Lion’s PRIDE began several years ago as a rough concept for a Pride-themed graphic. From the beginning, I wanted the piece to be clearly symbolic of the LGBTQ community without being overly political in tone.
That does not mean I have any objection to political artwork. Political art has its place, and sometimes it is exactly what a moment requires. But for this design, I wanted the symbolism to carry the message in a broader way. I was drawn to the idea of creating something bold, recognizable, and meaningful without making the piece feel locked to a single argument or moment in time.
The lion felt like the right subject almost immediately. A lion suggests courage, dignity, strength, and presence. The word “pride” also works on several levels: a pride of lions, personal pride, and LGBTQ Pride. That layered meaning gave the concept a natural foundation.
The original version never fully materialized into a finished product. It remained more of an idea than a completed design. At the time, I did not have the skills or the process to refine it into the kind of piece I wanted it to become. Over the past few years, though, my approach to illustration has improved. I have become more deliberate with shape, color, contrast, and how a design needs to read when it is placed on a physical product.
Eventually, it felt like the right time to revisit the concept.
The goal was not to make a rainbow lion. The goal was to make Pride feel like part of the lion’s identity.
That distinction shaped the final design. I did not want the colors to feel like they were simply placed on top of the animal. I wanted them to follow the structure of the face and mane, helping define the form rather than distracting from it. The colors are bold, but they are also organized around the lion’s expression, silhouette, and movement.
The eyes are the focal point of the piece. They are intended to draw the viewer in first, before the mane pulls the eye outward through the rest of the composition. The mane gives the design its energy and drama, but the face keeps it grounded. That balance was important to me. I wanted the graphic to feel expressive without becoming chaotic.
The final version is also much more controlled than the original concept. The earlier design had energy, but it was rougher and less resolved. This version uses cleaner shapes, stronger contrast, and a more intentional balance between detail and readability. That matters for a product graphic. A design needs to hold up when viewed closely, but it also needs to read clearly at a distance.
For me, Lion’s PRIDE is about confidence without aggression. It is bold, direct, and symbolic, but still approachable. It represents pride as something steady and self-possessed: not asking for permission, not apologizing, and not needing to explain itself.