Lincoln Young Professionals Group (YPG) and The American Marketing Association - Lincoln Chapter (AMA) released the four designs as finalists in ReFlag Lincoln, the contest to redesign the City of Lincoln’s flag. The designs are now available for viewing and public comment at https://forms.gle/z9psnm8jimGZEv2v9.
“The flag committee was overwhelmed by the variety and quality of the submissions,” said Whitney Hansen, AMA past president. “Both amateur and professional designers wowed our selection committee with their creativity and thoughtfulness while creating a symbol to represent Lincoln.”
The winning designers are Jeff Nienhueser, Ed Mejia, Brandon Moller, and Jared Rawlings.
At the time the contest was launched, ReFlag Lincoln only intended to release three finalists for public comment. After reviewing the more than 190 submissions, the committee elected to add a fourth finalist. All four designers will be awarded a $1,000 prize.
The selection committee includes Francisco Souto, University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Art, Art history, & Design, Ed Zimmer, local historian, Alyssa Martin, Nelnet, Al Maxey, artist, Todd Ogden, Downtown Lincoln Association, Suzanne Mealer, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, Whitney Hansen, AMA Lincoln, and Mairead Safranek, Lincoln Young Professionals Group.
“Our committee extensively discussed every aspect of the submitted designs, and ultimately chose the flags that we felt best aligned with the standards of good vexillological design and felt most authentic to the identity of the community,” said Todd Ogden, President of the Downtown Lincoln Association. “The decision was a challenging one, and on behalf of the committee, we want to heartily thank each and every person who took the time to participate in this process.”
Before releasing the designs for public comment, ReFlag Lincoln added a step to the process – contacting each of the four design finalists to suggest optional design alterations to better reflect the contest criteria.
“The elements of good flag design are unique from traditional design standards,” said Hansen. “Our committee identified characteristics of each design that could be improved to better reflect one of the Five Basic Principles of Good Flag Design established by the North American Vexillological Association and asked the designers to modify their designs before releasing them for public comment.”
The deadline for the public to submit feedback on the designs is October 15. Following the period of public comment, the selection committee will reconvene to evaluate the feedback, select a final design, work with the designer to make modifications based on the public feedback, and then submit the flag to the Lincoln City Council for approval. ###