This morning, I had the chance to watch this talk by Matt Ipcar of Blue State Digital, on the process behind designing President Obama’s 2012 branding. I really enjoyed it.
Specifically, he shared a few tips when designing for political campaigns that I thought were spot-on to my experience:
- Plan ahead - Don’t overbuild: grow site as campaign team grows. Get donations, volunteers and contact info early on.
- These colors don’t run - If you are designing for a US presidential campaign, learn to love red white and blue.
- Details matter - Beware of bad stock images, unwise font choices, and don’t manipulate photos.
- Adaptive design is a given - Make the site responsive and adaptable to different screen sizes, especially mobile.
- Respect the Brand - Make the design as unique and meaningful as your candidate or issue.
I’ve long been a fan of Blue State Digital’s work, and I think it goes without saying that the branding and design work around the 2012 Obama-Biden campaign revolutionized the industry. If your work involves designing for politicians and nonprofits — or even just designing at all — I’d encourage you to give it a watch.