Civ VI Civ and City-State Symbology

[upi00r]

Question about China: why it is a white dragon and why on a green background?

And same about Aztec: why red snake instead of green one and why cyan background?

 

[El Castellano]

Spain – The bull has been held in high regard by a multitude of cultures and typically represents courage and strength. In Spain, the bull, notably the Osborne bull, has become the unofficial symbol of the country. There are 91 large black silhouetted bulls that ‘watch’ over the roads and countryside. These initially were part of an advertising campaign but due to changing laws about advertisements were slated to be torn down; public outcry instead saw the country paint them all black as they had gained “aesthetic or cultural significance”.

As discussed in this thread:

The bull is a symbol as generic as the eagle or lion.

The Osborne bull is a commercial logo of Osborne Group (producer company of wine, drinks and jamon).

The Osborne bull is not an official symbol of Spain.

The Osborne bull is only used as a Spanish tourist brand since the late twentieth century.

In short, use The Osborne bull for Spain is like using to Pikachu for Japan.

I hope they change it....

 

[DJ_Tanner]

Updated for new icons seen in First Look Rome, India(lotus) and Rome(laurel). Will add their icons to the main post when cropped pictures of the icons arrive.

 

[nitedemon]

Now that you mentioned it, can we request Firaxis to change Japan's logo to Pikachu?

As discussed in this thread:

The bull is a symbol as generic as the eagle or lion.

The Osborne bull is a commercial logo of Osborne Group (producer company of wine, drinks and jamon).

The Osborne bull is not an official symbol of Spain.

The Osborne bull is only used as a Spanish tourist brand since the late twentieth century.

In short, use The Osborne bull for Spain is like using to Pikachu for Japan.

I hope they change it....

 

[shaglio]

Updated for new icons seen in First Look Rome, India(lotus) and Rome(laurel). Will add their icons to the main post when cropped pictures of the icons arrive.

Did you? I'm still seeing "[No image]"

EDIT: Never mind, I just read your **

 

[DJ_Tanner]

Did you? I'm still seeing "[No image]"

EDIT: Never mind, I just read your **

Yeah, sorry, waiting so the icons are consistent with the ones I have used already. For those interested Rome First Look: Rome at 0:17 and India at 0:26.

 

[God of Kings]

Now that you mentioned it, can we request Firaxis to change Japan's logo to Pikachu?:very funny:

Firaxis would have to pay the Pokémon Company to allow that.

Alternatively, Firaxis could create a lawyer-friendly lookalike instead.

 

[God of Kings]

A stylized version of the Indian lotus or scared lotus, the national flower of India. It is scared to both the Hindus and Buddhists.

Apparently, India's lotuses are afraid of Hindus and Buddhists.

 

[MistyRonin]

As discussed in this thread:

The bull is a symbol as generic as the eagle or lion.

The Osborne bull is a commercial logo of Osborne Group (producer company of wine, drinks and jamon).

The Osborne bull is not an official symbol of Spain.

The Osborne bull is only used as a Spanish tourist brand since the late twentieth century.

In short, use The Osborne bull for Spain is like using to Pikachu for Japan.

I hope they change it....

Couldn't agree more. I have many friends in Spain that consider it an insult.

Besides the fact that, the bull has been lately related to certain far right wing movements (they use Spanish flags with bulls, Francoist eagles or swastikas).

If Firaxis devs don't change it, I hope someone releases a mod changing it.

The Burgundy cross would make more sense as it represents the Spanish Empire, and is still used in many instances. Even the former Spanish king used in his personal coat of arms.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...oat_of_Arms_of_Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain.svg.png

 

[DJ_Tanner]

Apparently, India's lotuses are afraid of Hindus and Buddhists.

Ha, good catch. Thanks!

 

[Josephias]

Now that you mentioned it, can we request Firaxis to change Japan's logo to Pikachu?

Don't know if pikachu (or a pokeball ). But this justifies more than enough using a SuperMario cap

Spoiler :

Regarding El Castellano's post, I agree that the bull is not that much of a symbol. While the Osborne bull is quite well-known and sort of a mascot, it's not seen as a serious symbol by people in the country (spain-bull association is made much more by foreigners - thanks Hemingway).
When picking a symbol animal for "serious" use, you'll se more uses of the lion tan the bull (see in the spoiler sigils for athletics, basketball and rugby federations, in example -> warning. no bulls)

Spoiler :

Besides, the versión of the bull used, is plain and dull... nevertheless, for more opinions about that subject, refer to the topic linked by El Castellano

 

[God of Kings]

Ha, good catch. Thanks!

You only fixed one sentence. The other sentence still reads as if lotuses are afraid of Hindus and Buddhists.

To ensure that there aren't such silly mistakes, it would be best to proofread by having it put to text-to-speech.

 

[Silent23]

Omega doesn't mean "great". It means "big O" (in contrast to the "small O", Omicron).

Great O, yes, my bad missed the letter. Been fixed.

Eh. Technically that's the exact definition of the letter, but there's a lot of added symbology to that symbol. As the last letter of the Greek alphabet, it is often used as a symbol of the ultimate or the highest, such as the Bible referring to the "Alpha and Omega".

Personally, though, I like the idea of using an olive branch for Greece. I drew up a while ago what I feel to be the best final list of Civs with their logos, and while I know they're not the best and some (not even me) may not agree with all my choice of symbols, I think the Greek one came out good.

As discussed in this thread:

The bull is a symbol as generic as the eagle or lion.

The Osborne bull is a commercial logo of Osborne Group (producer company of wine, drinks and jamon).

The Osborne bull is not an official symbol of Spain.

The Osborne bull is only used as a Spanish tourist brand since the late twentieth century.

In short, use The Osborne bull for Spain is like using to Pikachu for Japan.

I hope they change it....

Eh. Given the country's history with bullfighting, the iconic bull from Picasso's Guernica, and the Osborne Bull, I think it's a perfectly cromulent icon. Yeah, the Osborne thing may have been an advertisement, but it became such a big part of Spanish culture that the people actually found a way of keeping them when they were threatened. Of course, there may be better symbols, but it's perfectly acceptible.

 

[BenZL43]

Yerevan is revealed in the latest devplay video.

 

[DJ_Tanner]

Yerevan is revealed in the latest devplay video.

I saw; the Armenian symbol of eternity, thought I'd wait for the icon this time around. No worries, I have a write up ready!

 

[Couch Tomato]

Question about China: why it is a white dragon and why on a green background?

And same about Aztec: why red snake instead of green one and why cyan background?

There are only so many colors, so many colors have to be arbitrary. I think there are some classic color schemes that are never going to change for cultural reasons... America = white on blue, England = white on red, Russia = black on yellow, Germany = black on gray gray, France = yellow on blue, Rome = yellow on purple, Japan = red on white. We can expect the Dutch to be orange too.

As for China, I have no idea. I would have picked red on yellow, which are the two biggest colors in Chinese. Or if they really wanted to hark back to the Qing dynasty, then blue on yellow (However, those are Manchu cultural colors, not Chinese).

And for the Aztecs, based on the description, the symbol itself was famous as turquoise, so that explains the teal background. I don't know about the red, but it gives a nice contrast, and the red-on-teal set feels more Mesoamerican.

 

[George Abitbol]

I'm fine with the Spanish bull. I wouldn't mind a rooster as a French symbol.

 

[Silent23]

There are only so many colors, so many colors have to be arbitrary. I think there are some classic color schemes that are never going to change for cultural reasons... America = white on blue, England = white on red, Russia = black on yellow, Germany = black on gray gray, France = yellow on blue, Rome = yellow on purple, Japan = red on white. We can expect the Dutch to be orange too.

As for China, I have no idea. I would have picked red on yellow, which are the two biggest colors in Chinese. Or if they really wanted to hark back to the Qing dynasty, then blue on yellow (However, those are Manchu cultural colors, not Chinese).

And for the Aztecs, based on the description, the symbol itself was famous as turquoise, so that explains the teal background. I don't know about the red, but it gives a nice contrast, and the red-on-teal set feels more Mesoamerican.

In Civ V, the green made sense for China because it was a light soapy green that was clearly meant to evoke jade. Why the white? It does compliment it well, although as I showed, I'd go with red as a secondary color.

However, now they've just copied things over from Civ V in a really weird move. And when they copied China over, they changed the green to just a regular green, so it doesn't look as good.

 

[DJ_Tanner]

Question about China: why it is a white dragon and why on a green background?

And same about Aztec: why red snake instead of green one and why cyan background?

There are only so many colors, so many colors have to be arbitrary. I think there are some classic color schemes that are never going to change for cultural reasons... America = white on blue, England = white on red, Russia = black on yellow, Germany = black on gray gray, France = yellow on blue, Rome = yellow on purple, Japan = red on white. We can expect the Dutch to be orange too.

I would guess that none of the choices are simply arbitrary, however, the real limit on combinations would cause some choices to be more(less) fitting.

I will stick my nose into this when I get a chance see if I can dig anything up.

 

[Abraxis]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...oat_of_Arms_of_Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain.svg.png

What did that poor ram do to deserve that?