This post was originally an evisceration, but you know what, it's growing on me. I like the way the shape on the left is sort of geometric but sort of Minnesota. I like the light blue for being slightly atypical for a flag. And it's all a big improvement on the original.
However I cannot give a 5 because I was promised a loon. Where's the damn loon. You get a chance to have a loon on your flag, you take it.
It all feels a little too beholden to CGP Grey and that one TED talk on "the rules of flag design," and, yeah, they did well within those constraints but they didn't need to.
The beloved state flags - New Mexico, Colorado, Maryland, Texas, California - caught on not because they're simple but because they're bold. Sun! C! Heraldry! Star! Bear! There's something to like about them, and that's so much more important than just having nothing to dislike.
It's like clothes, I think. Blending in is better than standing out in a bad way... but worse than standing out in a good way. And if people like you, they'll like anything halfway interesting you decide to wear anyway. And you should put a loon on your shirt.
