 Newton city flag among America’s best
Newton’s city flag has been ranked one of the best in the country.
In a survey conducted in late 2022 by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), Newton’s flag received an A grade and ranked in the top 25 city flags adopted in the past eight years. (Vexillology is the study of flags.)
Of the 312 flags included in the survey, 46 got an A, and the average grade was a D+.
Newton’s flag — sometimes fondly referred to as the “trains and grains” — was designed by Newtonian Brandon Eck in 2017. It was submitted by Ashleigh Lakey to the Newton Flag Project in 2020, won the public design competition, and was officially adopted by the Newton City Commission on Oct. 13, 2020.
Since its adoption, the flag has been widely embraced in the community as a symbol of pride and community identity, and has been incorporated into public art, signage, merchandise and local business logos.
The flag’s design depicts railroad and wheat, two industries that have had a significant influence on Newton since its founding. Additionally, the symbol represents Newton’s position as a crossroads and a place where cultures intersect to create community. The color black represents the railroad and gold represents wheat. Together, they are a nod to the Newton High School colors and symbolize community pride.
The Newton Flag Project’s public design competition based its criteria around NAVA’s suggested design principles:
- Keep It Simple (The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory)
- Use Meaningful Symbolism (The flag's images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes for the community)
- Use 2 to 3 Basic Colors (Limit the number of colors on the flag to three, which contrast well and come from the standard color set)
- No Lettering or Seals (Never use writing of any kind or an organization's seal)
- Be Distinctive or Be Related (Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections)
The flag design is in the public domain and is available to individuals for First Amendment expression and to businesses and organizations for commercial use. Graphic files can be downloaded on the City’s website.
The other top-ranked (and bottom-ranked) flags can be seen on NAVA’s website at nava.org/2022-survey.
|
