FLAGLORE
The world in flags — proportions, colors, and the craft of vexillology.
From resolving a flag’s proportions and specifying its colors to sizing it for a pole, translating semaphore, testing your flag knowledge, and looking up a heraldic tincture, FlagLore pairs free hands-on tools with clear, worked guides and a richly illustrated museum. Understand the design, not just the flag.
Flag & Vexillology Tools
Free tools for flag design and history — proportion & ratio calculator, color-spec reference, flag size for pole height, semaphore translator, flag identifier quiz, and a heraldry tincture reference.
Flag Proportion & Ratio Calculator
Resolve a flag's fly from its hoist, or its hoist from its fly, at any hoist:fly ratio, plus the resulting area.
Flag Color-Spec Reference
Convert a hex color to RGB and CMYK for a print or embroidery spec, and match it to a common flag hue.
Flag Size for Pole Height Calculator
Find the right flag size for a flagpole using the standard one-quarter-to-one-third rule.
Semaphore Flag Translator
Translate text into flag semaphore, the maritime and scouting hand-flag signalling alphabet.
Flag Identifier Quiz
Eight questions per round describing a flag's colors and layout — pick the flag and see your score.
Heraldry Tincture Reference
Look up the seven core heraldic tinctures with their historic hatching pattern and traditional meaning.
World Flags Museum
Wander an immersive, richly illustrated collection — flags of the Americas, flags of Europe, flags of Asia & Oceania, and flags of Africa & the Middle East, each in its own gallery. Every photograph and caption is drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.
Tour the museum →From the Journal
Clear, worked guides on flag proportions, color specification, semaphore signalling, heraldic tinctures, and the design conventions behind the world’s flags — reading to pair with the tools above.
Hoist vs. Fly: The Vocabulary Every Flag Maker Uses
A guided tour of flag anatomy — hoist, fly, field, canton, and the rest of the vocabulary that lets flag makers describe any design precisely.
Why Flag Ratios Vary: 1:1, 2:3, 3:5, and 1:2 Explained
Flags are surprisingly inconsistent in shape — from perfect squares to long, narrow rectangles. Here's what a hoist:fly ratio means and why it varies so much.
A Beginner's Guide to Flag Semaphore
How two hand-held flags and seven arm positions became a complete signalling alphabet, and how to start reading and sending it yourself.
The Language of Heraldic Tinctures: Colors, Metals, and the Rule of Tincture
How heraldry organizes color into metals, colours, and a strict rule about combining them — plus the centuries-old system for showing color in black and white.
How to Choose the Right Flag Size for Your Flagpole
The rule of thumb flag manufacturers use to match a flag to a pole, why bigger isn't automatically better, and how to keep a flying flag lasting longer.
Vertical vs. Horizontal: Why Flag Layouts Differ Around the World
Stripes can run sideways or up and down, crosses can sit centered or off to one side — a tour of the major flag layout families and the design logic behind each.
Keep Learning
Plain-language explainers on the building blocks of vexillology — flag anatomy and proportion, color and heraldic tincture, semaphore and maritime signalling, and how flag design differs across the world — everything you need to go deeper with confidence.
Visit the Learn hub →