Yale Printing & Publishing Services

Design and the Evolution of the American Flag

As the United States rings in 238 years of independence on Friday, July 4th, Fast and Company highlighted a very interesting design that surveys 48 different flags used by the sovereign colonies and the United States. The design depicts the variety of early American independence flags that range from the traditional (the 1775 Continental Colors banner) to the iconic (the 1775 Gadsen design) to the more eccentric (the 1775 Bedford banner). The graphic (below) depicts 247 years of american flags. The current 50-star flag was adopted in 1960 with the elevation of Hawaii to the union. Proposed designs for a 51-state flag with the possible admisison of Puerto Rico have already been created.