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Minnesota officially has a new state flag, but how does it compare to other flags? All Things Considered host Tom Crann spoke with Ted Kay from the North American Vexillological Association about it. Kay wrote the guidebook 鈥淕ood Flag, Bad Flag.鈥�

The following transcription has been edited for length and clarity.

Give us your initial reaction to the final version of the new Minnesota flag.

It鈥檚 an outstanding design, and Minnesotans will come to love it.

That's a really nice review of it. So what makes you say that?

It鈥檚 simple, it鈥檚 meaningful, it has just three colors. It has no lettering or seal on it and it鈥檚 very distinctive, you should be able to make it out at a distance it should be discernible. And then when you see it, you should be able to remember that what鈥檚 on the flag represents the place that it symbolizes.

This design accomplishes those things. At the same time, this is the only flag that I know of certainly in common use, that makes use of that shape that echoes the shape of the state of Minnesota.

Earlier versions of it had three colors on the side. I sort of long for that I was hoping that one would get through. Do you think it鈥檚 better with fewer elements?

That is correct. I understand the enthusiasm for green but there are two challenges with the inclusion of the green on the flag.

The first is that it didn鈥檛 contrast very well with the dark blue next to it, meaning, every place has green. Every place has their rural or their connection to the land. So that鈥檚 not very distinctive for Minnesota.

What is very distinctive from Minnesota is the land of sky blue waters,10,000 lakes, the Mississippi River 鈥� the light blue field on the flag tells that story from Minnesota very effectively.

And the star, the North Star, and that design actually is in the capitol rotunda as well. The points of the star look like M鈥檚.

State Emblems Redesign Commission

There鈥檚 several things going on in that star, which we can call the Minnesota star. One, it鈥檚 an eight-pointed star, which means it echoes a compass rose and it points to the north. So it reflects Minnesota in that North Star State.

The second is that it鈥檚 a Dakota image, you can see it in native iconography. The third is you can see that form of star on barns in southern Minnesota. So three different meanings come together in that star. For those who want to see them, there are four M鈥檚 in that star as well

As state flags go, how does Minnesota鈥檚 new flag rank to you?

I think it鈥檚 going to be in the top 10. When NAVA polls the public and its members on state flags, the best, simplest designs popped to the top. South Carolina, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Alaska, Washington, D.C. That鈥檚 the club that Minnesota鈥檚 flag will be joining.

In any process like this, there will undoubtedly be naysayers. What would you say about that?

It鈥檚 a challenge to go from an old flag to a new flag. Canada faced it in 1965. South Africa faced it in 1994. But eventually the new flag will grow on folks, and it will be accepted.

There鈥檚 been a wave of flag redesigns in the last decade, why are people doing this?

The wave of city flag redesign has been set off by podcaster Roman Mars who did a TED talk in 2015 called 鈥淲hy city flags may be the worst design thing you never noticed.鈥�

We鈥檝e counted over 300 cities who have changed their flags in the last seven years.

Tell us why having a good flag matters.

A good flag can help represent the state to the world and represent the state to its residents. So outward looking its branding, inward looking it is civic cohesion. It creates a banner under which the citizens and residents of Minnesota can unite to address the important issues facing the state.