BIDEN x DESIGN
I received an invitation to participate in the BIDEN x DESIGN Instagram account, and was happy to respond. BIDEN x DESIGN was born from the legacy of the historic Artists for Obama campaign. BIDEN X DESIGN is a platform for designers, artists, and creatives of all types to express their support for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the values they will bring to the White House—truth, dignity, equality, and justice for all.
We are are a diverse movement committed to a common goal: to ensure Joe Biden is elected the next president of the United States of America.
To date, more than 70 designers have contributed their visual and written messages since the page was launched 6 days ago. (09 OCT 2020) @bidenbydesign
For my entry, I emphasized what I think is the most important part of this or any election. The individuals responsibility to vote. Whether that means absentee or mail-in voting or going to your normal polling place and vote in-person. Every citizen in the country needs to vote.
As I was thinking about the message for this, I felt that graphic should be clear, legible and bold. Some initial sketches help to work through the kinds of first level ideas that we all get, and to help think about the elements I could include.
After sketching, I went back to the Instagram account to review what was posted again, and realized that some of mine looked too familiar to other designers solutions. After letting the sketches sit for a bit, I got into Adobe Illustrator. In a few moments of refining the pencil sketches into digital layouts, I arrived at the design submitted. The Illustrator artboard below show how the rough concepts continued to evolve from sketched thinking and other concepts that were just abandoned.
Including The Brandmark
As I was sketching and continuing to evolve the ideas on the computer, I realized that some of the typography, while clear, was adding a distracting layer in terms of the visual. Further, this was pushing the message away from the VOTE messaging. To help focus on both candidates as well as keeping VOTE prominent, adding the Biden Harris logotype designed by Jonathan Hoefler and Robyn Kanner.
Set in the Hoefler&Co sans serif Decimal font builds on the graphic language established with Obama branding, just as the Democratic platform is building on its own messaing. To me, it's clear that Decimal is a sibling to Gotham, from the same foundry. The recently designed logotype has exceptional legibility, recognition even in when use in low-contrast applications like the VOTE graphic.
Contribute!
Adding your voice to the collection is easy! Visit https://www.bidenby.design/ follow the guidelines to @bidenbydesign on Instagram.
