HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-25 Public Comment - G. Washko - Public Comment – Pride FlagFrom:Grace Washko
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:hello@queerbozeman.com
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment – Pride Flag
Date:Tuesday, July 15, 2025 11:49:35 AM
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Hello my name is Grace Washko, Bozeman resident, graphic designer, educator
and brand strategist.
And I am in favor of the city of Bozeman adopting the progress pride flag as an
official city flag.
Last Tuesday as I listened to testimonials on all sides of this issue I couldn't help
but laugh at the familiarity of this situation. Though we were in city hall, the
tension felt very much like that of the board room.
As a brand strategist, I am constantly embarking to help businesses and
communities brand themselves. It is a deeply vulnerable process, one that asks
the client to lay bare their values and mission. Along the way you usually
encounter a few meetings just like this, where head and heart clash. Each side
wrestling over the meaning of the new logo or brand identity.
The problem is that arguably the most interesting thing about brands, and also
the trickiest, is that they are not what we designers say they are.
Take the apple logo for instance, as a designer I could sit here all day and laud
its beautiful curvature and elegant simplicity. But most of you.. And rightfully so,
might call me out with the argument that it's nothing more than glorified clip art!
And yet, when we see the apple logo engraved on the brushed steel of an
iPhone. Suddenly that flash of silver fruit means; sophistication, luxury, creativity
and innovation.
We intuitively know what apple stands for, and what it means to be an iphone
user over an android user.
Brands in this way are not just their logos, products or even flags… they are
vessels to be filled with meaning. Which happens over time as communities rally
behind a brand’s mission and build culture around it.
Symbols are inherently imperfect. Anyone who has ever botched using an emoji
over text knows this. But there are some symbols that come close, or at least
some symbols which over time are so filled with the same meaning it’s hard to
see them as anything else.
In the case of the progress pride flag: safety, joy, equality, protection, and
inclusion
The voices you heard last Tuesday and tonight are proof of the progress pride
flag’s cultural meaning. Whether that expression is one of safety or division. The
flag’s design carries weight behind it.
So if the trickiest part of branding is this organic constantly expanding meaning,
how does anyone control the meaning of a symbol. That's where strong
leadership comes in.
When I work with clients, I often find myself reminding them of the quote
attributed to Henry Ford “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would
have said faster horses” . There are countless examples dotting history of great
design that stood fast against the public’s opinion, and changed the world for it!
That’s where truly great leadership comes in. It takes imagination to architect the
future. To stand in the gap of what is known and assert what we could be.
It will be your job as the city council to decide what Bozeman stands for. Are we
a city where everyone belongs? A people woven from those drawn to this valley
by its beauty and sense of self determination? What vision can you as the
council cast for our future?
Because this isn’t about a flag, not really, it’s about who we are as a city.
Thank you.
-Grace Washko
P.S. Something that I found inspiring that may be an interesting parallel for the
council is this podcast series: https://rebelspiritpodcast.com/