What's a design expert's verdict on Minnesota's new state flag?

The dust has settled, and Minnesota has its new flag, a blue-and-white, star-and-shapes configuration that's much simpler than its soon-to-be predecessor.

So how does the new banner rank in the pantheon of beloved state and country flags, and in the minds of flag experts and scholars?

Ted Kaye, who wrote the 2006 guidebook "'Good' Flag, 'Bad' Flag," gave Minnesota's new design an "A" and called it excellent.

"You can't make everybody happy, but Minnesota will come to be extremely proud of this flag," said Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA). "The state has seized a wonderful opportunity to improve its symbolism."

He said he believes it would rank in the top 10 among the states and provinces of the United States and Canada were NAVA members and the public to be surveyed.

Kaye, in an interview with the Star Tribune last month, had suggested changes to the original draft of "Polaris Tricolor" by Andrew Prekker of Luverne that the state's flag commission ended up incorporating.

The original included a white, green and light blue stripe representing the snow, the land and the state's waters. But a majority of the commission members favored eliminating the stripes for a solid light blue color to make it simpler, as Kaye proposed.

Social media posts proliferated from people who said they missed the stripes. But Kaye said the green didn't work because it was too dark and didn't contrast enough with the dark blue on the left.

He also thought the green of forests and rural areas it was celebrating wasn't unique to Minnesota.

"Although Minnesotans love their verdant nature, it is not distinctive for Minnesota; nearly every state has green nature," said Kaye, who lives in Oregon.

The four weaker "points" of the North Star were replaced with eight stronger ones, another of Kaye's suggestions.

Kaye said he divined five separate meanings for the star on Minnesota's new flag, which he praised for its simplicity.

That includes the star looking like a compass rose that points to the north, while maintaining a rotated Dakota Star symbol, honoring the Native American community. This star also adds the M shape on all sides.

Prekker said that he is "very happy" with the final product but acknowledged he is still getting used to the changes.

"It might take a bit to get used to, but I love the new flag," Prekker said. "It keeps all my core concepts, but improves upon it."

While a lot of posters on social media sites like X and Facebook have been critical of the new flag, some are warming to it.

Bill Lindeke, who has written books about Twin Cities history and sells St. Paul's and other city flags online, initially favored the "L'etoile du Nord" design, which had a white star or snowflake overlapping a yellow four-point star.Lindeke also wanted to keep the tri-color stripes at first.

But Lindeke said he's reconsidering. "Honestly, I think I might be changing my mind. We'll see, it's growing on me," Lindeke said Wednesday. "I think it will for a lot of people."

Lindeke said he ordered a 3-by-5-foot version of the flag to hang in his house, along with stickers of it. And he thinks it will translate well digitally. If you send the new flag as an emoji symbol in a text, for example, Lindeke said he thinks the design will hold up and look good.

The final selection could also be customized easily for some situations, Lindeke said, such as adding rainbow stripes over the right side to make it into a Pride flag.

Kaye echoed that he thinks the flag is customizable, and he thinks it won't be long before someone gets a tattoo of the new flag, as many have with the Chicago and Washington, D.C., flags.

"It's going to become iconic in Minnesota, and the design elements will become remixable," Kaye said. "You'll see all kinds of things using that star."