Rise Up

The theme for 2025’s International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is “The Power of Communities”.

And with so many Pride organisations announcing similar themes for their events, I was inspired to create an icon representing the resilience and resistance of my community.

The motif features a clenched first in front of the four LGBT flags – Lesbian Pride, Rainbow Pride (formerly known as the Gay Pride flag), Bisexual Pride and Trans Pride. However I decided to develop the design a little further and include other flags found within the LGBTQIA+ Community for an animated version.

If you’re attending Pride in Edinburgh this June, look out for me and Mr Smartie. We’ll be giving away free stickers of this icon as we march up the Royal Mile with everyone. In addition, I've already been asked if this motif will appear on a t-shirt too. My answer to that question was “Watch this space!”