Milwaukee flag design
medium: digital manipulation
Size: 20.32cm x 27.94CM
completed: November 2015
exhibition textThe aim for this re-imagined Milwaukee flag is to convey as much background information on the city as possible with a simple and straightforward design. Using Adobe Photoshop CS6, I was able to manipulate shapes and lines to create a design that portrays several historical origins and cultural landmarks. The Chicago city flag as well as the Denver flag serve as key inspiration for my design with their use of minimal colors, basic shapes, and strong symbolism. The original design of the Milwaukee flag served as inspiration for the symbolism that it represented. I also drew inspiration from the Summerfest logo to not only represent the well-known music festival, but to also represent the Hoan Bridge located in downtown Milwaukee that connects the city from north to south uniting all of its citizens.
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artistic inspiration
For my design, I was highly influenced by the Chicago, IL city flag as well as the Denver, CO city flag. Both designs are fairly simple and symmetrical, yet full of symbolism, all in which are important elements in creating an impressive flag. I wanted to incorporate these same elements into my own design by using only 3 basic colors (red, yellow, blue) and simple shapes and lines that symbolize Milwaukee as a whole. Even though deemed as "the worst designed thing you'll ever notice", I also took inspiration from the original design of the Milwaukee flag. In the original design, there are a variety of images that represent Milwaukee, such as an Indian Head to represent Native American origins, a gear to represent industrialization, waves to represent the three lakes Milwaukee was founded on, and a yellow barely stalk to represent the brewing industry. I wanted to include all of these important symbols into my design as well, but instead of using complex images I wanted to represent these details with colors and shapes.
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I was also inspired by the well-known Summerfest logo. Known as "the world's largest music festival", I thought it would be neat to add this symbol. Since this logo is simple and effortless, it was easy being able to incorporate it into my final design without going over the top. Not only did I want this symbol to represent Summerfest, I also wanted it to represent the fun-loving and culturally diverse sides of Milwaukee. Summerfest grounds is a place known to have a variety of different festivals that celebrate a wide range of cultures, ultimately bringing everyone together as one whole city. I also wanted the Summerfest logo in my design to represent The Hoan Bridge located downtown. It connects Interstate 794 to the Lake Freeway across the Milwaukee River inlet. I wanted The Hoan Bridge to represent how it connects the city's diverse set of cultures and people, and how all of its citizens are united as one.
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Meaning
Blue Stripe:
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research
- Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan
- First recorded inhabitants of the Milwaukee area were the Menominee, Fox, Mascouten, Sauk, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Ho-Chunk Native American tribes
- Founded in 1846 by founders Solomon Juneau, Byron Kilbourn, and George H. Walker
- In the early 20th century, Milwaukee has developed a national reputation if three hallmarks: German immigrants, Socialism and beer
- Milwaukee's neighborhoods are divided in three parts, the north, the south, the west, the east, and downtown, all in which features their own history and aspects
- Home to Summerfest, the "the world's largest music festival" certified by the Guinness World Records since 1999, in which attracts between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people each year
Planning/process
Planning:
To begin planning for the Milwaukee Flag Design project, I created 1 in x 2in rectangles on a sheet of paper and used markers to color in my ideas. I created 9 rectangles to show my designs. Using Adobe Photoshop CS6, I ended up creating 2 of my original flag design sketches that had the potential to be for my final piece. Process:
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Reflection
With the overall completion of the Milwaukee Flag Design project, I can say that I enjoyed it for the most part. I personally love graphic design and digitally manipulating images through photoshop so this project was right up my alley. The most difficult part with creating my design was definitely creating the red stripe that incorporated the Summerfest logo using photoshop. I ended up overcoming this obstacle and happy with the end result. What I definitely could have done better with completing this project would be to make sure every aspect of the flag is perfectly aligned and symmetrical so that if it were to be flipped it would look exactly the same. I could have also improved how I presented the idea of the putting the Summerfest logo into my design by making it look more original, because others may believe that my flag design only represents the music festival and copyright/plagiarism issues could come about. I believe that the final design for my flag was successful and it overall demonstrated the key components to a well designed city flag.
Works Cited
http://www.milwaukeehistory.net/education/milwaukee-timeline/
http://www.livemilwaukee.org/dhj.htm
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/August-2013/Chicago-City-Flag/
http://projects.511wi.gov/hoan-bridge-project/overview/
https://www.collinsflags.com/viewcity.cfm?CF=Denver
http://www.milwaukeeflag.com/
http://summerfest.com/history/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/0000FF
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/FF0000
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/FFFF00
http://www.livemilwaukee.org/dhj.htm
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/August-2013/Chicago-City-Flag/
http://projects.511wi.gov/hoan-bridge-project/overview/
https://www.collinsflags.com/viewcity.cfm?CF=Denver
http://www.milwaukeeflag.com/
http://summerfest.com/history/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/0000FF
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/FF0000
http://www.colorcombos.com/colors/FFFF00