Overland Park will soon replace what flag experts had ranked as one of the worst city flags with a new one that seeks to evoke the city’s park identity and nods to its history.
The new flag proposal — which follows months of mulling and public engagement — comes at the tail end of a wider city brand overhaul that staff have been working on.
During that process, the city engaged North American Vexillological Association, an international nonprofit organization of flag experts and enthusiasts that had ranked the old city flag as one of the worst in the country.
“We have been on the NAVA list for many years, at the very bottom,” said Meg Ralph, the city’s strategic communications manager, during an Overland Park City Council Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this week.
The old flag features a plain, white background and the city’s old logo on it — formerly just the name and slogan, "Above and beyond. By design."
On Monday, the Committee of the Whole took the first step toward adopting the new flag design, voting 7-3 to recommend approval of a flag with a tree design and shades of green — an allusion to past city imagery and themes. Councilmembers Holly Grummert, Melissa Cheatham, Jim Kite, Richard Borlaza, Gregg Riess, Scott Mosher and Chris Newlin voted in favor of the tree design.
Councilmembers Sam Passer, Inas Younis and Drew Mitrisin voted no, preferring an alternative design that featured the iconic clock tower in downtown Overland Park with blue and maroon coloring.
What are the tenets of good flag design?
Ralph said the vexillologists (that is, people who study flags, their history and symbolism) from NAVA gave city staff something of a crash course on flag design and the elements of a good, lasting flag.
Some of those elements are:
- The ability of the public to recognize and identify it from a distance
- The use of symbolism that is meaningful to the community it represents (color, images, etc.) without overloading it
- The avoidance of lettering or seals in the design
Additionally, Ralph said NAVA drove home the importance of creating a distinctive flag that can last for a long time, potentially for 50 years or longer.
Overland Park’s new flag started with public submissions
After adopting a new brand earlier this year, the city invited local creative individuals to help design a new flag that has more staying power, while also complementing the new brand principles that feature a wider color palette and more imagery evoking local history.
Members of the public submitted dozens of designs, and Overland Park reached out to local social studies, design and art classes for additional inspiration as well, Ralph said. Later, the city winnowed down the more than 140 submissions to six options.
Then, Overland Park set up makeshift polling stations for people to vote on the finalists at community gathering spaces, like the Matt Ross Community Center and in the LongHouse at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
From that, the city was left with three finalist designs, though Ralph showed the trio in multiple, interchangeable color palettes. In the end, the tree with the green and yellowish background won out.
Tree flag nods to Overland Park’s roots
Ralph said the tree flag’s design “shows forward momentum, a connection to Overland Park’s forward-thinking nature” and nods to the city’s emphasis on parks with the tree and the coloring.
Over the years, a tree has featured prominently in Overland Park’s different brands, logos, flags and other city designs.
“The tree is what everyone likes and everyone knows, and I do feel the tree is going to be around forever,” said Councilmember Chris Newlin.
Other councilmembers who voted for the tree design agreed.
“I just feel like we will always be a Tree City, and I think that identifies us with the tree,” said Council President Holly Grummert, referencing the city’s annual Arbor Day Foundation recognition.
On the other hand, councilmembers who preferred the clocktower flag option worried the tree emphasis is not special to just Overland Park.
“Trees are not unique to Overland Park; the clock tower is unique to Overland Park,” said Councilmember Inas Younis. “If we’re looking for that edge that differentiates us, I would go with [the clocktower flag].”
Next steps for the flag decision
Now, the decision goes to the full city council for a vote.
It is currently scheduled for the Sept. 8 meeting.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
