It’s just two days into our month-long search for a better Portland flag, and we already have several great entries.
But this one, designed by Tim Masterson, caught our eye, so we had to share it.
It captures a pretty common conversation that people who live in Portland (this one) often have with people from away.
“I live in Portland.”
“Oh! I love the Pacific Northwest.”
“Oh, no. Sorry — it’s the other Portland.”
“What, with the lighthouses and stuff?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that one.”
He includes the thinking behind his design: “The green represents the wild forests of Maine.”
Good enough.
Masterson’s flag nails a particular part of Portland life. And for that reason, it’s great. But here’s the thing: Our flag contest has a few parameters by which the judges will weigh each entry. And a key principle of good flag design — which these guys take pretty seriously — is the absence of any letters.
[MORE: Enter our contest to design a better Portland flag]
Here are the guidelines for contestants:
The flag should be:
— Rectangular, with 3:5 dimensions
— A standard JPEG image
— No more than 4 colors, with fewer colors likely to be favored by the judges
— Contain no seals or lettering
— Have meaningful symbolism
— Be easy to identify from a distance
Anyway. Good job, Tim.
[MORE: This Portland high school student is on a mission to change the city’s flag]
