Politics In Design February 8th, 2021
Design and politics is something I had never really considered together. Politics to me is very important, but as of recently it’s something I dislike very much. Politics has felt like something that has divided the people that I know in recent years and caused pain in our nation when it doesn’t need to. When we talk about design in politics it makes me feel confused because as graphic designers we hold the power to send messages out to the world that are both positive and negative. In some ways this makes it feel like a game of morals. For a lot of people today politics is more than just who you vote for in the presidential election, but it’s become peoples whole identity. I’ve always been someone who believes that if you’re passionate about something to speak your mind and as graphic designers I believe we have a duty to do so, but it’s hard for me to look at politics and not consider the way messages people create target or attack opposing viewpoints. For this reason I’ve always had a hard time with politics not just related to design but in general.
I think looking at design and the sub-meanings to campaign logos or branding is very interesting. Whether you like a candidate or not, a logo design can speak exponential volumes in the way a candidate wants to be seen or perceived. What interests me most about design in politics is the subconscious sway that designs can have. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is something most people would agree with, but it doesn’t mean people still don’t do it. People judge candidates based on the way they look visually, and design plays a huge role in that. In class we talked about candidates on both sides of the aisle and how their subconscious messages of God, agriculture, progressiveness, or boldness were expressed in different campaign logos. As designers we are taught to hyper criticize logos and subconscious meanings, so it’s interesting to me to think about how normal everyday people are affected by those messages in political designs. No matter which way you vote I think designers on both sides have an important job to fight for what they believe in and should express those messages in their designs. Part of what’s amazing about being a designer is the ability to speak your mind, and I believe everyone should use that power.
