Political Logos Can Impact Campaigns

With all of the presidential nominations coming out in the past few weeks, such as Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, and others, we thought we’d talk about the role that logos play in political campaigns.

If you have been on social media or been following the news the last few days, then surely you have seen Hillary Clinton’s logo for the 2016 campaign; her logo is drawing quite a bit of criticism for many reasons. Regardless of your political orientation, a bad logo for a politician can make you cringe, especially if you are a professional logo designer.

Candidates can only be in one place at a time, however, their logo can be anywhere and everywhere at the same time. They sit on yard signs, billboards, TV ads, the internet, etc. Anywhere.

Logos are the first impression to the voter, just like they are for general consumers with brands. Also, just like with brands, the logo needs to explain the message of the candidate before the candidate even has a chance to. The logo sets the course of the branding with the voters; it helps the voters remember the candidate, even when they are not thinking about the candidate.

For many candidates, they simply write their name in a fun font. The question here is, what font? A bad font can ruin a logo just as much as a bad symbol. When they choose a font, is it best to have the font be stylized? Bolded? Or regular?

Some candidates have gone a more adventurous route and created actual logos, such as Obama for his ’08 and ’12 campaigns. Why is this move more adventurous? Well, it leaves more room for subjectivity, or interpretation. A political campaign’s symbol can mean a thousand things to a thousand people, which can impact the fluency and success of a campaign for a candidate.

As far as colors in their logos, politicians have to consider this heavily. Do they go with original colors or do they go with the classic red, white, and blue? As far as voters are concerned, the classic R,W, & B is the way to go.

Among all these other things to consider, the politician must remember the logo has to look good in all shapes and sizes since it will be printed on just about everything, especially buttons.

What do you think about political logos? (Political bias, aside, please). Let us know in the comments! Or contact IGX Logos, a Chicago logo design agency.