Category: The Lakeview Flag

Allison Lemmon

Posted on by Liz Polmanski

Allison Lemmon

Evanston Township High School
she/her/hers

Student Design: The Lakeview Flag

  1. How does the flag you designed represent who you are and what you care about? 
    The part of my flag that represents me the most is the blue element representing Lake Michigan. The lake is one of my favorite things about Cook County and is a place I have spent a lot of time at, so it is one of the first things I knew I wanted to incorporate into my design. I feel very lucky being able to live right by one of the lakes that is part of the largest concentration of fresh water in the world by area. 
  2. Why did you decide to join the Flag 2021 competition?
    I initially submitted my design to the competition because my graphic design teacher reconstructed one of our projects to fit the contest and had us submit our designs. After being selected I thought it was such a cool and unique experience that I was very excited to be apart of. 
  3. What did you learn about Cook County that surprised you?
    One fact I learned that made it into my design is that there are 6 regions of the county. 
  4. Tell us a short story about your collaboration with your flag mentor/partner(s). 
    It was very interesting to collaboratively work with a professional on this flag. Coming into the process I had only taken 1 semester of graphic design which ended up getting cut short because of Covid. It was very cool to be able to work with a professional and bring my ideas to life. 

Lakeview Flag

Posted on by Liz Polmanski

This flag represents many of Cook County’s important elements all in one design. The blue and yellow colors stick with the original colors of the current Cook Couty Flag and the seal. The red star represents the Couty seat, Chicago because of the well-known 6-pointed red star in their flag. The wavy blue part at the bottom represents Lake Michigan which borders Cook Couty and is an important geographical feature. The blue stripes represent 5 important missions and history of Cook County – Health care, transportation and roadways, justice, environment, and commerce. Finally, the yellow stripes represent the 6 geographical regions of Cook County.

East Lake Flag

Posted on by Liz Polmanski

This flag represents many of Cook County’s important elements all in one design. The blue and yellow colors stick with the original colors of the current Cook Couty Flag and the seal. The red star represents the Couty seat, Chicago because of the well-known 6-pointed red star in their flag. The wavy blue part on the left represents Lake Michigan which borders Cook Couty and is an important geographical feature to the East. The blue stripes represent 5 important missions and history of Cook County – Health care, transportation and roadways, justice, environment, and commerce. Finally, the yellow stripes represent the 6 geographical regions of Cook County.

Lakeview Flag

Posted on by Liz Polmanski

About the Lakeview Flag

  • Lakeview Flag – Final Student Design
  • Lakeview Flag/East Lake Flag – Original Student Submission

This flag represents three big ideas that identify Cook County for all that it is worth. The first big idea represented in this flag design is water, specifically Lake Michigan. This is shown in the design through the three different shades of blue and wavy pattern that artistically represents water. On the other side of the water is the land in which our county sits on represented through the green section of the design. The second big idea represented in my flag design is the population of Cook County and how big it is. Cook County is the second-most populous county in our country and the most populated county in Illinois with over 5.2 million residents. This is represented through the big circle in the middle of the design. The people are what our county is centered around, so the big circle in the middle perfectly represents that. The last big idea represented in this design builds off of the circle and is the six regions of Cook County. All of the residents of the county live in these six regions, so in order to represent that, the circle is split into six sections. The yellow color was chosen to stick with the colors on our county seal and incorporate the yellow from that into my flag design. Every aspect of this design has a meaning behind it and together represent what Cook County is.

John Geletka

Posted on by Liz Polmanski

John Geletka
Founder, Geletka+

he/him/his

  • Lakeview Flag – Final Student Design

Design Mentor: Lakeview Flag

1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I wanted to help the young designers realize their vision and show them ways to push their work even further. 

2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I learned how to look at things through the eyes of someone younger, and was inspired on how fast they interpret the world, process it and articulate it. It’s cool to see. 

3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
I just enjoyed seeing the work evolve, the experiments, iterations and questions.

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