RGD Members share work of LGBTQ+ creatives who inspire them
Representation changes what we believe is possible. For many designers, discovering a queer creative whose work resonated wasn’t just an aesthetic experience—it was a lifeline, a permission slip, a window into a life that could be.
This Pride Month, the RGD Members share the LGBTQ+ creatives who inspire them: the illustrators, designers, artists and visionaries whose work continues to shape how they see and make.
I am a service designer in healthcare, helping to redefine and improve care for people and organizations. Before that, I practiced graphic design for government, non-profit and research teams for over 10+ ...
Inspiration: Deb JJ Lee
I’m inspired by Deb JJ Lee, a queer Korean-American illustrator and artist. I love the way they evoke reflection and emotion using vivid colours and dreamlike compositions. Their graphic novel In Limbo centres on the relationship between art, mental health and coming-of-age; making art is how I also coped with feeling othered and unsure about my future. I would like to keep creating for myself and maybe something I make will resonate with another person. Maybe that person wants to hear my stories. And just maybe, that person is the future version of who I become.
Inspiration: Aries Moross
An embrace of boldness and detailed care seems to have always run through Aries Moross’s design work, and just as clearly, that same spirit carries through into their London-based design studio. As a queer- and trans-led studio, their values centre on contributing positively to culture and opening space for others to do the same—treating collaboration as shared and respectful rather than extractive, emphasizing boundaries and sustainability, being transparent with clients and resisting burnout as a default mode of working. And really, is there much more I’m trying to do in my own career than that?
Paul Twa is a graphic designer, illustrator, and lettering artist born and raised in Edmonton. Paul is a graduate of the University of Alberta's Bachelor of Design program and currently lives in Toronto wh...
Inspiration: Paul Dotey
Paul Dotey is an LGBTQ+ illustrator and designer based in Toronto who creates work that gives people a sense of place. Through his illustrative maps, informative books, window displays and architectural illustrations, Dotey visualizes the intricacies of the spaces we live in—delivering information in a digestible way through his mastery of merging words and images. His publishing background led him to found Anecdotey Press, a risograph-printed imprint behind Pocket Guides on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada’s National Parks and the Great Lakes. At a moment when our Canadian identity feels particularly worth examining, Dotey’s work meets that moment—including his celebration of LGBTQ+ history with projects like The Beaver.
David has been working in the industry for 20+ years, having originally been bitten by the creative bug at Queen’s University where he studied visual arts and art history. He has been fortunate to name som...
Inspiration: Andy Warhol
Citing one of the most recognizable gay artists of all time might seem effortless, but hear me out. Coming of age in the 1980s and ’90s in Scarborough meant having little access to artistic community—until a grade-school trip to the AGO introduced me to Warhol. Years later, through voracious magazine reading, I discovered The Factory: his New York studio and the centre of a social world that seemed so inclusive of “the freaks,” a category I increasingly felt I belonged to. Then came Interview magazine—a revelation of everything I wanted my life to include: art, design, conversation and beauty. A gifted copy of The Andy Warhol Diaries deepened the understanding further—about art, New York City, being a gay man and the importance of visibility. I cite him not for the soup cans, but because he represented a world of otherness I hadn’t yet realized existed. He made me believe there was a life beyond the boundaries of the world I knew.
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