Love is love. That’s the starting point. But when it comes to how we visualize and express that love—especially in the face of exclusion, injustice, and cultural complexity—the LGBTQ+ flag has never stood still. It’s evolved. And every colour, every stripe, every design shift tells a story worth honouring.
As a product designer, I’m always drawn to how visual systems evolve over time. The Pride flag is one of the most emotionally and politically charged systems out there—a masterclass in identity design, iteration, and inclusive messaging.
Here’s how it started, how it changed, and where it’s going.
1978: The Original Rainbow
The first Pride flag was designed by artist and activist Gilbert Baker in San Francisco. It had eight stripes, each a carefully chosen colour representing a concept:
- 💗 Hot Pink: Sex
- ❤️ Red: Life
- 🧡 Orange: Healing
- 💛 Yellow: Sunlight
- 💚 Green: Nature
- 🩵 Turquoise: Magic & Art
- 💙 Blue: Harmony
- 💜 Violet: Spirit
When it debuted at the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade, it was more than just a banner—it was a bold act of design rebellion. For a community historically defined by external labels, this flag declared, “We define ourselves.”
1979: The Six-Colour Standard
Shortly after its debut, practical challenges forced changes. Hot pink dye wasn’t commercially available, and later turquoise was dropped for design symmetry. The result? The six-stripe version most people recognize today:
- ❤️ Red: Life
- 🧡 Orange: Healing
- 💛 Yellow: Sunlight
- 💚 Green: Nature
- 💙 Blue: Harmony
- 💜 Violet: Spirit
It became a global symbol of LGBTQ+ identity, characterized by its boldness, simplicity, and hopeful message. This emblem of unity and pride has supported the community for decades.
2017: A Call for Racial Justice
Enter the Philadelphia Pride Flag. Two new stripes—Black and Brown—were added above the rainbow to honour queer and trans people of colour.
- 🖤 Black: Black LGBTQ+ communities
- 🤎 Brown: Brown/Latino LGBTQ+ communities
This redesign was more than just an aesthetic change; it was a direct challenge to the existing norms. It highlighted the presence of racism within the community and served as a powerful reminder that Pride should prioritize the voices and experiences of those who are most marginalized.
2018: Forward, Not Just Proud
Enter the Progress Pride Flag, designed by Daniel Quasar. It kept the six-colour rainbow but added a forward-pointing chevron:
- 🖤🤎 Black & Brown: People of colour & lives lost to HIV/AIDS
- 💗💙🤍 Pink, Blue, White: Transgender & non-binary communities
- ➡️ Chevron: Progress with purpose
The redesign was not merely symbolic. It was a user experience-aware transformation, emphasizing visual hierarchy, intentional movement, and clear priorities.
2021: Including Intersex People
In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti expanded the Progress flag to include the intersex community with this bold addition:
- 💛🟣 Yellow triangle + purple circle: Intersex Inclusivity
This version, known as the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Flag, is now proudly displayed by the Government of Canada and numerous institutions worldwide. It serves as a powerful statement that every letter in LGBTQIA+ is significant and deserves recognition.
Community-Specific Flags
While the rainbow symbolizes unity, many communities have crafted their own flags—each with its own meaning and palette:
Transgender Pride Flag
- 💙 Blue: Boys
- 💗 Pink: Girls
- 🤍 White: Non-binary / Transitioning
Non-Binary Flag
- 💛 Yellow: Outside the binary
- 🤍 White: Multigender
- 💜 Purple: Mix of male/female
- 🖤 Black: Agender
Asexual Pride Flag
- 🖤 Black: Asexuality
- 🩶 Gray: Asexual/demisexual
- 🤍 White: Allies
- 💜 Purple: Community
Bisexual Flag
- 💗 Pink: Same-sex attraction
- 💜 Purple: Bi-attraction
- 💙 Blue: Opposite-sex attraction
Pansexual Flag
- 💗 Pink: Women
- 💛 Yellow: Non-binary
- 💙 Blue: Men
Lesbian Flag
- 🧡🤎 Orange & Brown tones: Gender expression
- 🤍 White: Unity across lesbian identities
What This Teaches Us About Design
The Pride flag has always been more than just stripes. It represents solidarity, memory, protest, and celebration all at once. Whether you wave the original six-colour rainbow or the intersex-inclusive Progress flag, the meaning is the same:
- Everyone belongs.
- No judgment.
- No shame.
- Just love.
Design evolves when the people evolve.
In other words: Design always keeps up with love.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
