No matter where you stand on the candidates assembled for the race to the White House, their logos provide more than a few takeaways for small business marketing, namely, branding. Clearly, there are winners and, as one candidate would say, “Losers,” but as you examine the creative and commentary, there are a few important factors to keep in mind.
In the post, Logo Love!, Bernadette Rivell Daniels of Identity Brand + Design has these suggestions:
Just like your business name, your logo should reflect your business identity.
Generally, logos fall into 3 categories. The logotype is a completely type/font-based design created with some element of distinction. Sony, Coca-Cola and FedEx are all examples of the logotype. There are graphic logos that visually exhibit what the business (or entity) does, such as the Major League Baseball (MLB) logo. Lastly, the icon is a symbol that is used to represent the business and it’s brand. …The Nike Swoosh is a classic, extremely successful example of the business icon.
Before you decide which type of logo (logotype, graphic logo, icon) would best represent your business, think about the message you want this logo to convey. …
Your business logo should be clean, functional, and easy to reproduce. Use color theory to develop the best color palette, and keep it simple. Be mindful of all media applications the logo will be used in, and understand that more colors sometimes equals more in production costs. Also, a logo needs to work, and work well, before it can work in color. Start the design process in black and white.
Steer clear of trends if you want to establish longevity for your business logo. You want your business logo to be unique, original and highly professional, so avoid using clip art at all costs.Read Logo Love! at identitybrandanddesign.com.
[In full disclosure, Identity Brand + Design is LGK’s exclusive design partner.]
Now back to the visual race to the White House. In a bi-partisan and alphabetical selection of four logos, we’ve curated a few opinions that may influence your creative direction. Links to the sources follow the last commentary.
Jeb Bush
“What last name?” this logo asks. “This man has no last name. We all know him as Jeb. Jeb NOTHING. And furthermore, we are very excited about him, indicated by this exclamation point.”
Source: 2016’s Campaign Logos, Ranked from Best to Worst – Alexandra Petri, The Washington Post
This is way too nakedly obvious a choice for a candidate who insists he isn’t running on his surname. … Commentators have also noted the echo of many a bad Broadway musical title in Bush’s logo. Oklahoma! Fiorello! Jeb! …I’m guessing the exclamation point is meant to imply that this iteration of the Bush dynasty will be more fun and lighthearted than the first two, like when Michael Corleone played chauffeur for Kay in Godfather III. Quibbles and mockery aside, Bush’s logo is to the point and, in its way, memorable.
Source: Presidential Candidate Logos, Ranked – Bruce Handy, Vanity Fair
“It’s what I would expect if Jed! Clampett were running for mayor of Beverly Hills,” said David Carson of David Carson Design about Jeb Bush’s logo, pictured above behind the candidate.
Source: The Best and Worst Campaign Logos of 2016 – Politico Magazine
Hillary Clinton
However patent her attempt to emulate the pithy iconography of Barack Obama’s classic and brilliant “O” logo, Hillary Clinton has earned her iconic “H.” … If only this logo’s execution weren’t so graphically heavy—and so conceptually heavy-handed. Turning the H’s crossbar into an arrow is clever in theory but bludgeoning in execution. On a more obvious level, the arrow asserts Clinton’s desire to look toward the future while many of her opponents will be focusing on vulnerabilities in her past… Whatever its failings, Clinton’s logo suggests a lot of thought went into it, which is more than you can say for most of her rivals’ graphics. Like Jeb! the “H” is memorable and, more importantly, meme-able.
Source: Presidential Candidate Logos, Ranked – Bruce Handy, Vanity Fair
Ah, yes, nothing says Clinton like a red arrow pointing to the right. This doesn’t look good on anything. It’s too MS-Paint-y. It looks like a graphic telling you where to exit the plane. It looks like something they narrowly decided not to brand on Hester Prynne. This is not a good logo.
Source: 2016’s Campaign Logos, Ranked from Best to Worst – Alexandra Petri, The Washington Post
Clinton’s simple logo, though, is certainly saying something now. On Tuesday, the day of the Supreme Court oral arguments on gay marriage, her H on both Facebook and Twitter were changed to rainbow-colored.
And it’s not the only example of how the campaign has tried to adapt the logo. For Iowa, the background is an open field with corn in the foreground. For New Hampshire, mountains.
It’s kind of becoming the Empire State Building of presidential campaign logos — changing colors to celebrate any variety of milestones and holidays, from pink for breast cancer awareness to red, white and blue for Memorial Day to “pastel fades” for Easter.
Source: Panned When It First Came Out, The Clinton Logo Is Saying Something Now – Domenico Montanaro, NPR
Marco Rubio
In Marco Rubio’s vision of a New American Century, America is reduced to a tiny dot over Rubio’s “I.” Analyze that!
You can tell that he is young and hip because he does not capitalize his name.
I feel like I have been handed this business card before, and I have not followed up.
Source: 2016’s Campaign Logos, Ranked from Best to Worst – Alexandra Petri, The Washington Post
“The typography is fairly appropriate,” said Sagi Haviv, partner and designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv. “But the map of the United States—a vast country—shrunk to dot the I becomes so disproportionately tiny in the context of this logo that it loses its meaning. It looks like a tiny red whale. Baffling.”
Source: The Best and Worst Campaign Logos of 2016 – Politico Magazine
… Houston, we have a problem.
Actually, Alaska and Hawaii, we have a problem. In the sense that those two states aren’t included with the map of the mainland that dots the “i” in his last name.
Experts who spoke with Business Insider say they felt the map was an “afterthought” but praised the font and the color scheme of the logo. Other reactions were also mixed. Our two cents: It’s boring.
Given the attention Hillary’s logo received, this kind of scrutiny is to be expected. And something like this should really be caught and discussed before an announcement of this magnitude. If you’re running for the highest office in the land, it stands to reason that you’d want to include all of the land over which you wish to govern.
Source: The US Map In Marco Rubio’s Campaign Logo Doesn’t Include Hawaii and Alaska – Tonya Garcia, Adweek
Design: Better Than Drawing a Heart Over the “I”
Colors: Deep Navy is Nice
Typography: Lowercase is Interesting
Meaning: No Ideas, No Message, No Budget
Integration: No Thought Went into This
Source: Design for the Future: The 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates’ Logos, Ranked – Chris Stout-Hazard, Observer.com
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders is lucky he has a charming first name, because otherwise this is easily the most generic, least flavorful logo in the bunch. It works, it’s comfortable, but it has no style…
Source: Presidential Candidate Logos, Ranked – Bruce Handy, Vanity Fair
If you told me this was the logo for the Jack Black movie of the same name, I would believe you. Cute in a vintage way, like the candidate himself.
Source: 2016’s Campaign Logos, Ranked from Best to Worst – Alexandra Petri , The Washington Post
John Casterta, founder and director of The Design Office, liked Sanders’ logo best, saying it appropriately uses the first name typeset in an informal, approachable serif font. (Note that it also features a star.)
Source: The Best and Worst Campaign Logos of 2016 – Politico Magazine
Design: Simple But Proportions Feel Wrong
Colors: Nice, Light, Almost Cheerful
Typography: Fine, I Guess. I Don’t Love Tittle Gimmicks
Meaning: Just Ride the Wave, Man
Integration: Well- Executed on Front Page
Source: Design for the Future: The 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates’ Logos, Ranked – Chris Stout-Hazard, Observer.com
Source Links:
- 2016’s Campaign Logos, Ranked from Best to Worst via thewashingtonpost.com
- Presidential Candidate Logos, Ranked via vanityfair.com
- The Best and Worst Campaign Logos of 2016 via politico.com
- Panned When It First Came Out, The Clinton Logo Is Saying Something Now via npr.org
- The US Map In Marco Rubio’s Campaign Logo Doesn’t Include Hawaii and Alaska via adweek.com
- Design for the Future: The 2016 U.S. Presidential Candidates’ Logos, Ranked via observer.com
Which presidential hopeful gets your vote for an effective visual? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.
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