Rejected: Designs for the European Flag

by Jonas von Lenthe (Editor)

The flag bearing twelve yellow stars on a blue background has become Europe’s most recognisable symbol. Since its introduction by the Council of Europe in 1955, it has stood for the unification of Europe’s nation states. It was precisely this yellow circle of stars that prevailed over more than 150 flag ideas sent to the Council of Europe by a host of diverse private individuals. These colourful designs are being now published in Rejected for the first time. They document the continent’s zeitgeist at a decisive period in the development of European unity. Alongside the flag proposals, the trilingual book (English, German, French) features a written contribution by poet and writer Marie Rotkopf, who tackles the EU’s neoliberal political cynicism and Germany’s expansion of power with biting irony.

192 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Madeleine Clarkson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing flags set out beautifully plus a lil essay what’s not to love

[Fabio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collecting the flag proposals is a great initiative. Unfortunately the unexpected political tirade at the end is a terrible conclusion, regardless of agreeing with it or not.

[ANA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essay at the end was trash.

[Antoine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Assez marrant comme exercice,
Je m'amuse de voir les propositions regroupées par formes, et un bonus pour la diatribe anti-Union Européenne en fin de livre

[Judea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appreciated how this collection of failures revealed the reality of design (153 failures to arrive at 1 ‘successful’ outcome), and wished there were more books like that exploring the r/s between politics and graphic design! But, I gotta say I DID NOT ENJOY YHE ESSAY, really didn’t get what Marie was tryna get at, sorry.

[Luca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very glad to see this compiled, especially in such a nice arrangement. That closing essay sure is batshit crazy, though.