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In 2015, 100 years after the Syracuse city flag’s conception, architecture podcaster Roman Mars pointed to it as an example of a bad flag design in a TedTalk. After an ensuing debate in the Syracuse community, volunteer initiative Adapt CNY is now holding a contest to fix those design issues and create a new flag.

“A flag should be seen flying in the wind, easy to identify from far away…right now it’s just a city seal on a bedsheet,” Andrew Frasier, a volunteer working on the effort with Adapt CNY.

Through its Syracuse Flag Initiative, the non-profit organization is facilitating the redesign project through work with creatives in the central New York community. Since 1915, a seal in the center of the city’s light blue and white flag has depicted the Erie Canal, which used to run through downtown Syracuse. Now, the initiative’s panel of judges with design experience and central New York ties will choose a replacement from community design submissions.

Charles Miller, a professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, said he wants to see a new design that’s more reflective of what the city of Syracuse looks like today. He said it’s time for the currently “lame” flag to evolve.

“The flag is outdated…it’s ugly, it’s sky blue… come on, our skies are never blue,” Miller said.

As it goes about the redesign initiative and works to determine the best way to update the flag, Frasier said Adapt CNY’s goal is to create a flag that functions as an emblem for the city that community members can feel proud of.

“When cities have a good flag, you see it everywhere — t-shirts, bumper stickers, tattoos, all sorts of stuff — right now, nobody even knows if Syracuse has a flag,” Frasier said.

Frasier said the redesign contest is open for designers’ interpretation, with the exception of some guideline directives – including to be simple and distinctive, use meaningful symbolism and two to three basic colors and avoid letters and seals – which the current flag doesn’t meet.

The original flag was established by former mayor Louis Will, who wanted to add Syracuse
to the list of cities that had a “special flag,” the initiative’s Instagram page shared. A contest also decided on the original flag’s design, which evolved until its solidification in 1985.

Now, Frasier said that elements of the flag are out of place and don’t accomplish what a city flag should as a representation of its modern community and that community’s history. The new flag, Miller added, should symbolize parts of the city that aren’t tied to SU.

“The city is more than basketball and football… we’re called the Salt City, so [we could] make it gray,” Fraiser said, adding that “the seal is good at being a seal, but it’s not great on a flag.”

The panel of judges who will decide on the flag’s new design features people of different ages and races who are passionate about the redesign project, Frasier said. Judges on the committee are from Syracuse and the surrounding central New York area, and include professional designers, teachers, librarians and a National Guard member.

The initiative group will award a $250 prize to each of three to five finalists, as well as an additional compensation for the final chosen flag’s designer, according to the initiative’s website. In setting the public up to come up with competitive designs, Winn Wasson, a social sciences librarian at Bird Library and member of the Flag Committee, said he compiled a research guide as a resource for the redesign process.

“We want to make the submission process as accessible and inclusive as possible,” Wasson said.

Adapt CNY will hold an information session and workshop at Bird Library on Thursday
from 5 to 7 p.m., which will include a presentation about the initiative workshop for participants to work on on their design submission. Bird Library will also hold an exhibit throughout February to showcase flag designs among the United States and the world.

Members of the SU and surrounding communities of all ages are welcome to illustrate
what the city of Syracuse means to them, Wasson said. He added that the exhibit is intended to provide inspiration for people who are thinking about submitting a design.

The contest is accepting submissions until Feb. 17. According to Adapt CNY’s website, it will present the judge’s final design pick to the Syracuse City Common Council in June.

Published on February 1, 2023 at 12:02 am

Contact Faith: flbolduc@syr.edu