A team of flag enthusiasts and youth, including the group’s founder, Callum McDonald, 18,have begun a movement to eventually hoist a public-designed flag over Victoria by petitioning for a city-wide, open flag competition.
The quest began in early 2016 when Callum realised the city’s current flag was not only lacking in design but completely unknown in Victoria. The group hopes to replace the city’s logo-flag, which features a blue wave and the word “Victoria” on a white background, with something made by the people of Victoria. Not only would this foster the arts in Victoria, but it could be an effort in branding the city for tourists and locals alike to enjoy: a well designed flag represents its people to the world and to themselves. The group points to cities like Regina, Abbotsford, and Portland which boast exceptionally designed flags.“We’re trying to connect a city, which we believe already has a distinct identity, through a flag. We don’t think a logo flying at 50 meters away tells our narrative,” says Callum McDonald, flag enthusiast and City of Victoria Youth Councillor.
The group is looking to create open discussion in the city around the possibility of an open,crowd-sourced flag competition. They are looking for supporters; the eventual plan is to petition CityCouncil to officially adopt a competition. They say the competition would involve online submissions by individuals and organizations and that these submissions would have to follow the North American Vexillological Association’s design rules. (The NAVA is North America’s organization for flag design across the continent, vexillology being the study of flags.) Submissions would also have to contain one element of design from the Victoria coat of arms, alongside other suggestions. Submissions would be narrowed down to a short-list by a committee and then voted on by the people of Greater Victoria. The competition’s plan and goals are on the a Flag for Victoria’s website, listed below.
A Call for Design
The group is looking for people to contact them with opinions and ideas about a future city-wide contest. This is the first step in a process which would end in a presentation to City Councilis the creation of a discussion about flag re-branding and its perks, including an increase in designrecognizability, a chance for the sponsorship and expansion of the arts, and an expansion in communityunity.
To better discuss flags and their design, a Flag for Victoria will be hosting a forum on flag design this autumn on Saturday, the 17th of September, 2016, at 11:00 AM to create awareness of the benefits of flag design and the direction of a future flag competition. There will be many flags from cities across the country on display as well as books and pamphlets on flag design. The forum will be hosted at Studio Robazzo, a local design studio located at 2001F Douglas St. The forum will include a presentation on flag design by Callum McDonald, a video presentation from TED, and an opportunity for discussion and questions.
