Fjord’s Pride 2019 portrait series
Pride is about being unapologetically true to who you are. It’s also about being kind and open to people — whoever they are and whoever they love. Far from being a dividing factor, our Fjord studios worldwide explore and embrace differences. We simply believe that’s the right way to be. As an added benefit, those differences help to keep our ideas fresh and challenge us to think beyond our own individual experience.
The team at our San Francisco studio created a pride portrait series to show who they really are and to illustrate the diversity that enriches their studio. While this series focuses on some of our colleagues from the West coast, this is a true representation of all Fjordians, of who we are and what we stand for.
Senior Visual Designer Henry Wu and Service and Interaction Designer Allison Bouganim lead the creative process, starting out by asking each co-worker which of the colors from the Pride flag most resonated with them (we made sure to include the variation of the flag with black and brown lines to represent communities of color). As cultural ambassadors, Henry and Allison were privy to the most authentic version of each person, and they built a vision that would make each of them shine. For most, the process of modeling was entirely new, and required them to trust that the photographer and stylist’s vision for each shot to do them justice.
Each person started out saying “I never look good in photos,” but every one of the resulting photographs is more than just a portrait: it’s a representation of that person’s truest self, with their guard dropped — vulnerable and fierce in front of the camera. They crafted stunning photographs of their co-workers, in which each subject could recognize their true selves, and feel beautiful, powerful, and proud of who they are.
And given that San Francisco was the birthplace of the original Pride flag in 1978, this is our way to celebrate and commemorate that important moment in history.
Here we are. Fjord San Francisco. We’re proud, and we’re humbled. #Pride
Outside of their work at Fjord, Henry Wu is a fashion photographer and storyteller, and Allison Bouganim is an artist, activist, and entrepreneur. For this series, they took on the roles of creative director and makeup artist/stylist, respectively.
