Stingl: Milwaukee's unofficial new flag is showing up in more places

Milwaukee's unofficial new flag is growing on me. You know, the people's flag with the sun rising over the lake.

These things take time. In a column in 2016, I may have mocked the new design and the other four finalists as being vague and cookie-cutter. It's way easier to throw stones than to come up with a design that pleases everyone.

Not that I wanted to cling to the old city flag, a cluttered mess of outdated images that nearly no one cares about anymore. Time for that dust rag to become a museum piece.

Maybe it's plain old familiarity that makes us warm to things. I have been seeing the new flag here and there, and it's starting to say Milwaukee to me, although I had to go back and read on MilwaukeeFlag.com what it all means:

"The sun rising over Lake Michigan symbolizes a new day. The light blue bars in its reflection represent the city’s three rivers (Milwaukee, Menomonee, Kinnickinnic) and three founding towns (Juneau Town, Kilbourn Town, Walker's Point). Gold represents our brewing history and white symbolizes unity."

I asked Steve Kodis, graphic designer and creative lead on the flag effort, to close the deal. He says the flag changes the narrative of Milwaukee.

"Design is a game of persuasion sometimes. People say, well, it doesn't say anything about Milwaukee. It doesn't say Milwaukee on it, but it's not supposed to. It asks a little bit more of you to understand the symbolism, but once you understand the symbolism, you'll never forget it," he said.

"You can fly it from your house. Businesses can fly it from their buildings. It's on stickers and you can put it on your car. Now it's a beer."

Bottles of Milwaukee Brewing Co.'s MKE IPA, which became available last month, are labeled with the flag design. And in April you will see it on 16-ounce cans, too.

"It just really stands out. Even for those who don't know the flag, we thought it was just a cool package," said the craft brewer's marketing director Hannah Falk.

You can buy Milwaukee flags at shops locally and on Amazon, along with patches, stickers, lapel pins, ornaments, even bikinis and socks bearing the image. The Milwaukee Brewers are incorporating the design into shirts, caps and a hoodie for sale this season. The other day I spotted the flag flying on a tall pole in front of the building housing the Ale Asylum Riverhouse on Old World 3rd St. near Juneau Ave.

Anyone can use the flag design for any purpose without permission or money changing hands, Kodis said. It's public domain.

Here's something a lot of people think they know about the new flag. They believe it's officially the city's flag, which isn't true yet. The Common Council has yet to make that declaration, although Ald. Cavalier Johnson said he's willing to sponsor a bill.

"We might as well make it official and do an up or down vote. It's about time it happens," he said.

Kodis urges residents who like the flag to contact their aldermen and ask them to get on board.

For now, the banner has come to be known as the people's flag. It's the free spirit of flags as it tries to win our hearts from the bottom up and without government involvement or acceptance.

That's the way the designer of the flag, Robert Lenz, likes it. He's a 34-year-old Bay View dad and history buff who has worked as a freelance designer and developer since he was a teenager.

"We've purposefully allowed time for the flag to gain acceptance on its own. It has given people a chance to take ownership of the flag, which has strengthened its power as a symbol of Milwaukee. After many attempts to change the flag over the years, an unconventional process needed to happen, a process led by the people," he said.

Look up. As spring approaches, you might see the answer to Milwaukee's flag future blowing in the wind.

Contact Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or jstingl@jrn.com. Connect with my public page at Facebook.com/Journalist.Jim.Stingl