5 Questions on Redesigning the Babson Pride Logo

If you have been following Babson College’s celebration of Pride month, you may have noticed a new look for Babson Pride: a fresh multicolor logo with curving and intersecting letter forms.

Babson Thought & Action spoke to Ryan Findling ’23, about his work leading the rebranding on behalf of the group of students, faculty, staff, and alumni who work to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals feel welcome, affirmed, and supported by the College community.

Register now to attend the virtual Babson Pride Party on June 24.

Why did Babson Pride decide to revamp its logo?

Babson Pride hadn’t changed its logo in about seven years. And, the pre-existing logo felt a little basic; it was just the words Babson Pride with a rainbow through the letters. Our world has changed, and Pride needs to evolve with those changes.

What did you want the new logo to communicate?

The old logo was very in your face with the rainbow. While the rainbow is an important symbol of the Pride community, it does not represent all members of the community. We wanted to convey themes of inclusivity, love, being open-minded, and coming together as a community. That said, we felt there still was a need to incorporate the rainbow and love symbol—just with a modern twist.

We considered how the new logo might speak to the 2018 “progress flag”—which features stripes from the transgender flag as well as the black and brown stripes that originally appeared on the Philadelphia Pride flag. However, we also wanted to recognize that there are many other identities that also have their own flags, as well as their own color preferences.

How does the new logo accomplish those goals?

We settled on using nontraditional colors and other creative tactics to envelop many communities within one overarching logo. The new logo features letter forms that overlap and connect, and these are in colors that both represent and transcend the rainbow as you read from left to right.

For example, the red is not the red from the Pride rainbow. It’s actually a red that has hints of brown in it. The purple is a darker shade as it incorporates some black. Every color in this logo incorporates more colors within it.

Through those letter forms and the shading, the new logo communicates that someone—or any one “letter”—might embody multiple different identities. Bringing all these different colors together across the logo hopefully conveys that there are so many different communities that the LGBTQ+ community itself embodies. Finally, the logo signs off with a heart to communicate that aspect of love.

“We settled on using nontraditional colors and other creative tactics to envelop many communities within one overarching logo.”
Ryan Findling ’23 on the new Babson Pride logo

How did you get involved with Babson Pride?

My freshman year, I was looking for groups where I could meet people with similar values and ideas. I am gay and open about that, so I was really excited about the possibility of meeting other students who might share that identity.

Every Thursday night, Babson Pride would hold a community dinner. You would just show up, and there would be food and everyone would just talk and hang out. There was nothing more to it than that. But, it really showed me that even within the close-knit Babson community, there’s this even closer-knit Pride community that I was able to be a part of.

As a freshman who started off not knowing anyone at Babson, it was so meaningful to have a group of people that I could look forward to spending time with every week. And, I made a lot of friends that way.

What does Babson Pride mean to you?

To me, Babson Pride represents inclusivity. It is not an organization where that, if you show up, you’re expected to talk about yourself and break down all the labels that people use. Instead, it’s a space to meet people who value you for who you are and just want to be with you. Yes, we do take the opportunity when the situation arises for continued education and learning about the impacts of different communities within the LGBTQ+ community. But, really, the core of Babson Pride is that it provides a place where you’ll always have a shoulder to lean on or someone new to say hi to.

Posted in Community

Tagged Class of 2023, Inclusive Excellence, Student Life, Undergraduate

More from Community »