An quest to redesign the Washington state flag and respect its natural landscape
Graphic designer Bradley Lockhart backs his proposal for a new Washington state flag design. The flag focuses on the state’s diverse landscapes, from coast to mountains to farmland. (Courtesy of Bradley Lockhart)
Immediately after this first success, Lockhart turned his attention to the next level: the Washington state flag.this official logo Features a dark green background with the seal of George Washington, who never set foot in the state, pulled from a postage stamp.
Lockhart backed his design for the Bellingham flag. The design was officially adopted by the city in 2017. (courtesy of Bradley Lockhart)
“It’s kind of embarrassing that I’m like a man,” Lockhart said in an interview. glacier center“That’s what motivates me, if I can make this flag for Bellingham, I should at least try to come up with my own idea for Washington.”
In the summer of 2017, Lockhart boarded a flight to Hawaii with his family. With only three colored pens in hand, he spent six hours on the phone making sketches one by one. By the time the plane landed, he had browsed through more than four dozen editions and settled on the one he thought best evoked what he believed to be the state’s most unique — its diverse landscape.As Lockhart’s Bellingham banner takes hold of the city’s coastal setting, his new state draft banner Reminiscent of the state’s coastline, mountains and rich farmland.
On the left is the official state flag of Washington. On the right is Lockhart’s proposed redesign. (Right: Secretary of State in Washington. Left: Courtesy of Bradley Lockhart.)
The flag is color-blocked in half lengthwise, with sky blue at the top and forest green at the bottom, representing the state’s landscape. On the left, five overlapping triangles represent the five volcanoes in the Cascade Range, all of which have glaciers. The triangle extends into a straight line on the right, paying homage to the orchards and agricultural livelihoods of the eastern part of the state. Finally, Lockhart placed a compass on the summit, meant to represent the nautical history of Puget Sound. “I really wanted it to be purely geographical, so it felt like it would stand the test of time,” Lockhart explained. “It’s hard to create a symbol of people and culture that doesn’t feel like at some point, eventually, it’s going to be outdated.”
Some glaciers on these mountaintops are almost completely disappearing in the face of climate warming Disappeared, Lockhart wanted his flag to symbolize all that had been, and all that was yet to be saved. “Having a flag that is a pure, true version of Washington can be seen as a commitment to try to protect it in a way.”
In the years since, Lockhart has been pushing Washington state to adopt a new flag, whether the design is his or someone else’s. He first posted his NSW flag design on social media. His post sparked a backlash — and apparently, he touched a nerve. “It excited some people and upset some people,” he recalls. But Lockhart wasn’t worried, recalling that the same thing happened when he redesigned Bellingham’s flag. “At first, people hated it. Now you can’t walk the streets of Bellingham without seeing flags.”
According to vexillologist Ted Kaye, the strong public reaction is only part of the flag redesign process. “You’re losing a banner that people take for granted. I call it ‘ugly baby syndrome,'” Kaye said in an interview with GlacierHub. “Every mother loves her baby. She thinks her baby is beautiful even though it might be the ugliest baby ever. But she keeps looking at that baby over and over again. She’s used to it. So, too The same thing happened to those state flags. I’m used to seeing it; I grew up paying homage to that flag. I love that flag even though it’s an ugly flag, or a badly designed flag.”
From a design standpoint, Kaye thinks Washington’s current flag is a mixed bag. “On the positive side, Washington has the only green state flag,” he said, noting that the state’s trees and forests make the color logical. However, he pointed out that the seal doesn’t make much sense. “The seal belongs to the government. But the flag belongs to the people.” Kaye argues that a flag with a seal on it makes it harder for you to fly it in front of your private residence. “People use these flags to represent their affiliation to the country, not their connection to the government.”
But Kaye cautions that the design case may not be enough to prompt a redesign. Not all banners follow the same official redesign path – and not all of them are equally successful. In his years of experience advising on flag redesigns across the country, Kaye sees two primary motivations for changing state flags.The first one appears when the flag is considered offensive, like the old flag Mississippi or Georgia State flag containing the Battle Ensign of the Confederate States, or the current state flag of Massachusetts portray violence The seal features Native American inscriptions. Given the risks of endorsing offensive symbols, these redesign processes often generate more political support in state legislatures, Kaye said.
Then there was the push to change the state flag on the basis of the design itself. “Redesigning a flag because it was poorly designed is a much heavier political lift,” Kaye explained. “But that’s exactly what Brad Lockhart is trying to do in Washington.”
For his part, Lockhart remains optimistic.this Launcher He launched a campaign to promote and sell the new state flag design in October, more than tripling his goal.recently out of washington, utah Decide The process of redesigning its flag based on the design is nearing completion. Crucially, Utah’s redesign relies on multiple rounds of public and artistic input — something Lockhart has indicated he is willing to pursue with the state. Ultimately, Lockhart sees the process as more than just switching off that piece of fabric that floats in front of the building. “I like to tell people, yes, the flag is a symbol of pride. But it’s also a symbol of obligation — to the ecosystem, to the community, to the members of your community,” he said. “If you’re flying a flag, then you’re proud of where you live, and then you should treat the people there, you should care about the environment, you should care about the culture — it just creates that connection of where you are.
An example of what Lockhart is selling on his Kickstarter. (Courtesy of Bradley Lockhart)
Kaye also believes that well-designed flags have a social impact, albeit in a slightly different way. “I believe that when we start seeing a city or state flag in the form of tattoos, we can tell when it’s really embraced by the population it represents,” he said. “And I’ll tell you, I don’t think the Washington state flag has any tattoos.”
along with 100th anniversary With the Washington State flag looming on March 5, Lockhart thinks there may be real momentum to redesign the flag. But for him, the first stage of the process was done — getting people to talk about the flag in a critical, thoughtful way.
