By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Dec 19, 2001 at 4:57 AM

Just like one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, one should not judge a city by its flag. This being said, Milwaukee continues its quest to select a new flag. Will the new flag scream "Milwaukee" in every way possible? No. Will it be the key to unlock our future? No. Will it be a symbol for change and fine art? Probably not. Regardless, the Common Council thinks we need a new banner and the process is moving forward.

Although the Milwaukee Arts Board has picked five prospective city flag designs from more than 100 submitted by Milwaukeeans, it hasn't resoundingly approved any of them. In fact, it didn't endorse any of them. Does that make the designs bad? No, it's simply their opinion that none of them are good enough.

The board met Tues., Dec. 18 to select the finalists, which have now been sent on to the Common Council. However, the board refused to recommend any of the five banners.

The city attempted to find a new banner more than 25 years ago and held a similar design contest. That contest was a failure and the Milwaukee flag remained unchanged.

Use the talkback feature below to tell us what you think of these flags. Do you have a favorite among them? Here's another chance to be involved in the selection process.

Click here to see all of the flag design submissions.