Don’t think I can recall a political candidate that seems to understand the power of visual media the way Barack Obama does (we’ve taken a look at the Obama logo before). Now that he’s been elected, that philosophy seems to be continuing, evidenced by the release of the new ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) logo, a new emblem that will be stamped on projects funded by his controversial economic stimulus package. Obama had this to say when announcing the logo at a presser yesterday:
“We’re making it easier for Americans to see what projects are being funded with their money as part of our recovery. So in the weeks to come, the signs denoting these projects are going to bear the new emblem of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you, the American people — a commitment to investing your tax dollars wisely, to put Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done. So when you see them on projects that your tax dollars made possible, let it be a reminder that our government – your government – is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery.”
Sounds cool I guess, if you buy into the stimulus package in the first place. Critics of Obama are non-plussed, and began parodying the logo seconds after its release. Right-wing political pundit Michelle Malkin, referring to the design as “the mark of the Porkulus beast”, is already hosting a Photoshop contest on her blog, asking readers to submit reworked designs to express their distaste with the recovery program itself. As this is supposedly a logo design blog, I guess I’m supposed to give an opinion on the artwork itself so I will – B+ or thereabouts. You can read the entire story over at ABC News.
As part of the overall stimulus branding package, Obama also introduced the new DOT Tiger (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) design. Text based logo with orange stripes is almost a little corny (and the angled stripes seem to make the letterforms lean backwards) but it’s simple and easy-recognizable. We’ll give this one a C+. If you’re interested, both logos were designed by Chicago’s Mode Project.
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I like the look of the logo. Good logos are key to marketing and propaganda and I think they understand the power of image. I can’t say that I believe in the plan. But the logo is slick and clean. Kudos to the design team.
As I wrote on my blog, these have been efficient symbols for over sixty years already…
“A few stars, wheat ears, and a cogwheel or two, and you covered patriotism, industry, and agriculture. Organise them into a circular shape, and it’s easy to make it as a sticker, a badge, or a medal.”
Ignoring the fact that Obama government has not even completed 2 months, people are being very critical about his performance. I guess it’s maybe because of the high expectations we all have from him.
Even last week I had a post on my blog where I directed a platform to my readers to submit logos expressing their views about Obama’s present performance.
As for this logo, I agree with Hal…such logos are key to marketing and propaganda.