The short version
- Good Pride Month design is backed by real action, such as donations, events, inclusive policies or work with LGBTQ+ creators, and says so specifically.
- Pride Month is celebrated in June in many countries, marking the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York in June 1969.
- The rainbow flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, and its common six stripe version is red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
- The Progress Pride Flag, designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018, adds a chevron of black, brown, light blue, pink and white.
- Rainbow backgrounds are hard to read text on, so keep words on a calm area and use the rainbow as a band, edge or accent.
On this page
The best Pride Month design is honest. A rainbow on its own says you noticed it was June; a rainbow next to something you actually did (a donation, a partnership, an event, a policy, a commission for a queer artist) says you mean it. Get the flags and their colours right, keep words readable on bright stripes, and tell people specifically what your support looks like. That is the difference between a post people share and one they screenshot for the wrong reasons.
A short history of the Pride flags
Pride Month is held in June in many countries, marking the Stonewall uprising in New York in June 1969. Some places hold Pride at other times of year, so local events may fall outside June. The flags carry much of the meaning, and getting them right is the first sign of care.
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Pride flag colours and hex codes
Flag colours vary slightly between sources, but these codes are widely used for screen work. Use them exactly when you draw a flag; when you are designing a mood rather than a flag, you have more freedom.
Rainbow gradients for Pride posts
A gradient lets the colours flow into each other rather than sit in hard stripes, which feels softer and more modern. Hard stops keep the flag readable as a flag. Both have their place.
Notice that Dusk rainbow starts from a deep ground. A full rainbow behind words is one of the hardest surfaces to read on, because the lightness jumps from dark violet to bright yellow across a single line. The fix is to give the words a calm area: a deep end of the gradient, a band of rainbow at the edge, or a plain panel of your brand colour beside it. Rainbow gradient and text on a gradient go deeper.
Words running straight across the brightest colours: parts of the line disappear.
The same post with the background making room for the words.
How to show support beyond a rainbow logo
Changing your logo to a rainbow is the most familiar Pride gesture and the easiest to doubt, because it costs nothing. If you do it, pair it with something real and say what it is. If you haven't done anything yet, do that first and post second.
Rainbow washing
- A rainbow logo in June, nothing else
- Pride merchandise with no money going anywhere
- Rainbow avatars only in markets where it is easy
- Vague words like "we celebrate love"
- Silence for the other eleven months
Real support
- A named charity and what you gave, or a share of sales stated plainly
- A commission or collaboration with an LGBTQ+ artist, paid properly
- Events, sponsorships or space offered to local groups
- Inclusive policies for staff, said specifically
- Showing up beyond June
Pride Month social media post ideas
- The giving post: "This June, every order supports our local LGBTQ+ youth centre", naming the charity, stating the amount or share, and posting an update at the end of the month. Nonprofit social media graphics shows how charities present this kind of partnership.
- The artist collaboration: introduce the artist, credit them clearly, link to their work.
- The team post: if colleagues want to share what Pride means to them, let them, in their words.
- The event post: your venue's Pride night, a float you're joining or a local march, with date and place. Event marketing graphics covers the formats.
- The quiet post: a single line on your own brand background. Not every business needs a campaign.
A giving story at 1080×1920. Name the charity in the caption and report back at the end of the month.
Keep your brand recognisable: your typeface, your voice, your layout, with the Pride colours added rather than replacing everything. In Gradiently you can keep your usual Mark and bring the Pride colours in as accents in the Studio, such as a striped band or coloured type, while the Mark knows where the text sits and calms the area behind it. More on choosing colours that last in colour psychology.
Questions people ask
When is Pride Month?
June in many countries, marking the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York in June 1969. Some cities hold Pride events at other times of year.
What are the hex codes for the Pride flag?
A widely used set for the six stripe rainbow flag is #e40303, #ff8c00, #ffed00, #008026, #004dff and #750787.
What is the Progress Pride Flag?
A version of the rainbow flag designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018 that adds a chevron of black, brown, light blue, pink and white to represent people of colour and trans people.
How can a business support Pride without rainbow washing?
Do something real first, such as donating, paying LGBTQ+ creators or supporting local events, then post about it specifically and keep showing up after June.
How do I put text on a rainbow background?
Keep words on a calm or deep area of the design, or use the rainbow as a band or edge, because the lightness changes too much across a full rainbow for any single text colour.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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