"You Can't Ban Queer Joy" Campaign
GLAAD
Graphic Design
New York, NY, USA
In June 2023, amid the legislation of several extreme anti-LGBTQ+ laws across the country, GLAAD launched a campaign for Pride Month featuring a series of 30 posters reading, "You Can't Ban Queer Joy," one for each day of the month.
The posters were made available on GLAAD's website for at-home printing allowing members of the queer community anywhere in the world to post them in their community or bring to Pride events. Additionally, one poster per day was featured on GLAAD's social media channels.
Project Lead: Dustin Hood
Process
Historically, rave culture distinguished itself through its intentional inclusivity, creating spaces where marginalized communities—particularly queer individuals—could gather freely. This ethos extended to the visual language of the movement, which embraced bold aesthetics centered on joy, freedom, and transcendence. Events like "Space" and "Fantazia" promised more than entertainment; they offered portals to alternate realities.
My design sought to capture this spirit of escapism and euphoria. The vibrant blue sky background evokes the sensation of flight—of breaking free into a boundless, liberated world. Meanwhile, the iconic smiley face, a cornerstone of rave iconography, appears throughout as both homage and playful punctuation, anchoring the work in the movement's visual heritage while celebrating its enduring optimism.
My design sought to capture this spirit of escapism and euphoria. The vibrant blue sky background evokes the sensation of flight—of breaking free into a boundless, liberated world. Meanwhile, the iconic smiley face, a cornerstone of rave iconography, appears throughout as both homage and playful punctuation, anchoring the work in the movement's visual heritage while celebrating its enduring optimism.
The next poster draws inspiration from queer visual culture of the 1970s and 1980s—an era when the community cultivated joy and celebration despite facing systemic oppression and the absence of fundamental rights. One archival reference image resonated with me in particular: a photograph of a pink balloon from a 1980s Pride gathering, taken during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis, reading “I’m a gay balloon.” Its buoyant presence reads as defiant yet joyful, and became a central visual anchor for the design.
Imagery from the 1977 National Women's Conference in Texas—where advocates championed the Sexual Preference Resolution demanding equal rights for lesbians within the broader movement for women's rights—inspired me to foreground themes of gathering, togetherness, and collective celebration.
These historical images shaped key design decisions: a bubble typeface in pink channels the playful optimism of that Pride balloon, while a photograph of a crowd of people at a queer club serves as the backround, highlighting the theme of gathering.
Imagery from the 1977 National Women's Conference in Texas—where advocates championed the Sexual Preference Resolution demanding equal rights for lesbians within the broader movement for women's rights—inspired me to foreground themes of gathering, togetherness, and collective celebration.
These historical images shaped key design decisions: a bubble typeface in pink channels the playful optimism of that Pride balloon, while a photograph of a crowd of people at a queer club serves as the backround, highlighting the theme of gathering.
My final poster was an ode to Typefesse, a typeface by Velvetyne Type, whose design explores the idea of the human body's ability to shape itself in a variety of ways, synchronizing with the alphabet. Thinking about the outlawing of queer bodies and bodily autonomy, its celebration of the human body in different formations resonated with me.
A backdrop of pastel crayon marks amplifies the text's sense of playfulness and innocence.
A backdrop of pastel crayon marks amplifies the text's sense of playfulness and innocence.