Pride Month Pattern Design Ideas

A rainbow stripe is one of the few patterns where getting the order wrong is something people will notice. The common flag runs red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet from top to bottom, and a print that scrambles it reads as careless, not creative. Pride Month rewards designers who know the flags properly, and who then go well beyond a stripe.

Pride Month is held in June to mark the Stonewall uprising, which began in New York City in late June 1969. The first Pride marches followed in June 1970, on the anniversary. Some cities hold their Pride events in other months, but June is the reference point for merchandise.

The rainbow flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco in 1978. His first version had eight stripes, including hot pink and turquoise. Hot pink was dropped because of fabric availability, and the remaining colors settled into the six-stripe version in wide use today. In 2017, Philadelphia added black and brown stripes to acknowledge communities of color, and in 2018 Daniel Quasar's Progress Pride flag added a chevron to the rainbow field.

Flag hex values vary slightly between sources, so match whichever version your client or community uses. There are many more flags, including pansexual, asexual and lesbian flags with several versions; research each before you use it.

• Keep the order. If you use stripes as a literal flag reference, red goes on top. In a vertical repeat, keep that order left to right.
• Respect each flag's proportions. The rainbow and trans flags use equal-width stripes, but the bi flag's middle band is narrower (traditionally a 2:1:2 ratio).
• Tile the stripes cleanly. Stripes repeat easily, but a diagonal or curved rainbow must meet itself at the tile edge. Our stripe pattern guide shows how to keep diagonals seamless.
• Print-safe color. Bright violet and blue sometimes shift in CMYK. Check the CMYK vs RGB guide before sending a file.

The stripe is only one expression. Directions with more room to be yours:

• Gradient washes. Flag colors blended in order, as sunrise-style fields or aura gradients. See the gradient patterns category.
• Neon nights. Saturated hues glowing on black, a nod to club culture. The neon patterns category suits it.
• Abstract color blocking. Overlapping arches, blobs and organic shapes, one hue per shape.
• Flower-per-flag bouquets. A floral where each bloom uses a different flag's palette.
• Rainbow motifs. Arches, clouds, hearts and stars, drawn in a consistent hand.
• The chevron as geometry. The Progress chevron makes a strong arrow-shaped repeat, but credit the flag's meaning.

Pride merchandise is a place where intent shows. A few habits help:

• Use the colors and symbols accurately and with their meanings in mind.
• Don't put a flag on something it shouldn't be on. Avoid disposable items that will be thrown away or stepped on.
• If you aren't part of the community, hire or consult LGBTQ+ designers, and consider giving a share of sales to an LGBTQ+ organization.
• Keep the support going after June. Shops that vanish on July 1 are easy to spot.

Tote bags, tees, stickers, scarves, bandanas, tumblers and packaging all suit it. June shoppers start looking in spring, so list in April. Design in January and February while the rest of the market is focused on Valentine's, and check the seasonal pattern calendar for the full run.

New accounts in Pattern Weaver get 5 free credits, and each pattern comes back as a seamless tile in about 20 seconds, which is enough to test a gradient wash against a stripe. Start from rainbow patterns.