From expressive interfaces to meaningful inclusion, here’s how the spirit of Pride inspires better, braver design.
Welcome back my Prideful Caffeinated Creatives!
June Called. It Wants You to Stop Playing It Safe
Every June, brands suddenly remember that color exists. Logos get rainbow-fied, websites start serving the same chaotic energy as a Coachella outfit reveal on TikTok, and marketing teams go into full panic-mode trying to strike the perfect balance between genuine support and brand-safe vagueness. The design world springs into action… sometimes with real intention, sometimes because someone wrote “🌈 PRIDE POST???” in all caps on the team calendar.
But Pride Month isn’t just a seasonal aesthetic. It’s not the visual version of a limited-time flavor. It’s a reminder that great design welcomes, includes, and respects everyone, not just for thirty days, but always. 76% of consumers say they’re more likely to support brands that are committed to diversity and inclusion. That’s not just a feel-good bonus, that’s a direct line between inclusive design and brand loyalty. That’s not just a PR checkbox. That’s real buying behavior. People want to spend their money with brands that reflect their values, especially younger generations. If your UX and marketing don’t make those values clear and consistent, you’re not just missing out on connection, you’re potentially leaving revenue on the table. Inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s a strategic advantage.
This is the perfect time to rethink what inclusive design actually means. You don’t need to sprinkle glitter on your CTA or swap out your logo colors to prove your values. What matters is that users feel considered, that your interface says, “You belong here,” without needing a press release to back it up. The best kind of design doesn’t need to announce it’s inclusive. It just is.
So instead of asking “How do we show our support in June?” maybe ask something better. What would it look like if your product made people feel included all year? Not just in marketing campaigns, but in menus, microcopy, and the little micro-moments where someone either feels seen… or totally forgotten.
Grab your coffee (yes, your rainbow mug counts), and let’s talk about how Pride Month can inspire more thoughtful, more welcoming, and way more human UX design.
More Than a Rainbow: Designing With Intent
It’s easy to slap a rainbow on your brand and call it a day. We’ve all seen it. Water bottles, socks, sanitizer bottles, keychains, somehow, everything gets a festive makeover in June… But meaningful design goes deeper than matching a flag’s color palette. In the same way that your interface shouldn’t just look good, your Pride-themed creative should do more than gesture at inclusion. It should actually practice it.
Design with intent means your choices: visual, verbal, strategic, are grounded in values. That can be as simple as ensuring your form fields don’t assume gender or as foundational as including accessibility testing in your launch process. The small stuff matters. It tells users they were thought of. It signals that your design isn’t for a hypothetical average person, but for real people with real needs.
Intentional design also means keeping the momentum going after the hype dies down. If your social banners are bursting with color but your actual site still runs like a group project where only one person did the work, something’s not adding up. It might catch attention at first, but once people start clicking around, they’ll notice the cracks. Flash without function feels like vibes with no substance… Pretty on the outside, frustrating on the inside.
Users can smell inauthenticity a mile away. They’ll spot a Pride-themed campaign that was clearly rushed out just to check a box. But when your design and marketing decisions stem from empathy, awareness, and a genuine desire to create a better experience for everyone, people notice. And they remember.
UX Lessons from the Pride Spirit
a. Bold Expression Wins
Designers are often taught to rein it in. Stick to the grid. Keep it clean. But Pride is a celebration of boldness, visibility, and unapologetic expression, and there’s something powerful in that. Interfaces that feel too sanitized can come across as cold or robotic. Users want personality. They want a little warmth, a wink, a human on the other side of the screen.
It doesn’t mean everything has to be neon with sparkles. But it does mean your design choices can reflect energy and emotion. Maybe it’s playful microcopy, unexpected animations, or illustrations that actually feel alive. Don’t be afraid to break the template when the moment calls for it. Safe doesn’t always mean better. Sometimes it just means forgettable.
Users don’t form emotional connections with grayscale wireframes. They remember the app that made them smile, the website that felt like it was built just for them. That kind of experience starts with the courage to design outside the lines. Pride reminds us that there’s power in showing up fully, and your interface should do the same.
If you’re going to stand for something, don’t whisper it. Let your values live in your visual language, your tone, and your interactions. Design should feel like a confident wave, not an apologetic nod from across the room.
b. Everyone Belongs Here
Good UX isn’t just intuitive. It’s inclusive. It removes the friction that makes people feel like outsiders. Think about how many forms still require users to select from outdated categories, or how many websites bury accessibility features behind layers of menus. That’s not just bad design. It’s a missed opportunity to make people feel welcome.
The spirit of Pride is rooted in belonging. In showing up exactly as you are and being embraced, not just tolerated. That should be the gold standard for how we build digital experiences. Not “bare minimum functional,” but fully welcoming.
Consider every design decision as a chance to include someone who’s often overlooked. Are your images representative of real, diverse humans? Is your language thoughtful and clear? Can someone using a screen reader navigate your site with ease? These aren’t edge cases. They’re part of the real-world user base that deserves great design, too.
And let’s not forget: inclusive design benefits everyone. What helps a user with a disability often makes the experience better for everyone else. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.
c. Speak Up (Even If Your CTA Button Has Glitter)
Your interface is a conversation, whether you like it or not. Every button, every piece of microcopy, every error message… It all says something. So why not let it say something real? Something warm, funny, or encouraging? Pride reminds us not to be afraid of being expressive. Your users are human. Talk to them like it.
Forget the corporate jargon. Nobody wants to read a tooltip that sounds like it was written by a bored lawyer. Give your copy a little sparkle. Let your empty states feel like gentle nudges instead of existential voids. If your “404” page can’t crack a smile, what are we even doing?
Words matter. And in UX, even the shortest phrases can make a big impact. Think of them as tiny chances to create connection. A bit of warmth in an otherwise automated world. Your users are much more likely to forgive a misstep if your product feels like it was made by humans who care.
And no, your call-to-action doesn’t literally need glitter. But it should feel like something your team would actually say out loud. If it passes the coffee shop test, meaning it wouldn’t be weird to say it to someone in real life, you’re probably on the right track.
d. Consistency is Inclusivity
There’s nothing worse than a brand that shouts “we value everyone” in one breath and then excludes users in the next click. If your visual identity celebrates Pride in June but your actual product experience doesn’t reflect those values, it rings hollow. Inclusion isn’t a campaign. It’s a commitment.
Consistency builds trust. If you’re putting effort into inclusive messaging, that same effort should be reflected in your UX. That means accessible layouts, clear navigation, alt text that’s actually descriptive, and forms that don’t assume every user fits the same mold. It’s not glamorous, but it’s meaningful.
When brands treat inclusivity as a year-round mindset, it shows. Users notice when they’re considered, not just marketed to. They remember how your product made them feel. That’s how you build loyalty that lasts longer than a social media post.
Consistency isn’t about never changing. It’s about always showing up in a way that aligns with your values. Design like someone’s watching, not in a creepy way… but in the way that someone might finally feel like they belong because of a choice you made. That’s the kind of design that matters.
Prideful Pitfalls to Avoid
Let’s spill the T for a second (okay we are a coffee-themed blog, coffee/tea, whatever your preference!) Some Pride campaigns miss the mark harder than a cat meme in 2025. Here are a few things to gently avoid if you want your brand to walk the talk and not just wear the merch.
First, don’t do it just for show. If your entire Pride strategy is a single Instagram post with confetti emojis and no actual design changes or inclusion efforts, maybe sit this one out. Users are smart. They know when the support is real and when it’s just scheduled content.
Second, avoid the temptation to go “color equals caring.” Yes, visual cues matter. But if the content, experience, and brand interactions still feel cold or exclusive, all the gradients in the world won’t help. You can’t wrap a broken UX in rainbow ribbons and expect applause.
Third, steer clear of tokenism in imagery or messaging. We’ve all seen the awkward stock photo lineup where everyone is oddly spaced and smiling like they’ve never heard a joke. Representation matters, but it should feel real. Use authentic images. Better yet, feature real people from your community or company.
Lastly, if you’re going to design for inclusion, keep the energy going in July. And August. And the rest of the year. Pride is a great reminder to step up, but the real magic is in keeping that momentum alive.
The Caffeine Kick:
70% of Gen Z consumers say they are more trusting of brands that represent diversity in their digital content
Gen Z grew up on the internet. They’ve seen it all, scrolled past it all, and they’re not afraid to call out performative nonsense. When your UX includes thoughtful imagery, inclusive copy, and user flows that don’t assume everyone fits into the same mold, they notice. And they stick around. Design with care, or risk being swiped into irrelevance.
Inclusive design can increase reach by up to 4x
Let that sink in. Designing for a wider range of needs doesn’t shrink your audience, it multiplies it. When you build products that are easier to use, more welcoming, and more adaptable, everyone benefits. You’re not designing for the margins. You’re designing for reality. And that reality includes a rich, varied spectrum of humans who will love your product more if it actually feels like it was built for them.
64% of people say they took action after seeing an ad they considered inclusive or diverse
That “action” could be anything from liking a post to making a purchase. The point is, inclusive content drives real-world behavior. If your brand is showing up in a way that reflects and respects real people, your users respond. That’s not fluff, that’s UX doing what it’s supposed to do: connect, engage, and convert.
Don’t Just Color It Proud…
Pride Month might be the official season of color and corporate logos trying their best, but underneath all of it is a much bigger reminder: your design isn’t just pixels, it’s perspective. Every layout, headline, button, and interaction is either inviting someone in or silently leaving them out.
This is your cue to think bigger. Real UX isn’t just efficient. It’s empathetic. It understands that people are complex, diverse, messy, and wonderful… and it makes space for all of that. Whether you’re wireframing an onboarding flow or writing copy for a 404 page, you have the power to shape how someone feels in that moment. That’s not fluff. That’s design with actual impact and consideration.
It doesn’t need to be loud. It doesn’t need to be perfect. But it does need to be intentional. Pride Month reminds us that the best things we create aren’t just functional, they’re welcoming. They make people feel seen. And in a world full of noise, that’s something worth prioritizing.
So here’s the question: When the rainbows come down and the campaigns wrap up, will your design still reflect the kind of world you say you believe for the rest of the year?
Happy Pride, creatives!
freshbrewedux.com 
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