Ethan Nelson
Flag Designs
In 2024 the Illinois state government was accepting designs for new state flags. I have always enjoyed vexillology (study of flags) and the artistry behind flag designs. I thought this was a good opportunity to make some designs myself. Although Illinois decided to stay with their old flag design it was a fun experience designing potential flags for the state I was born and raised in.
Current Design
The current design is the Illinois State Seal on a white field with "Illinois" written at the bottom of the seal. This flag was officially adopted in 1915 after Ella Park Lawrence lobbied for state officials to adopt it. In 1970 Illinois adopted a flag change adding the name of the state below the seal, giving us the flag we have today.
Issues of the Current Design
Flags are the representation of a state and its people and the Illinois flag fails to do that. The current design's issues is primarily that the design is bland as it only consists of the state seal and the state name, it is not memorable, it is too similar to other state flag designs, and holds little representation of the modern Illinoisan.
Many US state flags have a solid color background, often a dark blue, and the state seal. From afar one could mistake any state flag from one another, defeating the purpose of a flag which is supposed to be identified from a distance. The only distinction that the Illinois design has is the white field and the name of the state.
When entry to flag designs opened I asked fellow Illinoisans on their opinion of a new state flag. Barely any knew what the flag consisted of and majority had greater recognition of the Chicago flag compared to the Illinois flag. This is due to the forgettability of the state flag and iconic nature of the Chicago flag.
My Proposed Designs
While designing my proposed flags I kept in mind every Illinoisan from Chicago to Cairo. This flag had to represent the business people, innovators, leaders, farmers, laborers, and everyone in between. Below are the flags that I submitted to the Illinois Flag Commission.
Stars and Farms
Stars and Farms depicts a blue field representing the importance of the Mississippi, Lake Michigan, and our essential water ways that helped build our state.
There are 3 gold bars at the bottom depicting our vast farm fields. I chose 3 bars due to the 3 distinct regions of Illinois: Northern, Central, and Southern.
In the center of the flag is a central star surrounded by 7 smaller stars in a semi-circle. The semi circle stars represent the 7 states that joined the original 13 states before Illinois. The central star represents Illinois as the 21st state in the US, the 8th state to join the union after the original 13.
This was my favorite of all the designs I made. I enjoyed the simplicity of the design and the meaning behind every decision. If I were to redesign it I would make the stars 6 pointed to allude to the Chicago and their importance in the state
Waves of Progress
Waves of Progress is an alternative design of Stars and Farms. It consists of blue field with a semi-circle of stars around one larger central. But there is a chevron line curved upwards towards the stars.
The upward line towards the stars represents the waves of the water ways but also the push for progress in the state. The state has always been one of technological innovation and a home for social progress in US history.
Diagonal Stripe
This design I never named other than Diagonal Stripe. It depicts a white field with a central diagonal blue stripe flanked by red stripes on either side and a 6 pointed star in the center.
The Star is an allusion to Chicago and the importance it has in Illinois economy, culture, politics, and technology. The blue stripes represent the importance of water ways in the development of our state and how many cities were built along these waterways. The red stripes is to keep the flag more interesting but also pays homage to the US flag's red stripes.
My Unproposed Designs
The Commission was only taking 3 submissions per person. These were the designs that did not make the cut but I thought were also potential good candidates for the future flag of Illinois.
The Dear Eagle
The Dear Eagle depicts the same star motif from the previous designs but blue. They are on a white field with a deer and eagle head facing each other. They are on pedestals of gold and blue that look like wings. Although the negative space between alludes to the progression chevron shape in Waves of Progress
While designing this flag I wanted to allude to the current flag and it's importance which is why I included a bald eagle on the right, looking right into the past and it's historical importance. On the other side is the state animal, the White Tailed Deer, looking right, to a bright future. The pedestal colors represent the importance of our waterways and Lake Michigan. The Gold color represents the importance that agriculture has in Illinois.
I enjoyed designing this flag as I went out of my comfort zone with the design of animals in a flag. I do enjoy how it looks but I do not feel like it represents Illinois enough so I did not submit this design to the Commission.
Yellow Wave
Yellow Wave is a unique design compared to the previous ones. It has a blue field with a white star in the center. At the bottom of the flag is a yellow design resembling antlers and waves.
I chose the yellow design element to showcase the importance of agriculture and the state animal, the white tailed deer. It can also be seen as yellow waves. This is to once again symbolize the importance of the Mississippi, Lake Michigan, and other water ways that define the shape of our state.
