Staten Island’s flag, for example, includes a pixelated image of an island, some birds, and blue water. Kyle Bunker’s version preserved the wavy blue water lines and nixed the rest. It has symbolic meaning. “Staten Island sits in New York harbor, south of Manhattan, surrounded by five different bodies of water. The five wave stripes represent the borough’s relationship with harbors, bays, and rivers,” Bunker wrote.

For Newport Beach, California, designer Charlie Noard replaced the sailing insignia with a simple bit of geometry. It easily represents the sunset and sailing.

Chris Nguyen drew on the origins of Fountain Valley's name—artesian wells—to create imagery for the California city's new flag.

Wyatt Carroll's version of the Manhattan flag symbolizes the water surrounding the island, the grid of buildings, and the green of Central Park.

Huntington Beach’s flag has a gold shape that looks kind of like the letter B sits atop a navy blue backdrop. Four pictograms—symbolizing sailing, physics, surfing, and living in houses (maybe?)—live inside that gold B. It’s cluttered, and fails to clearly express what makes Huntington Beach unique. Erin Safreno's flag features a simple wave.

To represent the astounding cultural diversity of Queens, New York, Ethel Moore used the image of the Unisphere—a Queens landmark.

Nate Butler, Column Five's creative director, redesigned Santa Ana's flag. He did away with the busy seal at the center of the flag and reversed the diagonal line, creating a shape that suggests an open door. This connects to Saint Anne, Santa Ana's namesake. She is often represented in traditional iconography as a doorway.

Lionell Guzman's staircase for the Bronx in New York City is meant to represent how the borough is constantly rebuilding.

In Jenny Famularcano's Irvine flag, the blue circle in the center represents the University of California at Irvine.

San Juan Capistrano's famous landmark is its mission—known as the "jewel" of California Missions. Rendell Ascueta used a flower icon to suggest that.

Renee Granillo's version of the Dana Point, California, flag keeps it simple: it's a harbor.

Tustin, California, is home to agriculture, trees, and former Marine Corps Air Station. Stephy So created a simplified version of the hangar, in white, set on an abstracted field.

Kyle Bunker also redesigned Brooklyn's flag. The X is represents the Roman fasces, which you can see in the original flag, in the woman's arms. It's a longstanding symbol of unity in this New York borough.