# Pocatello Flag

Source: https://pocatello.gov/732/Pocatello-Flag, retrieved June 10, 2023. Background info: The city of Pocatello, Idaho was notorious within the vexillogical community for its poorly-designed flag (not the one pictured), which the American Vexillogical Association ranked as the worst-designed city flag in the country, according to a poll, ranked as the 150th in the poll at a 1.48/10 approval rate. Eventually, this notoriety spread outside the vexillogical community and spread to major news organizations. Eventually, the new flag (pictured below) was adopted in July 20, 2017, and has taken inspiration and notes from contributors around the world (also listed below).
Pocatello Flag
Description Central to this design are the three mountain peaks most prominent to Pocatello—Scout Mountain, Kinport Peak, and Chinese Peak. In addition to representing the natural beauty of Pocatello, the peaks symbolize industry, recreation, and education. The compass rose is a directional emblem symbolizing Pocatello’s central role as a transportation and trade hub for rail, road, and air. In addition to its ties to transportation, the rose also points to our past, present, and future. The color gold represents the region’s agricultural ties and prosperity of the city. The lower white portion of the compass star is suggestive of the snowy peaks that frequent our mountain views. The form also creates an abstract arrowhead to acknowledge the area’s Native American history. The design conveys upward motion, signifying positive hope for the future. The blue symbolizes the sky and blue line near the bottom of the flag symbolizes the Portneuf River.
Color Information Blue RGB: 54, 97, 173 HEX: 3661ad PMS: 7685 C
Red RGB: 219, 47, 50 HEX: db2f32 PMS: 179 C
Gold RGB: 255, 204, 45 HEX: ffcc2d PMS: 122 C
White RGB: 255, 255, 255 HEX: ffffff
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News Release From Worst to ?: Pocatello Raises New Flag September 19, 2017
After an effort that spanned the globe, Pocatello’s new flag flew over the city for the first time Tuesday.
The Pocatello Veterans Honor Guard had the distinction of hoisting the flag for the first time and the ceremony marked the end of the Gate City’s effort to raise a new flag. In 2015, the city was highlighted in a TED talk by Roman Mars titled “Why city flags may be the worst-designed designed thing you’ve never noticed” as having the “worst city flag in North America.” Since the talk’s debut in March 2015, it has amassed 4.5 million views. A few of which were what sparked local residents to ask the City to take on a redesign effort.
“This was a citizen driven effort from the beginning and I applaud them for showing myself and many in the community what a good flag can mean for a city,” said Mayor Brian Blad. “I don’t know where the North American Vexillological Association will rate us now but regardless, I am proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
The Ad-Hoc Committee formed in the spring of 2016 and in the fall, the committee accepted submissions from the public. Once the submission processed ended, the committee found itself looking at 709 designs from 26 countries and 31 of the 50 United States. In early 2017, a panel of experts began weighing in on the designs and in March, the public had the chance to offer their opinion on all 709 designs. The effort wrapped up with a public comment period on a final six revised designs. The current design rated the highest among the public.
“The response was beyond anything the committee could have imagined,” said Logan McDougall, Flag Design Ad-Hoc Committee Chair. “Now, to have the design on the flag pole is a feeling that’s tough to describe and again, I’d like to thank the committee for their diligence in seeing the city raise this flag.”
The flag is a compilation of several designs and incorporates important symbolism that was highlighted by the public and experts.
“Many of the flags that were submitted had one or more of the themes present in our flag,” McDougall said. “The new flag does a fantastic job of recognizing the different elements that make up Pocatello.”
Businesses and individuals who would like to utilize the flag design can find image files and color specifications at flag.pocatello.us. The website also features a description of all the symbolism contained in the flag.
“We’ve heard about interest about the design being used for t-shirts, hats, and even socks,” said McDougall. “We’re looking forward to seeing what everyone can come up with.”
Residents who would like to purchase a flag can do so at the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce. The flags are 3 feet by 5 feet and are $50 plus tax.
Below is a list of artists whose submission contributed or had similar features of the final design whether through style or symbolism.
| Michael Mantia | Celebration, Florida |
| Heather Parke | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Yuri Nelson Santos Matias | Governador Valadares, Brazil |
| Sarah Starck | Bothell, Washington |
| Andrew Benson | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Anne Kratz | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Todd Asay | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Iker Yoldas | Kepez, Canakkale, Turkey |
| Alan Hardy | Nottingham, England, United Kingdom |
| Ken Sugiura | Munroe Fall, Ohio |
| Stephen Kelly | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Jon Breker | Inkom, Idaho |
| Andrew Maris | Fair Haven, New Jersey |
| Brian Mansberger | Chicago, Illinois |
| Jack Cackler | Mountain View, California |
| Aaron Rosen | Panama City, Florida |
| Aaron Phillips | Idaho Falls, Idaho |
| Joshua Keeley | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Malik Burdan | Ontario, Canada |
| Adam Jester | Mount Morris, New York |
| Dusan Nedeljkovic | Krusevac, Republic of Serbia |
| Scott Wood | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Cathy Kratz | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Sandy Haufal Malik | Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Lawrence Kratz | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Christopher Bradshaw & Tina Riley | Rigby, Idaho |
| Eric Becker | Rantoul, Illinois |
| Bruce Olenick | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Matthew Hutchinson | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Tony Burton | Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia |
| Alice Elwood | Nibley, Utah |
| Darcie Porter | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Eddy Lyons | Portland, Oregon |
| Ryan Baker | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Annalee Murr | Roberts, Idaho |
| Taylor Lawes | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Michael Vasquez | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jordan Westergaard | Idaho Falls, Idaho |
| Tiffany Kearsley | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Fondereaux Wilson | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Emily Iannucci | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Philip Murphy | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Madeleine Coles | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Penni Young Groote | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Nick Leonard | Takoma Park, Maryland |
| Semyon Burov | Moscow, Russia |
| Brett Moxey | Southbank, Victoria, Australia |
| Austin Jensen | Velva, North Dakota |
| Thomas Campbell | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jonathan Miller | Mokena, Illinois |
| Linda Mitchell | Rexburg, Idaho |
| Craig Thompson | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Tomas Arias | London, United Kingdom |
| Patrick Gunderson | Los Angeles, California |
| Timothy Davis | Belmont, California |
| Nathan Broadhead | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Cristobal Barra C. | Santiago, Chile |
| Mackenzie Fuger | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Dylan Miller | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Gabby Bator | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Patrick Hanson | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Garrett Smith | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Emma Williams | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Kayden Grunig | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Hyrum Brinton | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Drew Roberts | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Baker Beech | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Meghan Calley | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Kyle Kassman | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jean Miller | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Brystene Smith | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Quincy Tatom | Chubbuck, Idaho |
| Morgan Christensen | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Samantha Yazzie | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Marcus Woodin | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Shelbey Emfield | Pocatello, Idaho |
| William Fernandez | Clarecastle, Republic of Ireland |
| Misha Melikov | Donetsk, Ukraine |
| Tyler Johnson | Chubbuck, Idaho |
| Mason Hobson | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Tomasz Magierowski | Wroclaw, Poland |
| Elias Sejer Riis Foldager | Hojbjerg, Demark |
| Carson McCurdy | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Ella Fallows | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Kaitlyn Berry | Chubbuck, Idaho |
| Zoe Doerr | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Claire Cameron | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Tyson Price | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Iain Panton | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Marissa Cox | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Abigail Deakin | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Rhiannon Reno | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Tregan Younis | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Mya Love | Chubbuck, Idaho |
| Keaton Rollene | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Lane Frasure | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jenna Olsen | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jared Hensley | Pocatello, Idaho |
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