Newly designed Pride flag is far more inclusive for 2018
Most products from the 1970's -- green bean jello, lettuce molds-- don't deserve a reboot. The rainbow Pride flag might be the lonely exception.
Portland designer Daniel Quasar recently launched a Kickstarter for his newly designed LGBTQ Pride flag. Quasar has crafted a flag featuring multiple new colors, each representing a gender identity/sexual orientation, as well arrows, suggesting forward cultural movement.
"When the Pride flag was recreated in the last year to include both black/brown stripes as well as the trans stripes included this year, I wanted to see if there could be more emphasis in the design of the flag to give it more meaning," Quasar explains on his Kickstarter page.
The traditional LGBTQ pride flag, designed in 1978 by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker, included 6 colors. Quasar decided to keep the original colors in deference to the flag's history, and add others to modernize it for 2018. The half size stripes represent trans folks (light blue, light pink and white), marginalized People of Color (brown, black) as well as those affected by AIDS (black).
"The trans flag and marginalized community stripes were shifted to the Hoist of the flag and given a new arrow shape. The arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made," Quasar says.
Not everyone is in love with the design. "The New Rainbow Flag is a Design Disaster -- But a Triumph for Inclusiveness," Quartz writes. Some have accused the designer of adding too many colors in an effort to be inclusive, creating chromatic chaos and destroying the flag's simplicity.
Still, the flag is a victory for those who care about representation -- and us goths who prefer a more somber palette.
As of Wednesday, Quasar had already passed his $14,000 fundraising goal. The designer explained he needed $12,500 for production and shipping costs, with the remainder divided between processing fees and stickers. Those who donate $10 or more will get a Pride flag, in addition to stickers and a digital pack.
Topics Social Good
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.
