From Facism to Communism to Democracy,

the commonalities of successful political design

 Design is not a tangible state asset such as money,
guns, or foot soldiers; nor is it among the intangible as-
sets normally prescribed to powerful politicians such as
great speeches and a likeable character.
However, some of the most important political ma-
chines in recent history were also the best equipped ar-
tistically. While the design motifs adapted to their time
period, the design of current day political campaigns
have a direct lineage to Hitler, Lenin, Mao, Napoleon,
and others.
While this is not a psychology paper, I must detour
to the unconscious to explain part of my thesis. Ameri-
cans conceptualize government as a family model with
the president as head of the family. In short, Ameri-
cans understand the role of government through one of
the “Nation as a Family” metaphors -generally either a
“Nurturant Parenting” or a “Strict-Father” nuclear fam-
ily model. Each dictate how one understands the dy-
namics of politics and is the basis for their judgment of
politicians.1
For example, popular Republicans tend to be the ag-
gressors, like Reagan and Nixon. The nation as a family
model also explains why George H. W. Bush didn’t win
any brownie points for getting out of Iraq quickly or
being fiscally responsible and breaking his promise not
to raise taxes- he wasn’t being the strong father figure
conservatives wanted.1
So there lies our compass for successful political de-
sign: matching the visual look with the core principals
of the unconscious family model and politics of the day.
John McCain didn’t fit either metaphor: he was nei-
Strength Change
“Everything about this
logo says you can buy a car
from this man.”
-Barlow & Highsmith, Boston Globe2
ther a strict nor a nur-
turant leader. The Mc-
Cain campaign tried to
concurrently project the
image of both a strong
leader and a rebellious
maverick. This strategy
made McCain an uncon-
vincing strong father, as
a conservative “swing”
democrat prone to the McCain’s typographic logo juxtaposed
nuclear-family view of with McCann Motors sign, Fife WA.3
foreign policy would
want. Whereas a republican with nurturant-parent views
of foreign policy would require someone able to work
with others- not a maverick whom is unable to work
with his own party. Of McCain’s choice for a campaign
font Art Chantry opined in a New York Times piece,
“Optima is the ultimate noncommittal typeface.
It’s a sans-serif typeface with the suggestion of false
serifs. It’s also a serif typeface without serifs. Either
way, it’s a half-truth. Optima is the best typeface for
appeal to all viewers and projecting sophistication
without really having sophistication.”5
How much of this statement was just unconscious
reprocessing of the author’s political views in the form of
a design critique is debatable. However, the parallels are
striking: the McCain campaign chose a font trying to be
both strong and sophisticated while McCain was rush-
ing to embrace the evangelical right-wing while simulta-
neously trying to both co-opt Obama’s change message
and adopt a feminist advocacy angle.
A Boston Globe article compared McCain’s cam-
paign logo to that of a car salesman. It was the best
of the Republican primary candidates, however, and the
authors picked McCain and Obama as the eventual win-
ners, with Obama’s having the edge.2
Such a bet was against the odds at the time; one poll
showed Clinton with a 15%5 lead over Obama for the
nomination and a hypothetical two-way poll showed
Obama losing to McCain by 6%.6
“I’m a war president”
“We will glorify war
-the world’s only hygiene- militarism, patriotism,
the destructive gesture of freedom-bringers,
beautiful ideas worth dying for...”
-from the Futurist Manifesto 9
Lenin sweeping into power, an example
of Socialist Realism at it’s most powerful.8
“We have a war to win,
& the world is counting on us
to lead the cause of freedom & peace.”
-George W. Bush16
-George Bush originally campaigned in 2000 as a
moderate. He attempted to frame himself as a “compassionate conservative,”
“We must also be a strong nation that also cares for the weak & forgotten.”7
The only way conservatives could accept a caring, supportive father figure Logo as a moderate George Bush in 2000
as a legitimate leader is through the idea of tough love.1 Not a weak “flip-
flopper” like Kerry, not the half-truth of McCain, but a genuinely caring yet
strong leader.
Bush had a different agenda in 2004. Being a war president, his meta- Bush logo after Operation Iraqi Freedom11
phorical strength changed from that of a foundation stone to that of a tank.
And what do tanks do? They speed across deserts and fire big fucking guns. Operation Iraqi Freedom was
carried out with a combination
Mussolini sold his populace on war with the help of Futurist designers, of precision and speed... From
whom sanitized and celebrated war.8 The Futurists portrayed their subjects at distant bases or ships at sea, we
an extreme angle or towering overhead to emphasize size and speed.9 sent planes and missiles that
The Bush logo was already a fat sans-serif, much like the stylized letters sup- could destroy an enemy division,
porting the train opposite this page, and in 2004 they added italics. Whether or strike a single bunker. Marines
due to a lack of imagination or purposeful marketing, Bush’s logo rolled over and soldiers charged to Baghdad
Kerry’s like a tank.10 It’s very unlikely that Bush’s design team got their inspira- across 350 miles of hostile ground,
tion directly from Futurism. What is remarkable that both sought to convey in one of the swiftest advances
the same message and both developed similar solutions. of heavy arms in history. You
have shown the world the skill
Another striking similarity to past political design motifs is the use of
and the might of the American
Bush’s photograph. Most campaign sites leave the margins around their logo
Armed Forces.
uncluttered and use minimalist banners and signage. Bush’s logo, however, was
-George W. Bush15
tightly integrated with a perpetually changing photo of himself, usually shaking
hands or giving a speech. In the “media” section, Bush’s
image was all over the different campaign collateral, each
adorned by the running head Bush Cheney 04.11
Bush’s butchery of kerning, abuse of cheap Photo-
shop effects, and unoriginal graphics have led some to
draw comparisons to Socialist Realism.12 Lenin and Stalin
had little appreciation for the different forms of graphic
communication and rejected all other avant guard styles.8
In right wing media, as in Hitler’s Degenerate Art ex-
hibition, experimental art is laughed at or deemed offen-
sive13 and generally dismissed as part of the hallucinatory
“culture wars.” Such baseless attack of art and the “liberal
elite” rings of the Socialists’ denigration of the Bourgeoi-
sie. With a lack of appreciation or strong artistic culture,
perhaps conservatives default to photographs just as Sta-
lin killed the avant-garde in favor of Soviet realism.8

Bernini’s Loui the XIV
20
The Ascension of Our Lady21
“The intensity and immediacy of baroque art and its
individualism and detail—observed in such things as the
convincing rendering of cloth and skin textures—make it
one of the most compelling periods of Western art.”
-Wikipedia17
Just as Napoleon and other leaders used the “high art” of oil paintings
for propaganda purposes,18 so too has Obama used the arts to communicate
his message. The only difference is that the gallery was BarackObama.com.
Whatever your opinion of the artistic merit of computer design, there is no
denying that Obama’s brand image has deep roots in art history.19
Take, for instance, Obama’s pose on the home page. It is not the aggres-
sive pose of Lenin sweeping into power -but one of lightness. It has the same
grandeur that possesses Bernini’s bust of Loui the XIV. His expression matches
that of the Baroque period saint and angels,21 their faces serene as if holding
some deep knowledge which gives them total inner peace. The level of detail
associated with the Baroque period is here as well; individual spikes of light
radiate from the center column, stray fibers wave around, and a lens flare all
subtly blend into a cloud of light.
The logo is of a minimalist design, following the convention in recent de-
cades to distill the message into a form recognizable even in only two colors.19
They did so masterfully, distilling the Americana of the Midwestern rolling
fields of grain and cleverly combining it with Obama. It’s different enough to
separate itself from the cliched vaguely patriotic logos of most candidates yet
close enough to known symbols and ideas to firmly anchor it in our memory.
The website version of the logo adds a glimmer, a reflection of the glow-
ing light curling around the edges of the content box and enveloping Obama
before being swallowed by a tenebristic background.
A similar omnipotent light poured though most of the graphic illustrations
in the central image carousel. These objects were dramatically posed as well
-just as the Baroque artists would pose their figures21- gliding on an upward
trajectory, levitating the message they embody into the realm of angels.
During the transition period, official seals and stylized icons replaced the
logo. The tone changed from one of offering hope to one of briefings and dec-
larations.22 However, the design team seemed to have taken over, not laid off.
They created an official looking, yet stylish placard for the quasi-legal Office
of the President Elect.22 The graphic illustrations for the website came down
to eye level, but were still dramatically posed and lit. The background lost
its ethereal cloud of light but kept the dark, heavily saturated tenebristic blue
background, as if its occupants took a nap and turned off the light.22
After the transition from President Elect to President, the Presidential web-
Barack Obama at his quasi-official, yet ex-
site was replaced too. The new site shares a stylistic heritage to BarackObama.
tremely stylish, President Elect podium.22
com but lost many of its Baroque flourishes to government sanctioned Neo-
Classical themes. The fonts changed to uppercase serifs and traditional sym-
bols of stars and eagles are in their customary places while the background has
changed to that of a creamy, ivory white.
The new website is not strictly Neo-Classical, however. The designers took
the time to transform a linked web page into a screen shot of a browser, add
a spot light effect, adjust the perspective like that of a 3D object on top of a
dark, tenebristic background. One could say that the lighter blues playfully
transitioning to darker ones, the plaster molding detail of the background, and
the use of fleurons gives the new website’s predominantly Neo-Classical look a
hint of Rococo.23
The rich artistic design motif of the Obama campaign feels deliberately
crafted, adding to the perception of Obama as an intelligent, careful, and car-
ing candidate.

Warhol’s iconic Cambell’s Soup Can
Fairey’s riff on Warhol’s Campbell’s series
The original “Hope” poster before being
cleaned up for quasi-official use.
“No one has ever been this excited
about a presidential candidate -ever.”
-Justin Hemminger, Tigereye Design24
The huge volume of outsider art created for the Obama
campaign wasn’t an accident. Both the Nazis and the Obama
internal design apparatus created a volume of high quality art.
Hitler was himself a failed artist and devoting the only lucid
chapter of Mein Kampf to the importance of visual symbolism.8
Once in power the Nazi’s enforced something akin to party art
discipline, passing laws governing the use of the various govern-
mental collateral. They even created sub-brands for the SS, the
Gestapo, and other official party organs.8
However, both the Nazi and the Obama officials embraced
outsider artwork for their initial campaigns.8,25 Most campaigns
package their logos and designs in a static way, making changes
very time consuming.11 The Obama team made altering the
designs very easy by providing the original application files for
the majority of campaign materials.
Tigereye produces official Obama merchandise and has
been making political materials for 30 years. Before Obama,
Tigereye employed 30 people; by Nov 5th they surged to nearly 500 employees,
ran 3 shifts a day, moved to a larger space, and added an additional shipping
facility.24 Seven months after the election they are still selling 286 special inter-
est group buttons, everything from veterans to truckers for Obama.24
The mass production and style of outsider artwork is of direct lineage from
the Soviet Constructivism of the 1920’s8 and the Pop Art movement of the
1950’s.14 The iconic Hope poster by Shepard Fairey is an odd pairing; Fairey’s
art mimics of the communist propaganda of Soviet Russia and China, yet some
of his methods and styles were handed down by Andy Warhol and popularized
by consumerist embracing Pop-Art movement:
“What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition
where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest.
You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the
President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think,
you can drink Coca Cola, too.”-Andy Warhol26
Enabled by the low cost of screen printing and instant delivery mechanism
of the internet, the Obama Hope poster was distributed by Fairey in the hun-
dreds of thousands and printed by anyone who cared to do so. The ultimate
dream of the pop-art movement27 came true: you could not only buy a little
piece of Obama’s Hope, you could make it at home too.
When politicians want strength they turn towards heavy,
Nazi-esque designs,8, 11 when they want intellect or hope they
turn to the awe-inspiring Baroque techniques, and when they
want populace fervor they adopt Socialist Constructivism.
Bush emphasized a clean break from Clinton, so he displayed
strength and caring through leadership in 2000. His reelection
campaign graphics displayed strength through power,.1 the bed-
rock of a war president -just how the Fascists liked it.
Al Gore tried to distance himself from Clinton, instead of
trying to take some credit for the economic and diplomatic vic-
tories of the Clinton administration. Gore and Kerry tried to
project strength and intellect simultaneously, only to come off
wooden and unlikable. Kerry wanted to be a clean break from
Bush and also a kind of super-set of Bush.1 As such, the intellect
conveyed by Kerry’s serif logo fell apart atop a miniaturized yet
capitalized A STRONGER AMERICA, as opposed to the Bush
style A STRONGER AMERICA.10
The Obama campaign was at the apex of the intersection
of politics, psychology, and design - each resonating with one
another to deliver the presidency. Obama was a clear break
from Bush; he expressed his intellectualism both in person and
in his graphics, while still capturing awe with simple wording, like hope, ac-
companied by the patriotism of heavily saturated blues and blood red graphics
floating in an angelic mist and dramatic lighting, just as Bernini, Nike, and
Hitler (at least in private) would have liked it.
The external creative free flow swirling around the campaign setup a kind
of survival of the fittest focus group of different styles. What emerged was a
style resembling that from the other populist periods of the twentieth century,
Soviet Constructivism and American Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s &
60’s.25 The best designs left an impression of careful thought and consideration,
which in turn left the impression that Obama was a smart and caring person.
It’s a stereotype that works well for democrats1; it’s what people want during a
time of economic crisis -especially since the previous administration, through
tough love, had almost killed it.
We remember Hitler not for his branding achievements, but for his horrific
sociopathic rampage through Europe. Design is an essential element within
a political or corporate campaign; the campaign is not a part of the design.
Backwards rationalizing campaign design to come up with a hidden agenda is
beyond idiotic: Obama has no more ideological connection to Hitler or Lenin
than does Bush or Cheney. The Obama team’s choice of a smart, populist
graphic style was a choice that reflected past designs made in a similar political
climate, designs that delivered the White House.
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