Jacksonville, Florida is a vibrant, special place that we have been lucky enough to grow up in. Often called the “Bold New City of the South,” Jacksonville has continued making efforts to solidify its identity as the city has grown over the years. There is so much pride for where we live, as shown through the loud cries of “DUUUVAL” or “Duval Til We Die” at Jaguar games and around the city. Driving through Jacksonville it is almost impossible to miss the Jaguars flags, college sports flags, state of Florida flags, and/or American flags all over town. However, despite the massive pride our citizens have about where they live, there is one flag that is rarely seen: the flag of the City of Jacksonville.

Why is that? In our personal opinion we don’t like how it looks. But don’t just take our word for it, let’s put the Jax Flag up against the North American Vexillological Association’s principles for what makes a good flag:

1. Keep It Simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory. The rays are simple but it would be difficult to draw the correct number of rays. Andrew Jackson on a horse and the outline of the city are difficult to draw.
2. Use Meaningful Symbolism. The flag’s images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes. The rays symbolize the sun. Andrew Jackson on a horse represents who our city is named after. The outline of the city represents the city itself.
3. Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors. Limit the number of colors on the flag to three which contrast well and come from the standard color set. Orange, yellow, brown, and white are 4 basic colors.
4. No Lettering or Seals. Never use writing of any kind or an organization’s seal. There’s writing on the bottom “City of Jacksonville, Florida”.
5. Be Distinctive or Be Related. Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections. The sun rays relate Jacksonville to its state of Florida, the “Sunshine State”.

According to these principles, the flag could be simpler, use more meaningful symbolism, use fewer colors with a more pleasant color combination, eliminate lettering, and be more distinctive.

We propose that the city take up an effort to create a new flag for Jacksonville. Luckily there is a clear process for just that. First, we are garnering support for an effort to replace the current flag through this online petition. If there is enough support, then city leaders could take up the mantle to start to formalize this process. A process to receive submissions and a committee to judge those submissions would be created to decide on a final design. Once the best design is chosen, the city council would vote on a motion to complete the transition to a new city flag.

At the end of the day, we see this as a huge opportunity to create a great symbol for this city. Flags like the ones for Chicago, Denver, Washington DC, Amsterdam, St. Louis, Portland, Indianapolis, and even Orlando are great examples of what Jacksonville could achieve; the new marketing possibilities could be very promising. Our current flag does not reach its full potential to market the city to the world and serve as a proud image of our city. We can do better.

Resources:

https://www.ted.com/talks/roman_mars_why_city_flags_may_be_the_worst_designed_thing_you_ve_never_noticed?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

https://nava.org/good-flag-bad-flag/

What are your thoughts? How could the Jacksonville flag look if there was a new one? What themes and symbols represent what makes Jacksonville unique?