Behind the Design: Best Buddies by Keith Haring & ‘78 SF Pride 💟’s
Keith Haring was an openly gay pop-art/grafitti artist who lived 1958-1990. His work tends to feature minimalist outlines of people and animals in bright colors. Haring passed at the age of 31, but passed leaving a distinct — and queer — mark on the art world. Haring first painted this piece in 1987, but did not finish the entire print series until 10 days before his death. In 1989, Haring gave his blessing for the organization Best Buddies to use his art as thier logo. Best Buddies, the organization, is a community outreach program which helps provide social support for people with intellectual disabilities.
The ‘78 San Francisco Pride Flag was made by Gilbert Baker for use in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day parade. Each of the colors in the flag has a separate meaning: sexuality, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic/art, harmony, and spirit. Bakers flag served as the progenitor to the modern pride flag. The colors pink and turquoise were removed, as the dyes for these fabrics were more expensive than the standard rainbow colors.
I first learned about Haring when Funko made him a pop figure for New York Comic Con in 2019. I’ve been in love with his artwork since. Best Buddies sticks out to me as it is a perfect intersection of my identity: being gay and disabled. I am bisexual and autistic, so it’s rare to find anything that addresses both of these. Part of the beauty of Haring’s work is how simple it is. I always struggled with metaphorical meanings, but Haring’s works are succinct in interpretation. Best Buddies is about unity and friendship among people. It serves as a perfect logo for Best Buddies the organization, as even those with minimal language comprehension can grasp it’s meaning. My university even has a local chapter of Best Buddies for non-degree seeking students! I tried to keep the artwork as identical as possible. I hope to make another design based of Haring’s work soon.
The ‘78 pride flag is my personal favorite pride flag. It’s soft pink is one of my favorite colors. If you notice in the hearts there’s two rows of pink compared to every other colors single row, I did this because I love the color so much! Additionally, combining Haring and Baker’s work helps show across America the in the 1980’s, queer artist made massive contributions in their respective fields and to the acceptance of the LGBT+ .
