The Forgotten History of the Seattle City Flag
For a long time now, I have been thinking about the Seattle flag, and how its design leaves the city without a banner citizens are proud to fly. (Why I needed to Redesign the Seattle City Flag) In my journey to create a simpler, more beautiful flag, I stumbled upon something, a history of our flag forgotten by all but a few.
This is that story.
To know the story of the Seattle city flag, we must start with an obscure event of sports history, the Seattle Goodwill Games, an Olympic-like competition. The Goodwill Games were created as an attempt to warm relations between the Soviet Union and the United States after the United States and allies boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow in response to the U.S.S.R.’s invasion of Afghanistan (among other penalties). Part of the retaliatory response from the Soviet Union and comrades was to then boycott the 1984 summer games held in Los Angeles.
The first edition of the Goodwill Games were held in Moscow in 1986. When the Goodwill Games came to Seattle in 1990, it found some sporting success with 2 broken world records (200 meter breaststroke and 10 km race walk — modern day speedwalking), though it was not ultimately as successful when it comes to attendance or revenue. For example, Ted Turner, the founder of TBS and CNN, and lead sponsor for the Goodwill games, lost approximately $44 million (nearly $91 million in 2021 dollars) on the Seattle event.
However, by hosting 54 countries, representing 6 continents, Seattle and state of Washington knew that regardless of the financial opportunity ahead of it, it was a chance to showcase the city to the rest of the world. To take advantage of this opportunity Paul Kraabel, president of the council at the time acted. In a July 20th 1990 Seattle Times Column, Erik Lactis writes:
“’The Goodwill Games people came to the city looking for a Seattle flag,’ Kraabel remembered. I said, ‘We’ll get an official flag.’
Kraabel’s first effort about four months ago was drawn on a place mat at an Italian joint in Wallingford. It had the standard Seattle symbols: the Space Needle, mountains, a ferry boat.
‘I thought it was kind of spiffy,’ Kraabel said. But then he showed it to some friends. ‘They gently told me it was pretty bad.’”
Ultimately, Kraabel turned to friend and local architect David Wright to create the banner which was ultimately adopted.
The Seattle Times column goes on:
“Kraabel never did like ‘Emerald City’ — which had been chosen in 1981 as Seattle’s slogan after a contest by the Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
So he decided on a new slogan for Seattle - The City of Goodwill [after the Goodwill Games]. When you’re president of the city council . . .
On Monday, without much discussion, by 9–0, the city council passed Resolution 28207, adopting an official city flag.
Years from now, when you see it flying at some event, you can tell your grandchildren how we got a flag and a new slogan.
‘Well, I just kind of decided to do it,’ Kraabel said.”
The unfortunate reality is, we are not seeing the flag fly at events; in fact, few even know of its existence. On Seattle’s website recording the symbols of the city, it states that only three original flags were created (not to mention mistaking the creative credit for the flag).
This must change. Seattle is too of special a city to have anything but the best when it comes to design and symbolism our citizens can be proud of; without it, the Seahawks and the Space Needle will remain the only symbols we can use to identify ourselves to others outside the city. (To be clear, I deeply love both these institutions but they’re not expansive enough to cover the entirety of our shared community).
So, I set out to update the design of Seattle’s flag. The flag design is starting from a great position so we don’t need to start from scratch. Building off the principles defined by NAVA — the North American Vexillological Association, the official body in the United States dedicated to the study of flags, flag design should be these rules:
- Keep it Simple — The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory
- Use Meaningful Symbolism — The flag’s images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes
- Use 2–3 Basic Colors — Limit the number of colors on the flag to three, which contrast well and come from the standard color set
- No Lettering or Seals — Never use writing of any kind or an organization’s seal
- Be Distinctive or Be Related — Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections
After taking into account these principles I ultimately came to the design below.
But this is not at all where the story stops. After I started parading my new design around to get feedback on it, I was kindly informed that this design actually has been used before. As it turns out, the design was the literal logo created by the Seattle Organizing Committee, the group who hosted the Goodwill Games.
With the help of the Seattle Public Library System and their research staff, I was able to find additional information on this logo. Most importantly, I was pointed to the trademark source for the original design from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As I reviewed the site, I couldn’t believe it; the trademark was expired and the logo had fallen into the public domain. From viewing the timeline for this logo, it appears that after the Goodwill Games had come and gone, the Seattle Organizing Committee had no further use for this design. As far as I can tell, the Committee has also dissolved with no other trademarks being filed in following years.
In 1996, the trademark was canceled due to the organizing committee’s lack of filing for renewal. To be transparent, I have not yet found anyone new who has taken on filing for this trademark (searching for a negative can be exceedingly difficult to prove true and unfortunately hiring a lawyer is not in my monthly budget).
Now, with the design in the public domain, the original context lost to only but a few, and the city still in need for a beautiful banner, we have the opportunity to create the flag we deserve.
The new design features teal waves, the color of Puget Sound at dusk, and snow white, symbolizing the peaks of The Mountains wrapping the city; it continues to honor the original version intended for the Goodwill Games while making necessary adjustments to reflect our evolution in design thinking when it comes to flags. There are seven undulating Puget Sound waves connected to one another symbolizing that “the future well-being, if not survival of all citizens, is dependent upon our recognition of common bonds and shared responsibilities” from the original council resolution, or more briefly, our common bonds as Seattleites.
For these seven waves, I would love for the city to seek community engagement to assign each wave as a meaningful event in our history. That history should be inclusive of all those who live, and have historically lived in Seattle/Salish Coastal region.
To me, this flag has the makings to become the next symbol of Seattle, that reason includes:
1. It honors our incredibly bountiful natural resources — something we must continue to cherish and preserve.
2. It provides us the opportunity to reflect and educate the complete history of all those who call Seattle and this region home.
3. A symbol for us to remember our common bonds and commitment to one another, most recently made glaringly clear from the Covid-19 pandemic, with opportunities always available to hone this skill further.
4. A great 90s’ backstory and design (stars are so 1776 — waves are a much more appropriate motif for Seattle anyway).
5. And finally, the chance to once again best Spokane in another arena after they recently adopted this design for their flag.
(I’m only kidding, I am so happy Spokane is willing to update their civic design systems and the symbolism is good.)
To close, let me leave you with this. Over 30 years ago, viewers from all over the world tuned in to watch the Seattle Goodwill Games (many viewers likely seeing Seattle for the first time) open with the marching band featuring this symbol as a representation of Seattle and its flag.
For more Seattle Flag content, follow @SeattleCityFlag on Instagram.
If you’d like to join the grassroots movement to with a flag of your own, you can find my Etsy account here: Seattle City Flag Etsy.
All profits from the flag sales go to Mary’s Place, a Seattle non-profit that provides safe, inclusive shelter and services that support women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness.
