The State of Political Design
How Branding and Logos Define Campaigns
No matter your political affiliation, you have to admit the design of any campaign has a profound effect on overall opinion and outcome.
With the November election just around the corner, a time-capsule of history and a timeline of provocative design evolution within the political realm is something worth dissecting. The visual history behind branding and Presidential campaigns is incredibly interesting, and it’s exciting to see how much design plays a part as the 2016 election season unfolds.
EVOLUTION OF THE CAMPAIGN LOGO
From Abe Lincoln to Grover Cleveland, designing an imperative campaign program required voice, action, and purpose. It used to be that public speaking mattered most. However, news, mass appeal and critical art started to matter more and more, especially with the creation of post and crude street team poster promotion.
As the popular vote gained importance, earnest everyday campaigning became a necessity. Candidates were no longer speaking only to certain segments of the electorate, but to all men [and eventually women]. To wow and appeal to their new constituencies, political propaganda and memorabilia were borne of necessity.
Spreading the word meant broadening horizons. The visual history of political acceptance changed all forms of media. From propaganda to promotion, design can be a severely strong weapon in terms of mission, action, outreach and ultimate goal. Even before the evolution of the poster, candidates would emblazon their branded images and slogans on matchbooks, cigar boxes, song books, bottles, etc.
STYLES REFLECT THE TIME
Political design, especially Presidential has changed dramatically since the days prior to FDR. The key used to be simply making your face visible and your voice audible to more of the general public than your competitor. But everything changes over time.
From radio broadcasts to televised debates, political technology is constantly changing, and the same goes for collateral design.
Buttons to badges, banners to shirts, commercials to social media, the advertising of any era is a reflection of the people and technological progress, as well as art’s profound impact on social and cultural outcomes. A clever slogan and a picture on a button was standard for a certain timeframe; now digital design is declaring its stronghold.
WHAT (WHO) BROKE THE MOLD?
Dwight D. Eisenhower disrupted the campaign game with his ‘I Like Ike’ pun buttons, which circulated like crazy. Furthermore, Kennedy’s virile image helped catapult his brand to the stratosphere, which helped him knock off Nixon via television. This was the first foray into visual appeal via TV, which leads to digital, further proving aesthetics make a difference.
Borrowing tactics from Madison Avenue ad agencies, campaigns were trying to package together image, design and verbiage to elicit a visceral reaction which would hopefully lead to votes. Take for example, a 1968 Robert F. Kennedy poster which featured scrolling hippie-ish typography and his face like a caricature, most likely to appeal to the left-leaning youngsters of the time.
Jimmy Carter did things completely different when it was his turn. Instead of the usual red, white, and blue, he went with green to undoubtedly illustrate his earthy, farmer background. After all, he was a southern democratic peanut farmer from Georgia, so he had to stand out somehow.
BREAKING THROUGH THE CLUTTER
Presidential logos can mean different things to different people. Branding power and philosophy are the real message.
It is beyond important to be potent, conveying to voters the right message, saying something about the candidate. Obama’s Hope logo, with the horizon in the O was so disruptive that it is perfect. It set the modern bar.
Regardless of personal politics, the effectiveness of Mr. Obama’s brand image is extremely evident. Americans wanted hope and they got it; from the typeface combinations, to the bright, optimistic imagery — everything circled back to the fresh, “new day in America” messaging.
The importance of design continued with Shepard Fairey’s Hope poster, which featured designer Sol Sender’s initial “O” logo. The New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl called the poster “the most efficacious American political illustration since ‘Uncle Sam Wants You’.”
DESIGN APPLIED
It doesn’t have to be safe anymore. The instrument of telling a story is crucial to design and fore-thinking.
Whether national or local, the hardest part is creating something unique. No offense to Bernie Sanders and his supporters, but his campaign logo looks more like a tube of toothpaste. This is striking, considering his clever slogan, “Feel the Bern!” Quixotic and inspiring, he is making surprising grassroots progress in spite of his safe design.
Considering election campaigns in other countries, it’s odd how little the campaign logos in the US reflect the personality of each candidate. The choice of typefaces and clichés remain the same. It’s a shame that no one candidate has progressed from what was done for Obama in 2008, which was to create a symbol than could stand on its own for history.
ONE NATION UNDER DESIGN
Culture and audiences change on the fly, so a brand should be ready and able to adapt. It’s important to build a brand that can survive well into the future and be relevant to the world in which we all live.
Visually and conceptually, this election year is rather weak in terms of design. Hillary’s arrow, pointing forward, undoubtedly, to progress, is the best bet, but lacks the panache of years past. She has name recognition like Obama did, and her branding needed to take a risk, but red as the hero color seems off, however it appears to be extremely social media friendly, and they went on to improve upon the logo with variations of color and symbol within the original design.
The lack of design is the talk to the election this year, albeit the small talk; this is because nothing stands out as overwhelmingly brilliant. There are good designs, just not great.
IN CONCLUSION
Graphic designers who have spent their lives distilling these complex concepts into the tiniest strokes, know the punch that a star, an arrow or a font can pack.
Back in the day, Harry S. Truman’s slogan — The Buck Stops Here — some say is what won him the modest differential from FDR. Ike’s cleverness was on full display. Jimmy Carter’s green made him stand out. And with Obama’s campaign design, America witnessed the importance a logo can have on an election. Obama’s win and excitement among new and younger voters can be partially attributed to the strong use of an emotional logo and the message conveyed within said design.
