This week has marked the 80th anniversary of 'VE Day' when the European dimension of World War II ended. So, the Union Flag has been all over the media coverage, but not as an assertion of nationality but rather a celebration of liberation. Flags, like all symbols, in themselves have no meaning – it is how we respond to them gives them meaning.
What of Northern Ireland? This hoary old chestnut resurfaces ever now and again. To be fair, the discussion earlier this week on BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show (6 May, on iPlayer here) was mostly pretty sensible, especially at 43:40 when Dr Dominic Bryan chipped in, and cited the "hexagonal thing" that I designed just over 20 years ago as the corporate identity for the Northern Ireland Executive and its Departments.
I agree with him - given its 'sharedness', and distinctiveness, the Red Hand of Ulster has most potential as a core emblem. As with modern commercial branding, a family of designs in multiple styles might be worth thinking about, with a Red Hand as a centrepiece. It could be adaptable to suit various contexts and settings – maybe like the legendary British Airways 'ethnic liveries' tailfins. Like everything, it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it. A 'high five' with open, relaxed, digits is not the same as a defensive rigid 'stop' or a clenched fist.
One of the listeners - Brian from Enniskillen - who phoned in made an important, essential, point at 58:40. World War II was a fight for freedom, not a fight for a flag. Nobody 'fights for a flag' as a cosmetic combination of shapes and colours.
In my various travels around England, the flags of the 'Black Country', of Dorset, of Devon, of Cornwall, these are all more prominent in those counties and regions than the national Union Flag is. There is pride in the local.
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