Pride Tank Top

Pride merchandise rooted in one of Ellie Mental Health's core values: acceptance.

Project Overview

Ellie Mental Health needed Pride merchandise that felt celebratory, recognizable as Ellie, and connected to the brand’s core value of acceptance. Kira developed the concept and design for a Pride tank top that could express that message without relying on rainbow graphics alone.

Challenge

The design needed to celebrate Pride while still feeling true to Ellie Mental Health’s established brand. It also needed to communicate support for the LGBTQ+ community in a way that felt thoughtful and genuine rather than simply adding Pride colors to existing merchandise.

Because acceptance is one of Ellie’s core values, Kira saw an opportunity to connect the Pride message directly to something already central to the brand.

Solution

Kira explored three visual directions before developing the final design.

Design Exploration Process:

  • Iteration 1: Bold diagonal stripes with "BE YOU / THEY'LL ADJUST" messaging on a teal background. This version emphasized movement and directness but felt too confrontational for a mental health brand's tone.

  • Iteration 2: Framed rectangular composition on a light cyan base with integrated rainbow border. The structured layout balanced playfulness with professionalism, and the elephant icon was subtly incorporated. However, the messaging felt slightly corporate.

  • Iteration 3: Floral botanical elements with integrated typography on white. This approach connected Pride colors to Ellie's existing visual language but risked diluting the Pride message.

Final Design

The final direction combined the strongest ideas from the explorations: a simple rectangular frame, a geometric rainbow border, clear typography, and the Ellie elephant icon.

Using the message “Acceptance is one of our core values” connected Pride directly to an established Ellie value rather than treating Pride as a separate seasonal message. The result felt celebratory and recognizable as Ellie while keeping the focus on acceptance and inclusion.

Client

Ellie Mental Health

Kira’s Role

Concept + Visual Direction
Apparel Graphic Design
Illustration
Design Exploration + Refinement
Production-Ready Artwork

Work With Kira