(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A 7-year-old girl's vision for the city of Evanston's flag has become a reality, after the city unveiled its new standard earlier this week.
The designer is Wanda Bernadette "Bernie" Allen-Harrah, a student at Dawes Elementary School. She was declared the winner of a contest to design a new flag for the city of Evanston, which officials said drew hundreds of submissions.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said the first grader designed an aerial view of the city, using blue for the lake, a golden band to signify the Evanston's beaches, green for the city and a white star to symbolize the light from the Grosse Point Lighthouse.
Bernie, with her originally submitted design.City of Evanston
"It really looks like an aerial map of the city of Evanston even though it's just, honestly, three stripes," he said. "She managed to make it both very simple and very meaningful in a way that I don't know if a lot of adults could have pulled off."
After the contest judges narrowed the finalist submissions down to nine, a group of local, professional graphic designers were paired with the finalists "to help perfect the young artists' visions," city officials wrote.
Keith Glantz, the designer who was paired with Bernie, said he was "incredibly proud and fortunate to have the opportunity to work with [Bernie] and our team of local designers to bring this vision to life."
"There's a truth to the saying that the most innovative solutions are often the simplest," he said. "Similarly, the best ideas can sometimes come from those unburdened by the complexities of overthinking. The joy of a young mind."
Biss presented the flag Bernie designed at a City Council meeting, where the 7-year-old was surrounded by family and friends.
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