Our Iconography
For an organization such as ours it is important to establish a unique identity in our branding to maintian the integrity and safety of our events and products. Everyday it is easier and easier to assume the identity of another person or organization. To that end we can establish the use of specific trademarks that can then be defended. We beleive an important part of creating our branding is understanding the historical significance art and iconography has played in the queer movement. The design we’ve chosen both participates in the amazing ideas presented to the community before us, while also attempting to contribute to that visibility and messaging.
The Triangle
Influenced by Avrum Finkelstein's protest artwork for Silence=Death and Act Up.
A pink triangle was originally used by the Nazi regime to mark individuals who were deemed sexually deviant, including queer individuals, for persecution. Avram Finkelstein and others in the queer community reappropriated it as a symbol of pride, resistance, and visibility, transforming what was intended to be a mark of shame into one of strength and identity.
Avram’s work utilized shock and polorization without alienating the intended audience. The work seemed to create a symbol that might stir or awaken people to feel compelled towards reflection and compassion. To use existing iconography where the world at large had experienced a mass change toward that compassion before. In utilizing the pink triangle, Avrum reminded people of a time when their complacency had caused great harm. And using it in this context he created an image that would bring that clarity of compassion to the LGBTQ+ community. At the time, this work was considered bold and striking.
The goal in incorporating the idea with our own iconography is intended to ensure the persistence of history, and make sure these symbols are entered into our lexicon in a way that can celebrate and memorilize its existence.
The Wheel
Many parts are assembled to create an item of extrordinary strength and serviceability.
Our variation of the Triangle is combined with a bicycle wheel. The use of this pattern allows us to create the image of smaller triangles making up the whole of the larger image. Each of these riangles are matched to a color from the pride flag. Presented this way to show that each of these are the parts of our community that would make up the whole. Like the bicycle wheel, our community requires a balance and requires each of these individual parts working together to create something that is significantly stronger.
This and the rest of the bicycle wheel serves as a symbol of our mobility and freedom, emphasizing how bicycles provide independence. For Pride Rides, the bicycle is also a means of empowering individuals, particularly within the queer community, to move through the world with autonomy and pride.
Trans colors and a knobby tread pattern on the tire portion of the icon are intended to honor Prides Rides founder Kris Hunt who is Trans and an avid mountain biker. The goal is to graphically represent the two elements of Kris’ passion that led to the founding of Pride Rides.
The Complicated Ally
Vermont is the home of Pride Rides. Like many places in the world, Vermont has been a complicated ally.
The Vermont state outline in the center of the icon is presented in black and white stripes to represent allyship from the community where Pride Rides was founded. The stripes are meant to represent that while Vermont has at times been a great ally, not all Vermonters have been, and are not currently, an ally for our community. It is at the center of the wheel to show that it is the responsibility of allies to be present and to be where the LGBTQ+ community needs allies to be. Too many times Pride organizations are used a token in community engagement even among the best allies. This graphical representation is a reminder that the role of an ally is ongoing, dynamic, and central to ensuring the success of the mission of Pride Rides. Allyship requires active participation and responsibility to the success of the community.
The VT state outline is also meant to be replaced with logos representing other allies and ally communities, whether it is another state outline or other symbol representing a community of allies. In that instance it should always be displayed using the black and white striping. Any other use is not permited as it diminishes and removes the acknowledgment of the complicated nature of allyship. If you are partnering with Pride Rides and wish to have a variation of this graphic combined with your own reach out to us via email.