My topic addresses the inequalities that the LGBTQ+ community faces. Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, grounded in their core values, surrounding human rights & dignity, and social & economic justice. Growing up in Chicago, I lived in a very diverse and more accepting city. Moving to Nashville while discovering my gender identity and sexual orientation was difficult for me. Many laws in Tennessee and other states are passed to target and hurt the LGBTQ+ community. Some of the laws that have been voted on include the student pronoun bill (which allows teachers to ignore the preferred pronouns of students in schools), anti-trans bills (which prohibit transgender girls from participating in girl's sports), and a library censorship bill (which bans books deemed “obscene and harmful” from public school libraries, including an amendment to ban LGBTQ+ books). My flavors are about breaking down these hate speech laws and creating a more welcoming and supportive environment for queer people. My flavors include CRASH THE CIS-TEM, PRONOUN MOUNDS, LI-BERRY CENSORSHIP, and EMPOWER-MINT.
My design system is to create protest signs for LGBTQ+ people and allies to use in protest situations. They can use them in places where laws are being passed to hurt them and wherever they feel the need. The signs will be shaped like ice cream bars, with the stick being the stick to hold up the poster. The front of the poster will have the colors of the ice cream, swirls, and chunks with text surrounding it, while the back of the sign will have a message supporting the LGBTQ+ community that includes the ice cream flavor in the statement. The colors and themes of each bar are inspired by different queer flags and are incorporated into the pieces.
