Download the flag for your blog and Twitter here:
Translation:
The World Federation of the Deaf recently had a conference in South Africa. Ragnar Veer of the Swedish National Association of the Deaf announced a flag to represent deaf people. [The video appears at H3.tv]
I’m a designer, as well as my friend Matt Daigle. We looked at it, and realized the proposed flag didn’t work. The stripes lacked the size balance commonly seen in flag design. Most flags have a strong symbol or big stripes of color that make them easy to notice.
We decided to design a flag and offer it for the international deaf community’s consideration. [See flag design in video.]
The white background represents peace, and the hand in the middle honors the importance of sign language uniting us both past and present. Light and dark blue in the hand represents the sky and ocean. We are able to sign anywhere on Earth, whether in the sky or under the ocean. The two colors in the hand represent deaf people being born into two cultures, sometimes more. We adapt to every situation.
Matt and I wanted a strong visual representation of our community. This design is open to the community, but if you want to produce the flag and sell it, please contact us. We want to be sure our community benefits from the flag.
Contact: adreanaline@gmail.com
Thanks for watching!
http://www.adreanaline.com
http://www.mattdaigle.com
*****
I am amazed at the reaction to the hand — the point is to choose an icon/design that is easily recognized. Something we can rally around and spot from far distances. It is easily resizable to be included in different materials.
Remember this is just a proposal. It is free for community consideration. Be respectful of each other’s opinions.
UPDATE:
Official comment from from the H3.tv website:
“Hello, I am initator of the flag. Debbie Rennie has designed it. We don’t want to have any symbol in the flag. The Rainbow flag is neutral too. The people knows now what the Rainbow is standing for. Many countries don’t allow Sign Language so how to sell the flag to deaf people there. We want to build bridges between people, The representants from Sweden have presented about background and goal etc at the General Assembly. All profit from each flag goes to WFD so they can be independing and work very well for deaf people in the world: Sign Language, developing countries, human rights etc.. Hope we go on with the flag with some changes so WFD can start getting the money! Time is money:-)
Best regards
Gunilla Wågström Lundqvist, Stockholm Sweden”
