Michael Georgeson redesigns Yahoo logo for Pride Month
In celebration of Pride Month, Yahoo commissioned visual communicator Michael Georgeson to re-imagine the Yahoo logo. Georgeson is a 41 year old self described proud transgender man who came out and began his transition in 2008. Yahoo got the chance to speak to the Philadelphia based artist and designer about what it means to celebrate Pride Month this and every June.
“A huge part of Pride for me at this point is seeing how much has changed. When I came out as trans, I was also explaining what trans is to a lot of people. I was fortunate to be met with positivity, and to have access to gender-affirming care, but not everyone is so lucky. Many of my peers have been rejected by their families or are unable to pursue what is essentially life-saving medical care. This is, of course, still the case for a lot of people coming out.”
“But nowadays at a Pride festival, you can see the trans flag right alongside the Pride flag. Parents are there with their kids buying them flags and pronoun buttons and making them feel secure. Awkward gaggles of Queer teens come laughing through, enjoying the summer day of being themselves together. Grey-haired leather daddies and dykes on bikes turn heads with their effortless cool. So much of Queer life is still a nighttime thing, taking place in darkness. But on this day we get out in the sun and we shine.”
For this project, Georgeson started the process with research, wanting to design something from personal experience while also still being relatable to the community as a whole.
“What emerged for me as I watched people tell their stories and reflected on my own was the clothing. So much of Queer culture is tied to fashion (and so much of fashion history is tied to Queer creativity). It’s all about self-expression. Often in the past, we had to communicate with each other with nonverbal signals. Oscar Wilde’s green carnation, the hankie code, lesbian key rings, and even nowadays with the wide array of flags to represent different gender identities and sexualities-there is a history of using clothes and accessories to find each other in a hostile world. This logo design essentially represents what we wear to be ourselves and where we go to feel at home.”
The artist hopes that anyone, whether queer or straight, can relate to the redesigned logo and understand that the desire to connect and be seen is universal.
“I hope it can serve as a reflection of how far the LGBTQ+ community has come and a warning of where we could be headed. Unfortunately, recently in the U.S. there has been a backlash to this evolution. On both a political and social level, the free Queer life we enjoy is being threatened. We don’t belong in the shadows or in the closet and we will not let ignorance and fear send us back there.”
You can find more of the artist’s work at michaelgeorgeson.com.
