Graphic design matters.

The flag of Nebraska was flown over the state capital upside down for 10 straight days. No one even noticed. This is not surprising from a design perspective.

This prompted one State Senator to propose a debate about redesigning the flag.

“Nobody noticed it,” State Sen. Burke Harr told members of the Legislature’s Executive Board. “It took someone drawing it to my attention before it was changed.”

The Omaha senator used the anecdote Monday to help make his pitch for why lawmakers should consider creating a task force that would decide whether the state should design a new flag.

If so, the committee would submit recommendations to the full Legislature for approval.

The sponsor of Legislative Resolution 3, Harr said the current flag doesn’t stand out, and features elements that don’t represent what the state is known for today.

There is no corn or gigantic college football linemen on the current flag so he’s definitely right about that.

Suzanne Wise, the executive director of the Nebraska Arts Council who has an extensive arts background, said that states with poorly designed flags fly them far less than states with better designs. And states with iconic flags have seen professional sports teams incorporate them into their brands, she said.

As a Nebraskan, Wise said she’s proud of state’s unicameral Legislature and unique State Capitol.

“It’s galling our state flag doesn’t embody that uniqueness,” she said. “I think our sesquicentennial year is an ideal year to do this.”

I would recommend that this not be put to a referendum or else this might become the state flag.