People's Flag of Eau Claire Competition Deadline Extended

Tom Giffey |

Do you have a vision for a banner that would represent your fellow Eau Clairians? If so, there are still a few weeks to submit your design for a new People’s Flag of Eau Claire. The original submission deadline of March 31 has been extended until Friday, April 21, which removes that “Oops, I missed the deadline” excuse you were about to make. The flag project is the brainchild of Eau Claire’s C.J. Krueger, who sees a potential city banner as a unifying symbol for the community. He was inspired to pursue the idea by Roman Mars, host of the 99% Invisible podcast, who in 2015 gave a TED Talk with the provocative title “Why City Flags May Be the Worst Designed Thing You’ve Never Noticed.” Similar initiatives have found success in other cities, including Milwaukee. To learn more or to submit your flag, go to eauclaireflag.org/submissions. There you’ll find design guidelines adapted from the North American Vexillogical Association, including “keep it simple,” “use meaningful symbolism,” “use two or three basic colors,” “no lettering or seals,” and “be distinctive or be related.”