Challenge

In 2019 the ACC LGBT EQuity Pride Planning Committee planned merchandise to hand out during the Austin Pride Parade for the superhero theme "The Power In Me".

I initially wasn't the designer for this project, I happened to be on the committee when the idea of designing pins to give out during pride was floated. I happened to have my tablet on me and drew a picture of the ACC mascot (R.B. the Riverbat) in a superhero costume with a rainbow overlay and was then tasked with making the design.

However due to trademark issues we wouldn't be able to use specific bat imagery for the final design. Eventually the design evolved into simply the phrase "The Power In Me" on a black backdrop with a brush effect and the committee logo, and I wanted to revisit the project.

My goals were to refine the design and expand it to 8 pride flag colors, apply it to items other than pins, and if possible to evoke a bat-themed superhero without directly using that imagery.

Project Start

I knew the pin design would be mostly type-based so I wanted to pick out a strong font choice. I looked through a variety of fonts from different inspirations: superhero fonts because the theme was superheroes, psychedelic both because it matches with the Austin aesthetic as well as the bright and vivid pride flag colors, and then graffiti fonts to reflect the counterculture aspect of queer culture and as another way to tie in the pride flag colors.

While I was assembling the fonts it occurred to me that if I went with an Art Deco-style font I would be able to incorporate Batman without specifically using bat imagery while keeping some of the counterculture element (as Batman is frequently portrayed as an antihero) and implying a city connection as Art Deco is a very urban style.

Next I set up a moodboard for inspiration for the specific visual direction I wanted to go in. I went with a combination of pin designs in general mixed with queer aesthetics, superhero pins, Deco-themed posters, and even specifically a queer superhero pin.

I then began work on the thumbnails. I didn't have any ideas for specifically psychedelic-themed pins so I dropped it in favor of focusing the first set on specifically type layout, then the second was focused on superhero comic aesthetics, the third on graffiti styles, and the fourth on deco-inspired styles.

The thumbnails I selected for roughs were a deco-themed one that also incorporated lines inspired by superhero designs that I thought would make a good abstract bat wing, a graffiti stencil design with an art deco font and then a variation that also incorporated a brush effect.

The graffiti color spray I found in addition to all the subtle nods to the other inspirations also had this glow effect which really emphasized the Power part of the slogan, but this specific font wasn't really communicating Batman to me so I went with the Haarlem Deco font instead.

The next several stages of the project were centered around adjusting the color spray effect. There were eight pride flags I wanted to use: Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Asexual, Aromantic, Nonbinary, and Pansexual. For all these I made a color gradient square that I would be able to apply to the spray effect.

I felt the spray for the rough draft was too diffused so I concentrated it around the letters and put the gradients on a color burn layer but I was given feedback that it made the black background feel empty.

My next approach I went in the opposite direction and also decided to try using a vector brush instead of a raster brush for the spray and then used white for the glow effect around the letters but this unfortunately overpowered the text.

Solution

I went with a middle ground approach for the final version; raster spraypaint focused around the letters with a layer of white paint and an overlay layer to make it look brighter and a layer of paint flecks to carry the rest of the gradient. I also adjusted the committee logo to fit better with the overall design by giving the large text a white outline and adjusting the color bars to fit the specific pride flag colors. Finally as this was for a gay pride parade and also to further tie into the superhero theme I expanded the design to fans and facemasks.

Final Thoughts

This was one of the first graphic design projects I had outside of school and I remember being so proud of what I was able to accomplish and also terrified of messing up. I’m very thankful for this chance at doing it justice this time around.

There were a lot of small technical skills I picked up over the course of this project that will be very helpful in the future, such as better efficiency when creating mockups and better knowledge of how to apply color filters. I’m very happy with the end result and look forward to the day I can make Pride merch for real!