Business Photo Slideshows

The Logo Decoder Aug 14 2007

The Logo Decoder

What's in a presidential campaign logo? Strong typefaces, lots of subtext, and about $10,000 in development fees. Plus, a look at presidential campaign logos from the '60s and '70s.

Hillary Clinton

Connecticut's Taylor Design says it avoided the Clinton name to "minimize any negative associations" with the former president's travails; they considered, then dropped, plans to draw on Hillary’s 1996 book It Takes a Village. The illustrator who created the flag also came up with the lettering on Advil tablets and worked on designing the History Channel's H.

John McCain

When Virginia-based Spire Communications was hired by the McCain campaign, ground rules included avoiding "tired" red, white, and blue, and reinforcing "strong armed-forces themes." The assignment came naturally to the firm, which specializes in marketing defense contractors but had never handled a political job. One idea that didn't make it: a Southwestern cactus scene.

Rudy Giuliani

Borrowing from success, the Giuliani campaign tapped the Texas firm RSD Advertising, which created the graphics for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign bus, the oval "W '04" bumper sticker, and "Viva Bush!" ads. As for the single name, "Rudy," designer Patrick Dempsey says, "the first name was enough. There was no need for extra symbols."

Barack Obama

Mo/de, which does edgy videos, and Sender, a design and branding studio, set out to "transcend the usual" in their work for the Obama campaign. To that end, the Chicago-based team tried to evoke Web imagery with an O that doubles as a button and a sun. Rejected: a theme that used speech bubbles to connote dialogue.

Barry Goldwater

Photo by 4President.org

1964. Republican nominee. Lost to incumbent Lyndon Johnson.

Eugene McCarthy

Photo by 4President.org

1968. Ran for Democratic nomination. Lost to Hubert Humphrey.

Hubert Humphrey

Photo by 4President.org

1960. Ran for Democratic nomination. Lost to John F. Kennedy.

John F. Kennedy

Photo by 4President.org

1960. Democratic nominee. Defeated Richard Nixon.