According to Clay Moss, a Mississippi vexillologist, simplicity is the first rule in flag design. A small child should be capable of drawing it from memory. “Less is more…Keep it simple.” These are the four fundamental principles of flag design: Use meaningful symbolism, only use two to three colors, avoid lettering and seals, be distinctive or related, and use only two to three colors. Moss pointed out that the Mississippi Legislature had mandated that the commission violate one principle. The commission must include the words “In God We Trust” on any design it approves. Moss suggested that this could still be accomplished in an aesthetic way, perhaps by a ribbon or emblem. He also noted that both Georgia’s and Florida’s flags contain the same words. After decades of debate, the Mississippi Legislature voted to take down the 1894 state flag and its divisive Confederate battle icon. It created the commission to select a new flag that will be presented to voters on the Nov. 3. ballot. The new design is up to the voters to approve or reject. If the voters reject the design, they can go back to the drawing board and present a new design to them next year. Tuesday marked the second meeting of the flag commission. The governor, lieutenant governor, and House speaker appoint the nine members. “We face a challenge,” stated Reuben Anderson, former Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Anderson was elected chairman of the commission last week. “I can guarantee you of one thing: We will adopt and approve Mississippi’s flag.” The commission will begin reviewing more than 1,000 flag designs submitted by the public. They will be made available on the Mississippi Department of Archives & History website beginning Aug. 3. Each person can then choose their 25 favorite flag designs by August 7. The commission can create its own designs or modify or combine existing ones. The commissioners will then rank their top 10 choices around the middle next month, and then vote to reduce the list down to five. The top five designs will be open for public comment. After that, the commission will select a final design and submit it to the Legislature and secretary to state to be placed on the ballot. Moss said Tuesday that he was jealous of commissioners because he is a flag geek. Moss encouraged them to be open to different designs and to have fun. He presented a slide presentation that showed commissioners various flag designs from around the globe and across the country. Moss explained the intricacies involved with design principles, such as placing emblems closer to “hoist” than the “fly” sides of the flag. Moss stated that horizontal stripes are generally more effective. It has been scientifically shown that the human brain recognizes horizontally striped flags more easily. This is why around 50% of world’s flags feature horizontal stripes and 12% vertical. Moss explained to commissioners that “a lot of U.S. State Flags are mundane.” He added, “There’s state stamp after state seal.” Felder Rushing, a Mississippi horticulturalist and author as well as host of the gardening radio show, was present at Tuesday’s meeting. Although he isn’t pitching any particular flag design to the commission, he is encouraging them to include the magnolia bloom in their new design. A brochure he created in support of the magnolia bloom was presented to commissioners. In the brochure, he notes that Mississippi, the Magnolia State during the Civil War, had a flag that featured the magnolia tree. Rushing stated that the new design should not use the tree but the flower. It’s even on our quarter. Rushing’s brochure stated that “The rest has already moved on, leaving it with us with the daunting task of agreeing upon a new state banner that will fly proudly for many years after we participants have gone.” “And we have the option of choosing a symbol that says something or not.”_x000D