There's a lot to consider when designing a flag. Stipulations are magnified when redesigning a flag. For the State of Minnesota, it's time for a refresh that will accurately represent the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.
The search for a new flag has been whittled down to a handful of finalists. From an art perspective, there are five principles to good flag design: be simple, be meaningful, limit the color pallet, no lettering or seals, be distinctive. Although the current flag doesn't adhere to this checklist in its entirety, all of the remaining entries for a new flag design do.
"All of the designs are interesting," says Annie Dugan. "It's an interesting way to think about our community." One of the finalist designs was created by Northland resident and Ojibwe artist Sarah Agaton Howes. The design from Agaton Howes incorporates imagery to represent nature, water resources, and stripes to represent counties and tribal nations. You can see the six finalists online at the State Emblem Redesign Commission website.
You can hear Where's Art every Monday morning at 8:20 on Northland Morning.