MILWAUKEE -- The winner of the People's Flag of Milwaukee's flag re-design contest has been revealed.
The winning design -- Sunrise Over the Lake -- features the sun rising over Lake Michigan.
Designer Robert Lenz said it symbolizes a new day. He said the light blue bars in the sun's reflection represent the city’s three rivers and founding towns, the gold symbolizes our brewing history and the white represents the city united.
"[This flag is] about unity and I think that over time we can stand behind it and it can be the symbol of our city," Lenz said Tuesday night.
More than 1,000 people submitted design ideas. The entries were narrowed down to five finalists by judges and the public had the opportunity to vote for the final choice.
The contest was created, in part, because Milwaukee’s flag was called out in a TED Talk as an example of one of the “worst designed flags in the entire nation."
The People's Flag of Milwaukee Initiative is a program by Greater Together, a non-profit organization that promotes racial and economic equity in the creative industries in the Greater Milwaukee area. They wanted the flag to represent the Milwaukee of today; where we are going and what we want Milwaukee to become.
Greater Together felt the current flag -- which has been around since 1955 -- has offensive imagery and it has a building on it that no longer exists.
The new flag design will be presented to the Milwaukee Common Council. An official vote has to be taken before any changes are made.
