Central blue shield with gold beehive in middle, with background split horizontal with white on top and red on bottom, three stars (five, four and six-pointed) are in upper left section

The current state flag elements are distilled to the beehive and a shield. The white band represents northern Utah; the red band represents southern Utah. The three stars represent the indigenous peoples (4-point petroglyph star), the settlers (6-point star), and the present-day residents (5-point statehood star) who have sought out Utah for their home. The shield shape - based off an old engraving of the state seal - resembles a U (Utah is the only state in the Union whose name starts with U).