yes they can. design, that is.
Following a Twitter link from Hans John Gruber, it’s apparent that Republicans are still a little hazy on the concepts of graphic design and art direction:
Make the 72 year-old presidential candidate look even more wooden! Make the former Miss Alaska runner-up look like she’s trying to evaporate the cameraman with her eye lasers! And to top it all off, let’s set them against a banner from the Kentucky fair. Yes! American Gothic! Exactly what McCain needed!
Compare this to a similar graphic from Obama’s site. It’s all big smiles and dynamic angles, subtly set against a cheering crowd. Everything is in motion:
It would seem that Democrats are employing some excellent graphic designers this time around. Check out this year’s DNC logo:
Frankly, I don’t think they could have hit it any more perfectly. The white stars and stripes, when set against a red sky and blue mountains, cleverly evoke the American flag while simultaneously incorporating the location of the convention. As far as images of strength and security go, mountains are hard to beat. The clean typography used for “DNCC 08″ also meshes perfectly with Obama’s own extremely effective motifs (FYI, the sleek typeface used for most of Obama’s campaign materials is Gotham, originally created for GQ Magazine).
Now have a look at the RNC’s convention logo.
OH MY GOD RUN! Yes, that’s their actual logo, I swear to you. They couldn’t have designed something uglier if they’d tried. What is it saying? That a drug-crazed robotic elephant is going to crush the year 2008? It’s a horror show no matter which way you slice it. And don’t get me started on the generic typographic ring that cages the beast. I never thought I’d see a logo that literally makes me want to run in the opposite direction, but here we are.
The only thing that would have made the logo worse is if they’d named the elephant “Gop”. Gop, the killer elephant.
I think I met all of 2 Republicans at my allegedly elite photography school. I would describe the Republicans’ graphics as “nephew art.” You know… somebody in the Republican National Committee must have a nephew somewhere who “knows photoshop,” so they had just had him do everything.