Art for advocacy: Pride in every direction
The Pride ambigram started as a simple lettering experiment, exploring how one word could be read from more than one direction. But, over three years of refining, testing, and reworking the design, it became something more personal and symbolic — a visual reflection of identity and belonging.
A rotating ambigram feels naturally aligned with Pride — fluid and constantly shifting. I worked through many iterations, moving from hand-painted lettering to clean vector forms, then translating the design into stencils, acrylic pins, animation, exhibition pieces, and eventually packing it into my suitcase for a typography trip to New York City.
Stage 1. Concept
Stage 2. Vector
Stage 3. Polypropylene stencil & acrylic spraypaint
Stage 4. Acrylic pin
Stage 5. Sticker sheet
Stage 6. Type Down Under exhibition
Stage 7. New York
In June 2024, I attended the NYC Typographics Conference and packed a mini Pride stencil in my suitcase. A spray-paint store on Rivington Street stocked fluorescent mini cans, so I grabbed a set and spent half a day visiting Times Square, Cooper Union, and Columbus Circle to share this colourful message of solidarity. I loved how the bright colours popped against the grey, speckled pavement. I couldn’t bring the cans home with me, but leaving those small bursts of Pride across the city felt completely worth it.
Stage 8. Pride Week, Griffith University campuses
South Bank, Nathan, Logan and Gold Coast Griffith University campuses received the Pride stencil on their footpaths for annual Pride Week. Seeing the work sprayed across Griffith University, exhibited in different places, and appearing on the streets of New York reminded me how design can travel far beyond where it begins. A small idea can move through spaces and communities — quietly connecting people along the way.
Pride isn’t fixed or one-dimensional — it moves and shows up in new ways which aligns beautifully to the art of advocacy.
