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![[Government flag]](../images/n/nl_gov.gif) image by Zoltan Horvath, 7 August 2024
image by Zoltan Horvath, 7 August 2024Wim Schuurman has informed me that this is a generic flag for Dutch 
governmental agencies.
 Dave Fowler, 26 January 2018 
This is indeed the flag of the Royal government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (generic).
The logo is called the Rijkslogo and has been in use since 2008. It was 
designed by Studio Dumbar (official website: 
https://studiodumbar.com).
The type font is Rijksoverheid Serif (for 
written display when having the title of a a government office).
Here's the 
complete set of elements that make up the logo:
https://www.rijkshuisstijl.nl/basiselementen 
The colors are seen here:
https://www.rijkshuisstijl.nl/basiselementen/kleur/logokleuren 
Logo 
specifications are found here:
https://www.rijkshuisstijl.nl/basiselementen/logo/specificaties-logo 
The 
Heraldic explanation and background is found here:
https://www.rijkshuisstijl.nl/basiselementen/documenten/verzamelingen-afbeeldingen/2014/06/01/achtergrondartikel-heraldiek-en-ons-logo
Source: 
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijkslogo 
Esteban Rivera, 26 
January 2018
As I reported earlier, this blue and white flag is for every department of the central Netherlands government. All flags (and emblems) that were in use, will gradually disappear
and be replaced with this new flag.
There are five different shades of blue in the new flags.
Maxim van Ooijen, 24 Oct 2009
From
http://nl.rgnbrandidentityservices.com/news/rijksoverheid/: 
4 January 
2011 - One government, one logo
In 2000 the then prime minister Balkenende 
presented the State logo. The logo was developed as replacement for 175 logo's 
of various participating ministries and governmental services, with the main 
objective to give the national government one recognisable face. The deadline 
for government-wide rebranding was 1 January 2011. 
The logo is 
implemented as a dark blue ribbon with the National arms modern on it near the 
lower end, usually on a white background. For flags it's placed on the white of 
a flag with a 3rd white at the hoist and 2/3rd usually light blue in the fly. 
For unexplained reasons, however, sometimes several such flags will fly in a 
row, with each subsequent flag using a darker shade of blue. The same source 
shows an example of this in the top corner, a thumbnail clickable for a 
full-size picture showing a row of four.
The House Style Flag
Looking around a bit further - well: quite a bit - lead me to this:
https://www.rijkshuisstijl.nl/communicatiemiddelen/bewegwijzering/vlaggen. 
It's the page of the government about flags. It's recognisably a page of the 
government because it bears the State logo. I don't know what part of the 
government publishes it, though, as it bears the State logo.
(Translation 
below)
"Vlaggen
De huisstijlvlag is de corporate vlag van alle 
departementen en diensten. Er mag iedere dag mee worden gevlagd. De vlag gebruik 
je als een soort gebouwmarkering. Maar de huisstijlvlag is ondergeschikt aan 
officiële vlaggen, zoals de Nederlandse vlag.
Vlakverdeling vlag
De 
huisstijlvlag bestaat uit 3 vaste basiselementen: een wit vlak, een kleurvlak en 
het beeldmerk. Er staan geen woordmerken op de vlag.
* vlakverdeling 
rechtformaat vlag
De vlag bestaat uit 3 gelijke vlakken. Het vlak aan de 
stokzijde is wit en bevat het beeldmerk.
* vlakverdeling hoogformaat vlak
De hoogformaat vlag bestaat uit 2 gelijke vlakken. Het vlak aan de bovenkant is 
wit en bevat het beeldmerk. Het vlak aan de onderkant is in hoogte te verlengen.
Het beeldmerk
Binnen het witte vlak staat het beeldmerk op een 
centrale positie.
[Illustration showing wide flags and high flags in 5 shades 
of blue.]
Formaten
De meest gangbare formaten van de 
huisstijlvlaggen zijn:
* rechtformaat vlag van 150 x 225 cm
* 
rechtformaat vlag van 200 x 300 cm
* hoogformaat vlag van 300 x 100 cm
Andere formaten zijn mogelijk zolang de verhoudingen (1:3 of 2:3) gelijk 
blijven.
Kleuren vlag
De kleurvlakken op de vlaggen zijn altijd in de 
5 logokleuren . De keuze van de logokleur hangt af van het aantal dat 
tegelijkertijd wordt gevlagd:
* 1 vlag
blauw 1, 2 of 3
* 2 vlaggen
blauw 1, 2, 3 of 4 met op- of aflopende kleur
* 3 vlaggen
blauw 1, 2, 3 of 
4 met op- of aflopende kleur
* 4 vlaggen
blauw 1, blauw 2, blauw 3, blauw 
4
* 5 vlaggen
blauw 1, blauw 2, blauw 3, blauw 4, blauw 5
* 6 of meer 
vlaggen
een combinatie van de reeks hierboven. Elke kleur moet minimaal één 
keer worden gebruikt. Voeg steeds een vlag in op- of aflopende kleur toe."
Which translated as:
Flags
The house style flag is the 
corporate flag of all departments and service. It can be flown every day. You 
use the flag as a kind of building mark. But the house style flag is subordinate 
to official flags, like the Dutch flag.
Layout
The house style 
flag consists of 3 fixed base elements: a white area, a colour area and the 
logo. There are no wordmarks on the flag.
* layout straight format flag
De flag consists of 3 equal areas. The area on the staff side is white and 
contains the logo.
* layout high format flag
The high format flag consists 
of 2 equal areas. The area on the upper side is white and contains the logo. The 
area on the lower side can be adjusted in height.
The logo
Inside 
the white area the logo stands in a central position
[Illustration showing 
wide flags and high flags in 5 shades of blue.]
Sizes
The most 
common sizes of the house style flags are:
* straight format flag of 150 x 
225 cm
* straight format flag of 200 x 300 cm
* high format flag van 300 x 
100 cm
Other sizes are possible as long as the ratios (1:3 or 2:3) remain 
the same.
Colours flag
The colour areas on the flags are always in 
the 5 logo colours. The choice of the logo colour depends on the number that is 
flown at the same time:
* 1 flag
blue 1, 2 or 3
* 2 flags
blue 
1, 2, 3 or 4 with colour going up or down
* 3 flags
blue 1, 2, 3 or 4 with 
colour going up or down
* 4 flags
blue 1, blue 2, blue 3, blue 4
* 5 
flags
blue 1, blue 2, blue 3, blue 4, blue 5
* 6 or more flags
a 
combination of the series above. Each colour has to be used at least once. 
Always add a flag in a colour going up or down."
(Again, I've been 
careful to retain the errors, such as the one that tells us the Dutch flag is 
subordinate to official flags. I probably added some additional errors in 
translation, but then, it's not an official translation, just an indication of 
the meaning. This is the reason I included the original. I don't know whether we 
want all of this on the site, and there may be copyright issues, but it might 
give a better impression of what is going on.)
There we have it: The flag 
is called the "House Style Flag", and it the corporate flag of all departments. 
It has ten versions, of which five are high flags. The description is conflicted 
and imprecise, but the general idea is clear. 
 
Peter Hans van 
den Muijzenberg, 3 March 2018