Symbols
Gamma Phi Beta's symbol is the crescent moon and the flower is the pink carnation. The carnation was named the official flower at Convention 1888. Pink was designated the official color of the carnation in 1950. Carnations have been revered for more than 2,000 years as one of the most longlasting flowers. Many varieties produce a clove-like scent, and the aroma is said to be both uplifting and motivating. The legend of pink carnations says they first appeared on earth from the Virgin Mary’s tears – making them the symbol of a mother’s undying love.
The Gamma Phi Beta badge has not significantly changed since its design in 1874. It was designed by Tiffany & Co. It features a black crescent moon cradling the Greek letters, Gamma, Phi and Beta. Badges are currently produced by jeweler Herff Jones with options for gold or silver, jeweled or not.
The badges worn by International Council members are larger and feature white crescent moons instead of black. The international president's badge is set with diamonds on the Greek letters; other international officer's badges are set with pearls. In 1902, a badge for uninitiated members was approved (a triangular-shaped shield of dark brown on which rests a crescent of yellow).
The official colors of Gamma Phi Beta are brown and mode (dark and light brown). Mode means "the style of the day." Brown and pink are now in widespread use in Sorority branding and marketing materials.
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Famous quotes containing the word symbols:
“My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It is a projection of everything that can be bought and sold, the practical but impermanent symbols that sustain us.”
—Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
“The twentieth-century artist who uses symbols is alienated because the system of symbols is a private one. After you have dealt with the symbols you are still private, you are still lonely, because you are not sure anyone will understand it except yourself. The ransom of privacy is that you are alone.”
—Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911)
“Many older wealthy families have learned to instill a sense of public service in their offspring. But newly affluent middle-class parents have not acquired this skill. We are using our children as symbols of leisure-class standing without building in safeguards against an overweening sense of entitlement—a sense of entitlement that may incline some young people more toward the good life than toward the hard work that, for most of us, makes the good life possible.”
—David Elkind (20th century)