Graphic Design has always played some role in politics and we’ve been able to see how there’s been changes in its purpose over time. During both the World Wars, there was a focus on rallying support. The posters and messaging were all incredibly nationalistic – the designs were meant to spread propaganda and instill pride within the people. Fast forward to post-war and we began to see this drastic shift in who controlled the messaging. Independent designers began to focus on individual campaigns, policies, and it became acceptable to speak out against the government. New voices began to emerge, intertwining graphic design and politics more than ever before.
The intersection of design and politics makes me feel uneasy, yet hopeful at the same time. The past four years of politics were a wild journey filled with high anxiety and stress. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to claim that design played a large part in the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election. In fact, I think it is the perfect case study to expose just how powerful design is.
We all know that graphic design is more than just choosing the right colors and fonts. If this was the case, Hillary Clinton would have won the race. Although there was some criticism on the details, such as which way the arrow was supposed to go, fundamentally the logo was ‘better designed’ than Trump’s. But as mentioned in some of my earlier posts, design is all about communication. As a designer, we always ask ourselves a set of questions: how can we reach the right audience, how can we ensure they understand the message we hope to communicate to them, and how will they react to that message?
Donald Trump’s creative team was ingenious. Just to be clear, I do not think that they made ethical choices – that’s a different conversation to be had. There’s this common misconception that good actions equals intelligence, yet some of the most intelligent people are criminal – and yes, that’s frightening. But ethics aside, I do believe that the graphic designers that worked on Trump’s campaign helped him win the 2016 election.
Over the past several years, we’ve seen how politics has become more tied to our value and identity systems. Trump’s entire campaign was targeted towards individuals that felt they were getting left behind and that America was changing too fast. The people resonated with him, they weren’t ready to let go of ‘their America’. Trump tapped into these feelings and his campaign team used this to shape their messaging.
A New York Times article, provides a solid example regarding immigration. The whole concept of “building a wall” stems from this fear of immigrants taking jobs and putting ‘American’ lives at risk. On one advertisement the line reads, “America’s Safety is at Risk” then flashes another piece of text, “This is a National Emergency.” The border wall and immigration is only one example of this. Billions of dollars were spent on these advertisements. Using micro-targeting on Facebook, the Trump campaign infiltrated key communication channels. Thousands and thousands of these types of messages were sent to individuals consistently over long periods of time. The graphic designers used all the right text, colors, motion, and placement to capture the attention of the audience. They evoked the right emotions, made the right decisions, and even though the statements were entirely false, they achieved their goal of building the MAGA base. That is what makes me feel uneasy.
This brings back that question of how much power does a graphic designer hold in making a change in the world? After seeing how the 2016 election turned out my answer would be: a whole lot of power. The assumption we often make is that good design will equal a good outcome, but this is a perfect example of where this statement may not hold. These designers had the ability to use their talent for good, but they chose to instead spread lies and hurt millions of people in the process. As graphic designers, we have to recognize that our choices make an impact and we carry that responsibility, especially in politics. And, that is what makes me feel hopeful – that we have the power to create change for the good.