The idea:

The Pride flag reimagined as a dynamic data visualization measuring LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment.

Design story:

At the height of the American LGBTQ+ community's first big fights for acceptance, the designer Gilbert Baker created the Pride flag. Since then, this flag has become a powerful symbol of acceptance. Destination Pride builds on the visual identity and meaning of this flag - but updates it to provide deeper insights into the degrees of acceptance the community may find.

PFLAG Canada is a national not-for-profit offering peer-to-peer support for people dealing with LGBTQ+ issues. This project is a powerful expression of its commitment to equality for all people.

Target audience:

Primary: LGBTQ+ travellers and their allies.

Secondary: Global activists who can use these visualizations as levers for change.

Tertiary: Global partners with a vision for equality.

Data visualization.

At the heart of this project is a dynamic data visualization. Each bar of the flag becomes the bar of a bar chart, each measuring a different aspect of LGBTQ+ acceptance, including marriage equality and gender identity protections.

Dynamic Design.

Since the laws and cultures are always changing, our design can change in real time - as laws are passed or struck down, or as social media activity trends positive or negative. Even the simple act of sharing a flag creates a social data point that our algorithm will measure on aggregate.

Simple First.

Our design favours simplicity and accessibility. We want users to have a quick and emotional reaction to the work. "What!? I thought San Francisco would be higher."

Progressive Disclosure.

Once a user sees a simple flag visualization, we offer the chance to go deeper and see the data that drives the visualization.

Against our goal of drawing attention to global inequalities:

Users from 156 of the world's 195 countries

+85,000 destinations searched and flags generated

+135 pieces of media coverage

Business impact:

1,226% increase in social mentions of PFLAG Canada during campaign period

PFLAG Canada is a grassroots not-for-profit that's created a utility with global application and impact.

Conversation activation across tourism offices (including New Zealand and Vancouver), politicians (Alberta MPP, Sandra Jansen) and celebrities (Tegan and Sara).

Partnership interest from major global travel and LGBTQ+ community brands.

All contributing to Destination Pride being the most shared and discussed communication platform in PFLAG's 45-year history.

Our Pride flag visualizations have been included in the London Design Museum's retrospective on graphic design and political messaging. The show, called, "Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18" runs until August 12, 2018.

As with many marginalized groups, the global LGBTQ+ community has been engaged in a long and ongoing struggle for equality. To a large extent, that struggle plays out across a country's laws, rights and cultural landscape. For example, marriage equality, adoption, blood donation, military service rights, even the rules surrounding gender assignment on government documentation - each can have a profound impact on a person's life. And each are governed by specific public policies and laws. This is a lot of data. And navigating it creates ongoing complexity.

From its work as a peer-to-peer not-for-profit supporting the LGBTQ+ community, PFLAG Canada knew that inequalities are both widespread and vary widely depending where you are.

Our brief: draw attention to these inequalities - and help the LGBTQ+ community navigate them.

Objectives:

Shine a light on global inequalities.

Engage global LGBTQ+ travellers.

Bring scale to PFLAG Canada's mandate.