Hello everyone!
My name is Ikechukwu Okereke, and I am a member of the Syracuse Flag Committee, a citizen-led commission that is currently conducting a public redesign process (known as the Syracuse Flag initiative) for the
city flag of Syracuse, NY.
I am reaching out to you all today to invite you to submit flag designs for this competition. Like many municipalities in recent years such as
Pocatello, Idaho,
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we have started to work on this process because of, as Roman Mars noted in a
2015 TED Talk, is that the flag is poorly designed, unable to serve as an interesting and distinctive symbol of the city's history, culture, geography, and society at large.
If you are interested on working on a flag design yourself, here are some helpful resources that you can use. The
North American Vexillological Association, a major organization on vexillology (the study of flags) and vexillography (the art and practice of designing flags), has published a pamphlet authored by vexillologist Ted Kaye titled
Good Flag, Bad Flag. It lists five principles for good flag design, which are:
1.
Keep It Simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory.
2.
Use Meaningful Symbolism. The flag's images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes.
3.
Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors. Limit the number of colors on the flag to three which contrast well and come from the standard color set.
4.
No Lettering or Seals. Never use writing of any kind or an organization's seal.
5.
Be Distinctive or Be Related. Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections.
Additionally, we have provided statements on our website,
www.syracuseflag.com, that you could use to base your design's symbolism on. They are:
Syracuse, New York is a city of 26 neighborhoods in Central New York.
Perhaps best known for its snowy winters, Syracuse boasts of a hardworking, diverse, and resilient history.
Syracuse was incorporated as a Village in 1825 and a City in 1848 on the homeland of the Onondaga people, one of the five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
While sharing a name with the local University, Syracuse is more than one organization and is home to a wide collection of employers, cultures, and traditions.
While the history of Syracuse includes a legacy of division, conflict, and racism, the city is working towards an equitable future for all peoples.
Syracuse will be a growing city that embraces diversity and creates opportunity for all.
Again, anyone can submit, including non-residents, but additional weight will be given to submissions from city residents. Submissions can be done through an online form on our website, or by downloading, printing, and mailing a form to Adapt CNY at
351 South Warren Street, Suite 200, Syracuse, NY 13202, or by emailing a form to
info@adaptcny.org or
flag@adaptcny.org, or by going to any of the
locations listed here to fill out a form and place in a box. The submission period itself will last from now until
Friday, February 17th, 2023!
Afterwards, the Syracuse Flag Committee will be hosting a public input process and community workshops, where we will narrow down the submission field to 3 to 5 finalists, who will receive $250 each. Ultimately, we will determine one design to be recommended to the Syracuse Common Council for adoption in June 2023, the chosen winner receiving additional compensation.
If you are interested and have any questions about participating, I have provided links to a fact sheet and submission form, and I will be around to answer any comments! You can also keep up with the Initiative by joining our mailing list on the website, or following us on Instagram at
@syracuseflag. Thank you for your time and interest and I cannot wait to see your designs soon!
Sincerely,
Ikechukwu Okereke
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