Red, white and blue presidential candidate brands
Every election, politicians struggle to develop their image into a cohesive, marketable package to sell to voters. Everyone gets a logo that is wrapped up in a (hopefully) unique brand message. But frankly, I'm pretty bored with what is out there. The few variations include the green tail on a star (a nod to environmentalism?) from John Edwards, the black background symbolizing John McCain's military background. Chris Dodd's is beige, brown, and boring.* Barack Obama has a nice modern design, very "Web 2.0", though.
image source
*Update: evidently, Chris Dodd has had a new look since May. I couldn't find a logo, but his header is strikingly similar to the background on Mitt Romney's logo...
A brand is all about consumer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas that help to uniquely differentiate products or services that appear to be identical. Packaging is a key component of brand appeal, especially for consumer products. In many ways, a presidential candidate is the ultimate consumer product - and, for better or worse, the package that brand comes in is important. (source)What do you guys think?
*Update: evidently, Chris Dodd has had a new look since May. I couldn't find a logo, but his header is strikingly similar to the background on Mitt Romney's logo...
12 comments:
Chris Dodd has had a new banner since early May.
http://www.chrisdodd.com
Thanks,
Tim
Internet Director, Chris Dodd for President
Tim,
All I could find was a web banner. If you point me to an updated logo, I am happy to update the post.
Rachel, I think the McCain colors are linking it to POW more than military.
I'm already onboard here at HUE saying that primary colors, together, tend not to excite me much.
But what interests me most from this display, is the way two of the candidates, Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, are promoting themselves using only their first names... like "Cher".
This certainly implies familiarity... even affection. But I'll bet there are some old-school feminists out there who would say that using Hillary's first name only implies a certain patronizing quality... bordering on disrespect. The polemics of Kate Millett discuss this dichotomy, I believe.
DNfromMN, thanks for the FYI on McCain's colors- I read up a little bit about what he has been through as a POW-scary stuff.
David, i heard that Hillary Clinton was only using her first name to separate herself from the association with her husband and all the affiliated issues.
Hi Rachel! In the last seven years, I've designed more logos for politicians than I can remember!! The majority of them: red and blue. And you'd be amazed at how many different reds and blues there are!! I suggest other colors, but most candidates go right back to red and blue. Simply because it's patriotic and that's the image they want to show. What's more patriotic than red and blue?
From the logos you show, it's interesting how Obama uses the traditional red and blue... but he uses two blues. Less focus is on the red and more focus is on the fresh lighter blue. And, he's the only candidate incorporating his URL. Doesn't even mention 'for president', doesn't need to.
Fonts are interesting. Serifs are softer, may appeal more to females (Hillary and Obama use them). Last election, Bush used a san serif font. Bold and assertive. Kerry used serifs (interesting that Edwards went with the san serif). Does any of that point to a change in what the public wants in a president this time around?
I do see a trend in political logos looking more corporate. Good!, their cleaner and more polished. Some politicians are embracing it (looks like Obama is leading the way). Unfortunately many aren't ready to yet. I design them, they go back to what they know. There's alot on the line with an election and if they view something as a risk (or their committees and consultants do), then they won't do it.
And a pet peeve, use your apostrophes correctly. It's a presidential logo after all. Look at the '08. Obama and Biden get it right. Gilmore and Hunter need to go back to school.
Long comment, I know! But like I said, I do these all the time. Guess I've got a few opinions!!!
Good post!
Denise,
Spoken like a true graphic designer! Interesting comment about Obama's emphasis on lighter blues. I am still learning the subtle nuances of serif versus sans serif fonts, but it's fascinating to pick apart each logo based on font and color choice. Thanks for playing along!
Interesting discussion. I'm wondering about text. I was taking a closer look at them after reading denise's comments. Does "X for President" call up high school elections for anyone else? I prefer the "X President `08" better. Am I just too ADHD?
Yes, as Denise points out, there are many reds.
I read somewhere that, while our ears have good "sense memory" for voices, our eyes have comparatively much less so.
We can identify the voice, on the telephone, of someone we haven't spoken to in 20 years!
Yet, when Americans are asked to pick out "Coca-Cola red" from a page of many red color standards, they just do not do so well.
It seems that our eyes approach vision more "relativistically"... things seen only have meaning in relation to OTHER seen things.
I remember seeing the red door at #10 Downing Street in London (I don't think it's painted red anymore, for some reason). How vivid it seemed to me at the time! Yet years later I saw a color standard for the actual paint they used... it seemed more like a dull maroon than the vivid scarlet I thought I'd remembered...
Isn't it strange the way how, on Duncan Hunter's banner, the '08 is partially hidden behind the word "President" ?
I'm an avid student of graphology and art therapy, and, if something similar were to be done in a hand-drawn or hand-written sign, it would rather imply either:
a). That the Candidate really didn't want to be president, or
b). That he was indeed thinking about becoming President, only not in 2008...
(-:
Wow, this has turned into quite the discussion!
David, you're right- color perception is all relative to its context- a red will never look brighter and more saturated than when paired with it's compliment. and yet if you put that same red next to a brown, or analogous color, it suddenly doesn't seem so strong anymore.
DNfromMN-i wonder about subtleties of word arrangement, too. Copywriters must have a field day discussing the merits of each phrasing...
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