DAYTON NAMES 3 FINALISTS IN FLAG DESIGN COMPETITION
Creative approaches taken in capturing spirit of community.
After receiving 312 submissions, a project to create a new city of Dayton flag has narrowed the field to three finalists.
Unveiled at the Dayton City Commission meeting Wednesday, the three eye-catching designs take creative approaches to capturing the spirit of the community.
The designs were submitted by a software engineer, a resident with a background in graphic design and an elementary school student.
Larry Collins submitted the first flag design when submissions opened Oct. 1.
Designs were accepted through Dec. 9, and the contest was open to everyone.
Collins, 48, a software engineer with CareSource, said he included an image of the Wright flyer in his design because flight was one of the great accomplishments in human history and incredibly it first happened here.
“We used fire, we used tools, and I think at some point when we study ourselves and our history, a turning point will be the day that mankind took to the skies,” he said.
Collins said the city’s current flag reflects the time period that it was designed, but it feels dated and probably has too much detail.
He said he would be honored and proud to have his idea become Dayton’s next city flag.
One of the golden rules of good flag design is that it should be simple enough that a child could draw it from memory.
About 20% of the design submissions were from current Dayton
Public Schools students.
One design that made the final cut came from 11-yearold Elizabeth Adams, a fifthgrader at Cleveland Elementary.
Adams has always been creative and artistic, said Anita Lovely, her grandmother.
“We’re very proud of her,” Lovely said.
Elizabeth is smart and crafty and picks up on things quickly, and she loves to paint and draw, said her mother, Susan Hardy.
“She’s super excited,” Hardy said.
The third final flag design came from Cecelia Freeman.
She wrote that her flag “encapsulates the heart of Dayton and inspires each of us to work hard, build community, seek adventure, and fly the flag of Dayton proudly.”
A steering committee reviewed all submissions, as well as attached narratives that described design inspirations and decisions, like the colors and symbols.
The committee selected their seven favorite flag designs, and those were sent to the city commission and mayor for consideration.
Commissioners and the mayor narrowed the list to three. More than 75% of the submissions came from people who provided contact numbers with 937 area codes.
Community members will be asked to provide feedback on the final three. Residents are asked to share their thoughts on what they like and what they would change. They can comment at www. daytonohio.gov/flag.
If there is a clear favorite, that design will become Dayton’s city flag.
If people prefer bits and pieces of the submissions, a graphic designer will work to try to mix them together into a single flag.
The three final designs showcase some of the best things about Dayton and highlight some of its values, said Maggie Schaller, a legislative aide with the city who helped lead the project.
“These designs stood out and could be as iconic as we know that Dayton is,” she said. “It (the process) has been so much fun because people have designed and written beautiful things and put a lot of work into it.”
The finalists’ designs followed the rules of good flag design, which include keep it simple, use meaningful symbolism, use two or three basic colors, no lettering or seals and be distinctive and related.
Some of the 312 submissions broke multiple rules, sometimes in funny and charming ways.
Some were packed with symbols, words and images, including one that had a plane, a gem, six words and a U.S. flag.