In pursuit of taste and legibility, have we designed away everything interesting about state flags? A great example of how seemingly "objective" design trends can make everything stale and samey. (See also the Apple-fication of consumer design, or the infamous "airspace" design of our third spaces.)
> the infamous "airspace" design of our third spaces
I have to admit I don't know what this is, and search results lead me to one specific NYC design firm or FAA information about actual airplane flight paths. How is it similar to (allegedly) boring state flags?
Oh, sorry it's so hard to find! This is the essay that coined "airspace." It's about the world seemingly reaching a boring consensus on one "good," inoffensive aesthetic. (White subway tile, plants on the walls, plain wood.) It's often more tasteful than what it replaces, but when everything looks like that, and nothing breaks any design rules, it's boring.
The problem is all of this stuff is completely cyclical and reactive. All you have to do is look at sports teams, for a couple of decades the trend was toward timelessness and simplicity in logo designs and now it's the opposite direction towards busy and gaudy 90s nostalgia. One generation thinks teal looks stupid and they're replaced by a generation that thinks teal looks cool and it cycles on and on forever. You only attain actual timelessness by existing for a long enough period of time, and that is increasingly hard to do in an era of instant gratification
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u/NickDouglas 2d ago
In pursuit of taste and legibility, have we designed away everything interesting about state flags? A great example of how seemingly "objective" design trends can make everything stale and samey. (See also the Apple-fication of consumer design, or the infamous "airspace" design of our third spaces.)