Space to Belong - A Google celebration of Pride

For Pride 2021, Google looked to share its commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community. The community and the businesses that support and provide a third space and a “chosen family” had been particularly hit hard by the pandemic. We developed a digital campaign with global reach that celebrated the spaces and the people that make this community so vibrant and resilient, while drawing attention to new product features such as the LGBTQ-friendly badge in Maps, and partnerships with Google.org to provide financial support.

View the interactive here. (winner of Gold Anthem award)



The concept was an immersive experience with photography and short audio-clip interviews with owners and patrons. We paid extra attention to accessibility, and wanted the experience to still feel like an audio experience, even when users chose to have sound off. Rather than create an accessibility button, we worked captions into the design from the start as a highly considered element of the overall experience.


We also created a design system that allowed other Google markets to pick up the project, and add to it with the LGBTQ+ spaces important in their cities. This resulted in a truly global experience, making the whole experience that much more rich.



The project won a Gold Anthem award, a prestigious award celebrating purpose and mission driven work.