Hope Rising
DJ Stout was one of the designers invited to reconsider the logo of the Obama administration’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a feature in today’s issue of USA Today.
Stout’s take on the current logo makes use of the familiar Obama “O.” “Our logotype references Obama’s powerful and emotional campaign logo but uses it in a slightly different way to communicate hope,” says Stout. “The hope that with this expensive recovery effort there could be a ‘new day’ for our ailing economy.”
In Stout’s proposal, the website is the focus: “It seems to me that the most important part of the identity that they have now is the web address. In the logo’s current form it is getting lost and it actually looks more like an afterthought. Obviously, the old National Recovery Administration posters didn’t include a web address because the public had to get their information through newspapers, radio or hearsay. The new digital era gives the administration a much more powerful set of tools to distribute information and report on the state of the stimulus plan. Obama has already proven that he knows how to use the web. Our solution gets rid of the old-fashioned and overused icons of leafy plants and outdated machinery cogs and gets to the modern heart of the message. The Obama administration wants you to go to the website to find out about the recovery effort. That is, if you even give a hoot.”
New Work: The White House Historical Association
As the Obamas get ready to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today, the organization charged with tending to the historic residence, The White House Historical Association, has received a change of its own: a new identity designed by Luke Hayman.
Established by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, The White House Historical Association is a non-profit historical and educational organization dedicated to preserving the history of the world’s most famous residence. The organization’s broad mission encompasses the publication of books, the preservation of the residence's art, decorative art and period rooms and a wide variety of education initiatives. With such a profusion of activities, the organization’s mark had taken on a variety of forms over the years and so, in an effort to portray a more consistent image, the association approached Hayman to develop a new identity.
The stately new identity utilizes LTC Caslon, an updated version of the 18th century font used for the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, and a specially commissioned engraving by illustrator Steven Noble.
Continue reading "New Work: The White House Historical Association"
‘CAN & DID’ at Danziger Projects
Michael Bierut and Paula Scher have projects featured in CAN & DID: Graphics, Art, and Photography from the Obama Campaign, a new exhibition that opens tonight at Danziger Projects in New York. The show surveys visual work that appeared during the 2008 presidential election. Bierut is represented by his Fifty State Strategy poster; Scher contributes the “O” banner that hung in front of Pentagram’s New York office during the presidential campaign. Also shown is work from Shepard Fairey, Jonathan Hoefler, Lance Wyman, Annie Leibovitz and the Design for Obama website, among others.
The exhibition remains on view through 28 February at Danziger Projects, 521 West 26th Street, New York.
New Work: ‘Dreams From My Father’
Angus Hyland has designed the cover for a special hardback edition of Dreams From My Father, the memoir of President-elect Barack Obama. Published in the UK by Canongate Books, the edition is to be released to coincide with Mr. Obama’s inauguration ceremony on the 20th of January.
Flag Day
At Pentagram’s New York office, we normally display flags of our own design, but for today we’ll make an exception.
Barack Obama’s Fifty State Strategy
Michael Bierut designed a poster for the Democrats’ Artists for Obama initiative that’s unlikely to ever be officially sanctioned. The 40 × 26 inch poster features a new name for each of the fifty states, each set in a bright color in the candidate’s now familiar Gotham typeface. “The poster can be interpreted as both arrogant and silly, and I doubt the campaign is eager to promote either of those characteristics,” concedes Bierut. “Although I think it’s fun.” Evidently others do, too: a print of the poster raised $625 at a silent auction to benefit the AIGA at the organization’s annual Design Legends Gala last month.
A few people have asked whether or not additional copies might be available. Well, they are—for a limited time, in limited quantities, and for the same low price ($625)—with all proceeds all going to Obama for America. To find out how you might get your own autographed (by the designer, not the candidate, sorry!) copy, send an email to obamaposter [at] pentagram.com.
Initial Reaction
On the eve of Barack Obama’s historic nomination speech, Pentagram’s New York office has unfurled a new flag. “We’ve always had a ‘P’ on our flag,” says Paula Scher. “We’ve put up an ‘O’ because we think it’s time for a change we can believe in.” Designed by Scher, the flag’s letterform is in Gotham, the campaign’s typeface.
Font Selection ‘08
Michael Bierut remarks on John McCain’s use of Optima in a group critique for the Times’ Campaign Stops. Of the parsing of campaign logos, Michael says, “In a campaign season that seems to have an endless appetite for minutiae, I’d rather talk about the candidates’ graphic design tastes than, say, their sex lives!”
Michael also recently commented on the branding of Barack Obama in a piece on NPR.
Previously: Probama, Obama Wins
Quick Links
- A Short History of Pentagram's Role in the London Design Festival
- Harry Pearce's 5x15 Talk Now Online
- Eddie Opara to Speak at Design Indaba
- Paula Scher to Speak at PennDesign
- Meet Emily Oberman, Pentagram's Newest Partner
- Bill Moggridge on Paula Scher's Maps
- Abbott Miller to Speak at the Type Directors Club