Namibia

How many persons in the world had the luck of designing not one, but two national flags, from two different countries? Frederick Brownwell, that served for almost twenty years as South African state herald, had this privilege and used it to create two of the most awesome national flags around the world.

Apart from being the chairman of the committee that chose Namibian national flag (the public submitted hundreds of entries), Brownwell designed the current South African flag. Clicking here, you can see my review about it.

Here is the current Namibian national flag:


At first sight, you can see some similarities with South African flag that Brownwell designed years after. One is use of many colors, all of them very contrasting with the neighbors. Other, more subtle, is that it incorporates colors from the flags of political parties, what's not uncommon in African continent: its basis is the flag of SWAPO, the main liberation party and that have ruled the country since its independence, but it's visible the similarities with the logo of a traditional opposition party, the DTA.

The colors can also be associated with common symbolism: red for the heroic people, white for peace and unity, blue for the sky and the waters, including Atlantic Ocean, green for the forests and agriculture. The yellow sun represents life and energy.

Long live Brownwell!

Comments are welcome!