was originally meant to be decided in July, but the public reactions to the shortlist have led the government to look for more designs before making the final decision on a flag. Ted ended with a plea for all Fijians to engage with the process seriously.
Jonathan Dixon, 31 August 2015

Colours

Concerning the different colors used (and considering the homogenized palette of colors used across all proposals); I count eight distinct colors (Fiji blue, dark blue, darker blue, golden, yellow, red, white, brown, and green). Below is a proposal to render those in our standard palette, with the following caveats:

1. Most images in the official website are JPEGs, a format that degrades the exact RGB values that might have been used originally.

2. Algebraic tridimensional distance was used to find “closest” colors (RGB values), which not always agrees with optical similarity as seen by the human eye; some of those results were corrected and noted as such.

3. Designs may have been tested and planned in hardcopy (paper and/or cloth) and calibrated for CMYK or Pantone (or some such); therefore the RGBs in the official images might be derivative, and conditional to specific “conversion” settings.

4. Some consistently different RGB values are nonetheless clearly meant to be the same color across designs, and were treated as such below (this is straight forward for the three shades of blue, less so for the two yellows).

+ Fiji blue RGB#02AFF3: Used in all designs
closest FotW/FIAV color is RGB#3399FF = B-- (very light blue) (and indeed this is the exact color used in our [fj.gif] image)

+ Dark blue RGB#4050A5:
Used in designs 35, 40 41, 47, 48, 51, 54, and 55
closest FotW/FIAV blue is RGB#00099 = B++ (very dark blue)
(closest color would be dark grey, semantically inadequate)

+ Darker blue RGB#2C3173:
Used in designs 36, 37, 38, 39, 43, 44, 46, 52, and 53
closest FotW/FIAV blue is RGB#00066 = B+++ (very very dark blue)
(closest color would be very dark grey, semantically inadequate)

+ Golden (3 distinct yet close values, assumed to be meant as same)
RGB#FFD72A: Used in triangle of design 48
RGB#FFD203: Used in sun of design 49
RGB#FFB816: Used in sail of design 43
equivalent FotW/FIAV color is RGB#FFCC00 = Y+ (dark yellow)
(closest color is actually golden, of restricted usage for coats of arms)

+ Yellow (4 distinct yet close values, assumed to be meant as same)
RGB#FFE82A: Used in sail of design 44
RGB#FAEE1E: Used in design 45 (stars), 50 (star), and 51 (sun)
RGB#FAED25: Used in the star of design 47
RGB#EDE81D: Used in the chevron of design 47
equivalent FotW/FIAV color is RGB#FFFF00 = Y (yellow)
(closest color is actually golden for some of the above)

+ Red (2 distinct yet close values, assumed to be meant as same)
RGB#D32036: Used in designs 40 and 41
RGB#C3282E: Used in design 35
equivalent FotW/FIAV color is RGB#CC0000 = R+ (dark red)
(closest color is actually light red, semanticly inadequate)

+ White (3 distinct yet close values, assumed to be meant as same)
RGB#FFFFFF: Used in designs 35-44, 46, 52-57 (stripes and stars), middle stripe and petals of the tagimoucia flower in design 35, chevron in designs 36-39, 46, and 52-53, wavy stripe (wave or boat hull?) in designs 42-44 and 56-57, stars in design 46
RGB#E6E1E2: Used in designs 52-55 (boat)
RGB#E5E5E5: Used in designs 36-39 (sea snail and turtle)
closest FotW/FIAV color is RGB#FFFFFF = W (white)

+ Brown RGB#774F2B:
Used in designs 42, 56, and 57
closest FotW/FIAV color is RGB#663300 = M (brown)

+ Green (gradient from RGB#396F37 to RGB#7BC244):
Used in design 35
equivalent FotW/FIAV colors are
RGB#006600 = V+ (dark green)
RGB#00CC00 = V- (light green)
(closest colors are actually grey, semantically inadequate)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 February 2016

The numbers assigned to each proposal hint at a tortured path for each of them. Each proposal is identified with a number that goes from 35 to 57, no gaps (Design #35, etc.). Here’s the list, identifying each design by its three numbers:

Design #35 (35=1=1)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 February 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-1/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Flag1.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal triband of dark blue, white, and light blue, having on its center (on the white stripe and extending over the other two) an image of a tagimoucia flower, with two big white and red petals and two small light green leaves.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this (the very first a visitor encounters) is unique among all others. It uses a motif no other suggested design includes, the flower, and it is singularly not stylized in the same stark way all other motifs. The flag’s background, by contrast, is classic vexillology, with a middle white stripe separating two hues; again something no other of these 23 designs does.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 February 2016

Design #36 (36=2=2)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-2/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag2.jpg

An indirect derivative of design #46, that is, with additional stars: it is also a 1:2 horizontal light blue flag with a very dark blue hoist triangle extending to 7/8ths of the flag’s height separated from the background by a white hoist chevron extending to half flag’s width (this chevron is six-sided and its two shorter sides are parallel and sit on the flag’s top and bottom edges); on the triangle in light grey a sea snail shell. On the fly area of the flag the design shows three very dark blue seven-point stars of density = 2, placed in a triangle roughly parallel to the triangle and chevron: two stars nearest to the upper and lower edges of the flag off the fly around half the flag’s height and the third star horizontally centered and closest to the fly; all three stars are pointing to the hoist.

Stars with this color, shape, number of points, placement and position, albeit common to the three designs 36, 38 and 53, are otherwise unique among the whole set of 23.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016

Design #37 (37=3=3)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-3/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag3.jpg

Design #38 (38=6=4)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-4/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag6.jpg

An indirect derivative of design #46, that is, with additional stars: it is also a 1:2 horizontal light blue flag with a very dark blue hoist triangle extending to 7/8ths of the flag’s height separated from the background by a white hoist chevron extending to half flag’s width (this chevron is six-sided and its two shorter sides are parallel and sit on the flag’s top and bottom edges); on the triangle in light grey a turtle. On the fly area of the flag the design shows three very dark blue seven-point stars of density = 2, placed in a triangle roughly parallel to the triangle and chevron: two stars nearest to the upper and lower edges of the flag off the fly around half the flag’s height and the third star horizontally centered and closest to the fly; all three stars are pointing to the hoist.

Stars with this color, shape, number of points, placement and position, albeit common to the three designs 36, 38 and 53, are otherwise unique among the whole set of 23.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016

Design #39 (39=7=5)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-5/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag7.jpg

Design #40 (40=8=6)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-6/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag8.jpg

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, four are variations of the same theme, the drua sailship in a technical drawing style, taken form the current coat of arms (originally created in 1908). These four designs exhaust the possible combinations of red. vs. light grey ship and of centered position vs. offset to hoist; all four are 1:2 unequal horizontal dibands of light blue over dark blue, suggesting the ocean horizon; the darker stripe, at the bottom of the flag, takes 1/4th of the flag’s height. This variant is a dark red ship centered.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016

Design #41 (41=9=7)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-7/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag9.jpg

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, four are variations of the same theme, the drua sailship in a technical drawing style, taken form the current coat of arms (originally created in 1908). These four designs exhaust the possible combinations of red. vs. light grey ship and of centered position vs. offset to hoist; all four are 1:2 unequal horizontal dibands of light blue over dark blue, suggesting the ocean horizon; the darker stripe, at the bottom of the flag, takes 1/4th of the flag’s height. This variant is a dark red ship offset to the hoist.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016

Design #42 (42=11=8)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-8/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag11.jpg

The drua is featured in designs 40, 41, 54, and 55; and another rendition of it is also used in designs 52-53. A totally different rendition of this same motif is used in five other designs, where the ship is highly stylized into two wavy triangle shapes - the sail and the wake (two of these five add a third wavy line for the horizon).

These are all 1:2 and include light blue (the national color, Fiji blue), as all the 23 designs. The common element is the drua ship, reduced to a variable color triangle with wavy lives for its sides, centered roughly the hoist half of the flag; under it a second triangle, in white, standing for the ship’s wake: it is very elongated and its shortest side is the hoist, the other two being wavy lines, roughly parallel to the sail’s bottom edge. Designs 42 shows this motif
set on plain light blue and has a brown sail. The background is plain light blue perhaps because darker blue as
in designs 43 and 44 would clash with brown?
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016

Design #43 (43=12=9)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-9/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag12.jpg

The drua is featured in designs 40, 41, 54, and 55; and another rendition of it is also used in designs 52-53. A totally different rendition of this same motif is used in five other designs, where the ship is highly stylized into two wavy triangle shapes - the sail and the wake (two of these five add a third wavy line for the horizon).

These are all 1:2 and include light blue (the national color, Fiji blue), as all the 23 designs. The common element is the drua ship, reduced to a variable color triangle with wavy lives for its sides, centered roughly the hoist half of the flag; under it a second triangle, in white, standing for the ship’s wake: it is very elongated and its shortest side is the hoist, the other two being wavy lines, roughly parallel to the sail’s bottom edge. Designs 43 and 44 show this motif
set not on plain light blue, but on a wavy divided horizontal diband of light blue over darker blue, again suggesting a seascape horizon. Design 43 has a golden yellow sail.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016

Design #44 (44=13=10)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-10/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag13.jpg

The drua is featured in designs 40, 41, 54, and 55; and another rendition of it is also used in designs 52-53. A totally different rendition of this same motif is used in five other designs, where the ship is highly stylized into two wavy triangle shapes - the sail and the wake (two of these five add a third wavy line for the horizon).

These are all 1:2 and include light blue (the national color, Fiji blue), as all the 23 designs. The common element is the drua ship, reduced to a variable color triangle with wavy lives for its sides, centered roughly the hoist half of the flag; under it a second triangle, in white, standing for the ship’s wake: it is very elongated and its shortest side is the hoist, the other two being wavy lines, roughly parallel to the sail’s bottom edge. Designs 43 and 44 show this motif
set not on plain light blue, but on a wavy divided horizontal diband of light blue over darker blue, again suggesting a seascape horizon. Design 44 has a yellow sail.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016

Design #45 (45=14=11)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 February 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-11/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag14.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal plain light blue flag with with seven yellow regular upright five-pointed stars stacked in a tight triangular pattern against the hoist: a column of three, then two, then two stars, the whole pattern being horizontally symmetrical (but not the design, since each star is not horizontally symmetrical in itself).

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks fairly unique among all others, only fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue). No other of the 23 uses yellow five-pointed stars, although the star motif is present in a modest number of these proposals: seven among 23, still below the overall popularity of stars in Vexillology at large, especially among national flags.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 February 2016

Design #46 (46=15=12)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 5 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-12/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag15.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal light blue flag with a very dark blue hoist triangle extending to 7/8ths of the flag’s height separated from the background by a white hoist chevron extending to half flag’s width (this chevron is six-sided and its two shorter sides are parallel and sit on the flag’s top and bottom edges); on the triangle a ring of seven 5-pointed stars of above-median density, pointing outwards.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks like the prototype of the most popular basic design, sharing all its elements except for the stars ring with designs 36+37 (sea snail on the triangle, with and without additional stars), 38+39 (turtle, ditto), and 52+53 (sailboat, ditto).

The original image of this design, like some of the others but less than most, shows small yet noticeable drawing errors, namely in the arrangement of the stars.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 5 March 2016

Design #47 (47=17=13)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-13/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag17.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal light blue flag with a dark blue hoist triangle extending to 3/4ths of the flag’s height separated from the background by a yellow hoist chevron extending to half flag’s height (this chevron is six-sided and its two shorter sides are parallel and sit on the flag’s top and bottom edges); on the triangle a yellow 10-pointed star/sun of density = 2.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks somewhat unique, fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue). There are other designs with hoist triangles: 48 is solid yellow and 46 is (and its derivative cohort: 36-39+52-53) very dark blue charged with white/grey motifs; 47 is somewhat between those two, less plain than 48, less cluttered than 46 etc. (I should mention this is my favorite of the set.)

The original image of this design, like some of the others but more than most, shows small yet noticeable drawing errors, namely in the placement of the star, which ideally should be placed on the center of the triangle.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 3 March 2016

Design #48 (48=19=14)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-14/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag19.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal diband of light blue over dark blue with a dark yellow hoist triangle extending to 3/4ths of the flag’s height.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks fairly unique, fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue).

This design makes use of the “Czech” pattern, a design fairly popular among national flags.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 March 2016

Design #49 (49=20=15)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 February 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-15/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag20.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal plain light blue flag with a golden yellow sun quadrant on the upper hoist, with 11 visible points (two of which, at the top edge and at the hoist, only half visible); the points are made in the usual way for a starry polygon, but some details are not exactly clean cut, as if this motif was drawn by hand: that’s clear to the naked eye at the two ~5 o’clock points (5th and 6th from the hoist), drawn too close, and the overall ratio of the sun, slightly oblong, ~9% longer than higher.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks fairly unique among all others, only fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue). This design, while unique among national flags, is almost identical to the Irish sunburst flag,
when hoisted upside down.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 February 2016

Design #50 (50=21=16)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-16/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag21.jpg

A 1:2 horizontal plain light blue flag with a very undense irregular but horizontally symmetrical yellow 12-pointed sun/star centered on it. Its cardinal points (i.e., at noon, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock) are longest, the ones pointing horizontally being thicker, and those at 1, 5, 7, and 11 o’clock are the shortest.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks fairly unique, only fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue). It has an overall elegance of design that’s to be commended, in spite of the ungainly description. The design is even so too thinly populated and this flag will be a mere light blue bed sheet in anything less than a brisk breeze (even more so than Somalia, and in contrast with Botswana).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 March 2016

Design #51 (51=22=17)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-17/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag22.jpg

A 1:2 asymmetrical (2+1) horizontal diband of light blue over dark blue with a 14-ray yellow sunburst resting on the division.

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, this looks fairly unique, fitting in the scheme by keeping common traits of being 1:2 and including light blue (the national color, Fiji blue), and sharing with four other designs (40-41 and 54-55) the overall unequal stripe arrangement, itself iconic of the horizon of sky above sea (even though in this design the dark blue stripe is wider than in the others).

This design resembles broadly the national flag of “neighbouring” Kiribati; it’s otherwise of a fairly unusual type among national flags but easy to find among other flags, namely subnationals.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 1 March 2016

Design #52 (52=24=18)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-18/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag24.jpg

The sailboat is a local two-hulled seagoing canoe, wangga ndrua - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drua. It shows on several of these proposals - being the most popular motif, featured on nine designs (six in a naturalistic, technical drawing style, three as a highly stylized shape), and is taken from the crest of the Fiji coat of arms.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016

Design #53 (53=24A=19)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-19/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag24b.jpg

An indirect derivative of design #46, that is, with additional stars: it is also a 1:2 horizontal light blue flag with a very dark blue hoist triangle extending to 7/8ths of the flag’s height separated from the background by a white hoist chevron extending to half flag’s width (this chevron is six-sided and its two shorter sides are parallel and sit on the flag’s top and bottom edges); on the triangle in light grey a drua sail boat. On the fly area of the flag the design shows three very dark blue seven-point stars of density = 2, placed in a triangle roughly parallel to the triangle and chevron: two stars nearest to the upper and lower edges of the flag off the fly around half the flag’s height and the third star horizontally centered and closest to the fly; all three stars are pointing to the hoist.

Stars with this color, shape, number of points, placement and position, albeit common to the three designs 36, 38 and 53, are otherwise unique among the whole set of 23.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2016

Design #54 (54=26A=20)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-20/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag26a.png

Design #55 (55=27A=21)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-21/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag27a.png

Among the 23 designs presented at http://www.newfijiflag.com, four are variations of the same theme, the drua sailship in a technical drawing style, taken form the current coat of arms (originally created in 1908). These four designs exhaust the possible combinations of red. vs. light grey ship and of centered position vs. offset to hoist; all four are 1:2 unequal horizontal dibands of light blue over dark blue, suggesting the ocean horizon; the darker stripe, at the bottom of the flag, takes 1/4th of the flag’s height. This variant is a light grey ship offset toward the hoist.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 March 2016

Design #56 (56=28=22)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-22/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag28.jpg

The two remaining designs are derivatives of 42, made from the addition of an emblem onto the brown triangle that’s the stylized drua sail. These two emblems are only slightly different: they are both made of a roughly circular white shape with 15 shallow triangular notches inside which gaps there are 15 narrow isosceles triangles, brown (therefore can be seen as holes), pointing out, their bases leaving a round central area on which the two variants show different motifs, also brown (ditto).

All of these are not geometrically perfect, looking “hand made” when seen in detail. in these two designs even the aspects of this central emblem that can be described as the same are slightly different, in contrast with the stylized ship sail and wake, which are geometrically identical. I am not sure whether this is intentional or not.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016

Design #57 (57=29=23)

image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016
webpage: http://www.newfijiflag.com/design-23/
img: http://www.newfijiflag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Flag29.jpg

Central motif is a palm tree with five leaves, its trunk arched iconically.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 March 2016

The final five chosen by the committee were (using the 35-57 numbering):
No 45
No 46
No 47 without the sun
Two Fiji blue flags with a yellow sun - one whole sun in the upper hoist, one half sun taking up the whole hoist.
Jonathan Dixon, 10 February 2016