Ogilvy

Client: NewFest & NYC Pride
Product: 'Gilbert' font
Title: Type with Pride
Media: font
Country: USA
Date Of Campaign: 19 April 2017

Background: In 2017, Gilbert Baker, the creator of the rainbow flag passed away. NewFest (New York’s LGBT Film Festival) and NYC Pride wanted to honor the artist and LGTBQ activist’s memory.Our challenge was to come up with an idea that could translate the strength of the Rainbow Flag as a tribute to Mr. Baker and also allowed his work as activist to be continued.What if we could use creativity and technology to dissect the iconic rainbow flag and turn its stripes, shapes and colors into a typeface?And more than that: what if we could reach global scale, making this idea spread organically, turning this new font into the “voice” of the LGBTQ community?With that in mind, we started this project with no budget and one clear goal: to create an impactful idea that resonates with the LGBTQ community and help the world embrace diversity and inclusion.Gilbert Baker believed his flag “belongs to the people”. Using the Gilbert font LGBTQ communities all over the world can wave their flag with words of love, hope and pride.

Idea: In 1978, Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag, one of the world’s most powerful cultural symbols. In 2017, the artist and activist passed away.The Rainbow Flag was literally sewn together for a rally and then went on to become an omnipresent symbol of freedom and liberation. But, what if the flag could talk? What if we could translate the strength of the flag into text? To honor Mr. Baker, NYC Pride and Newfest wanted to give Gilbert’s iconic flag a voice. We created ‘Gilbert’. A font inspired by the rainbow flag and the first originally color font ever developed.And what started as a tribute to Gilbert, ended up becoming a powerful tool for the whole LGBTQ community, politicians, media outlets and supporters worldwide to positively impact society, express love, hope, pride and inclusion. The Gilbert font ultimately lets everyone raise the Rainbow Flag with every letter they type.

Results: We pre-launched in April 2017 with a website and made the font available to everyone for free. The project was celebrated and supported by the LGBTQ and design communities globally. Media outlets, enthusiasts worldwide and politicians (including Vice-President of the USA, Joe Biden) embraced the font to show support. Some of the featured media included Mashable, Huffington Post, FastCompany, AIGA, Design Taxi, Yahoo, It’s Nice That, Dezeen, SBS, Bustle, SF Gate, KQED, Cool Hunting, Creativity On-line, Adweek, Ad Age, The Drum, Digital Arts, LGBTI News, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Express, Clube De Criaçao, Creative Pool, Étapes, Typeroom and more. During NYC Pride Month we promoted Type with Pride in Times Square, taxi cabs, gyms and elevator screens in a number of office buildings. The Times Square billboards turned a traditionally jarring space, into a welcoming invitation LGBTQ Pride. We can only imagine how a young kid traveling with their family might look up, see the letters “LGBTQ” shining bright above the city and feel a powerful sense of inclusion.The website has over 80,000 downloads of the font and provided art work. Entertainment Weekly use the Gilbert font in the design of its LGBTQ Pride issue and Wire Magazine ran an article calling Gilbert “a font of our times.”