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Daniel Quasar:
Designing the
Progress Pride Flag
To celebrate the inspiration behind our pride shoe we sat down with the multi-talented graphic designer and Portland native Daniel Quasar who created the Progress Pride Flag. We talk about the origins of their flag, the importance of representation, and their charity initiative.
Read time: 3 mins
Words by: Daniel Quasar & David Hedley
Illustrations by: Luke Thornhill
Daniel Quasar: Designing the Progress Pride Flag
To celebrate the inspiration behind our pride shoe we sat down with the multi-talented graphic designer and Portland native Daniel Quasar who created the Progress Pride Flag. We talk about the origins of their flag, the importance of representation, and their charity initiative.
Read time: 3mins
Words by: Daniel Quasar & David Hedley
Illustrations by: Luke Thornhill
"YOU CAN HAVE THE GREATEST MESSAGE IN THE WORLD, BUT IF YOU DON'T SELL IT, IT'S NOT GOING TO GET ANYWHERE."
Can you tell us about the inception of the Progress Pride Flag?
Daniel Quasar
Okay, so it's 2018. And it's June 4th or 5th. Super early in the morning, that's when I do all my best work. A few days before, Seattle had introduced a version of the Pride Flag. This new flag had all 11 stripes just stacked on top of each other, and I looked at it as a designer and thought, I love what they're going for, I just don't like how they executed it. I believe execution is really important. It's why design exists. You can have the greatest message in the world, but if you don't sell it, it's not going to get anywhere. Anyway, one of my best friends was online with me, and I was bouncing the ideas off her. Around three o'clock in the morning, I wrote up my original post about the Progress Flag on Facebook and Instagram, then went to bed. I woke up to probably the most anxious day of my entire life. My phone would not stop beeping every four seconds. My phone died like three times that day, just from how many times was getting notifications. I'd gone viral. The rest is history; it grew into what it is now, it just kept growing and growing, and it's still growing.
Can you tell us about the significance of design and colours?
Daniel Quasar
I wanted to highlight that probably the most underprivileged and most scrutinised group in the entire LGBTQ community is Black trans women. The pink, white and blue stripes are from Monica Helms' Trans Pride flag. The black and brown stripes show racial equity and the need to pay more attention to the communities of colour within the queer community and show their value to the group. The black stripe in my design also represents people living with HIV and AIDS, a riff on a design from the late 80s (the Victory Over AIDS flag). Finally, the traditional pride flag of the six stripes, which was one of Gilbert Baker's original designs. The Progress pride flag has its own meaning in terms of acknowledging that there are things in our community that we need to progress on because we're not progressing enough. At the same time, it's a very clear history of who we are because it pulls from so many things throughout the history of the community.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO DESIGN THEIR OWN FLAG?
Daniel Quasar
Go for it. I feel like the queer community is in a very interesting period of flux right now. We're trying to figure out how we identify ourselves. What are our symbols? I think that nobody should gatekeep that and stop somebody who wants to carve out an identity within a community that is all about finding your own identity.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT USING A RAINBOW TO REPRESENT THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY?
Daniel Quasar
I love the rainbow symbol. I think the rainbow symbol is beautiful. I think what it was made to represent is beautiful. And I think it has intrinsic value because of that. There are a lot of people in the community who see that symbol, and they don't see themselves. You know, a lot of queer people of colour, a lot of trans people see that, and they see violence because the queer community is very racist and it's very white-centric. It's very sis centric. So it's a great symbol that has flaws.
"I think the rainbow symbol is beautiful. I think what it was made to represent is beautiful."
Can you tell us about the Progress Initiative?
Daniel Quasar
I decided that the creation of this flag was going to give back to the community. I can say, here's the Progress Pride Flag, and then the Progress Initiative. I want to show action in conjunction with the creation of my design.
And how do you go about selecting the sort of charity partners that you give to?
Daniel Quasar
For the most part, I do that myself. I found that I really like going with local organisations. I give 25% of all sales of Progress related items from my store. This year, I'm giving to the Black AIDS Institute. They're a Black-centred group which does research around HIV and AIDS, and for me, that's very important. I grew up not feeling like I was doing much of anything, and then in the last four years of my life, like in my 30s, I finally feel like I'm being impactful.
THE EVOLUTION OF PRIDE FLAGS
CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO SOME OF THE FLAGS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS
THE EVOLUTION OF PRIDE FLAGS
CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO SOME OF THE FLAGS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS
The Gilbert Baker Design, 1978
Designed by San Francisco activist, Gilbert Baker, to represent the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. It was commissioned by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected in California, to create an image of pride for the gay community.
The Pride Flag (amended) 1978
After the assassination of Harvey Milk, demand for the Pride flag skyrocketed. Due to issues with sourcing materials, Baker dropped the hot pink stripe.
The Pride Flag 1979
Gilbert amended the flag again, dropping the turquoise to create simply the design to an even 6 stripes. This is the most commonly used version of any Pride flag.
The Philadelphia Pride Flag, 2017
Introduced by Amber Hikes as part of Philadelphia’s More Colour, More Pride campaign. Black and brown stripes were added to draw attention to the struggles faced by and give representation to people of colour within the community.
The Seattle Pride Flag, 2018
Added the colours of Monica Helms Trans Pride flag to the Philadelphia Pride flag to increase the inclusivity of the Rainbow to a much-marginalised group of people.
The Progress Pride flag, 2018
A redesign of the Seattle Pride flag by Daniel Quasar. The chevron element draws attention to the progress made and the work still to be done for intersectional rights within the LGBTQIA+ community.
LIMITED EDITION
1461 FOR PRIDE SHOE
To celebrate Pride, we’re releasing a limited edition 1461. A monochrome shoe emblazoned with the colours of Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag. An iconic design elevated for Pride.
LIMITED EDITION
1461 FOR PRIDE SHOE
Show your support with every step. To celebrate Pride, we’re releasing a limited edition 1461. A monochrome shoe emblazoned with the colours of Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag. An iconic design elevated for Pride.