Pride at Experience Columbus

Programs Used

Adobe InDesign | Adobe Illustrator | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Lightroom

Client

Experience Columbus

Team

Creative Direction & Design: Evelyn McBride

Social Media: Aaron McPherson

Photographer: Claire Komarek

People participating in a pride parade, carrying rainbow flags and balloons, with a city street and rainbow-themed decorations.
Group of smiling people at a pride event holding fans that say "You Belong Here" and balloons, with a person taking a photo.

Tasked with leading the creative direction for pride for Columbus’ destination marketing organization was a very exciting opportunity with lots of potential. Being the largest pride parade in the midwest, I knew this was a great opportunity to remind LGBTQ+ Ohioans and the 790,000+ attendees that Columbus is a place where they belong as they are.

People participating in a pride parade, holding rainbow pride flags and balloons, wearing t-shirts with 'You Belong Here' slogan, walking on city street with buildings in the background.

Abandoning the previous generic pride flag directions, I instead opted to tie in Experience Columbus’ new “Yes, Columbus” branding and color palette with gradients representing the colorful nature of pride. With a unmistakable tagline of “You Belong Here”, we ordered the promotional materials consciously to minimize our sustainability impact with moving away from one-time use items or by making our logo the focus.

Person holding a fan with the text 'YOU BELONG HERE' on it, during a public event or protest.

For this year, I designed numerous deliverables from concept to production that were handed out and displayed in the parade and at the community festival.

Colorful assortment of sunscreen packets, with one packet prominently displaying the message "You Belong Here!" on a black background.
A person with purple and pink hair wearing rainbow accessories and rainbow-themed clothing at a pride event, looking at items on a table. Other people in colorful outfits and rainbow decorations are in the background.
A woman smiling and holding a rainbow-colored fan at a pride parade on a city street, with people and balloons in the background.
A woman in a white t-shirt handing out candy to participants at an outdoor LGBTQ+ pride event, with a line of people holding rainbow flags and wearing colorful clothing.
People participating in a pride parade on a city street, with two women handing out rainbow-colored pens and a rainbow flag, smiling and engaging with the crowd.
Colorful rainbow-colored pens with white labels that say 'YOU BELONG HERE' in black text, arranged in a row.
Colorful LGBTQ+ themed bookmarks and packet with messages like 'You belong here!' and 'Queer Joy' on a dark surface.

Along with physical deliverables, we captured and created organic social content along with working with LGBTQ+ influencers to highlight LGBTQ+-owned businesses.

Group of diverse women and girls smiling, waving, and holding rainbow-themed balloons and fans at an outdoor pride event.
Two people standing and talking outside a store with a sign that reads 'Experience Columbus.' The woman on the left has long dark hair and wears a black shirt. The man on the right wears a black cap, glasses, and a white T-shirt with colorful text. They are smiling at each other.
Three women standing on a colorful rainbow crosswalk outside a brick building with a sign for Stonewall Columbus. Cloudy sky overhead.
People participating in a pride parade, holding rainbow flags, balloons, and fans with the message "You Belong Here!" on a city street lined with buildings and trees.
Group of people participating in a pride parade or rally outdoors, holding rainbow flags, balloons, and a large banner that reads 'You Belong Here.' Trees, a statue, and buildings are in the background.

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