As a Senior Designer on the historic 108-day Harris for President campaign, I did everything from brand development to event signage to advertising concepting and bus wraps. While we did not achieve the electoral outcome we were hoping for, we did raise the bar for what can be accomplished by a small team of designers in a very short span of time. Below are just some of the many designs I created for the campaign, beginning with a new logo for an overnight brand flip.
Harris for President Logo
I had the unique experience of working on a four hour design sprint for the Harris for President interim logo and brand. Along with design lead Ana Rice and under the creative direction of Shar Biggers and Kate Conway, over 40 logos were narrowed down to six, and then one. And, in a preview of the months of teamwork ahead of us, both Ana and myself sketched the final logo during the initial creative sprint.
Design sprint sketches for interim logo.
Presidential Debate Campaign
The main campaign branding features a condensed typeface, so I utilized the bold sans serif to create a unique sub-brand for the presidential debate. This included an awareness campaign of posters, phone screens, and debate watch party collateral.
Opposition Campaign
Concept and copywriting for OOH advertising meant to “get under his skin” in the lead-up to the sole presidential debate of the campaign season hosted in downtown Philadelphia. By all accounts, it worked.
Campaign Events
As part of the advance team, I designed many of the campaign’s 400+ rallies and events. Each event required a mix of banners, placards, podium signage, and LED signs with a unique look appropriate to the messaging and environment.
COACH! Sub-Brand
Governor Walz brought an immediate spark to the campaign, and I collaborated with my colleague, September Broadhead, to design a sub-brand with that same level of energy. The COACH! logotype reflected the Governor’s personality and the placards encouraged a COACH! chant at rallies. I then extended the brand with a line of COACH! merchandise and debate advertising.
Tour Bus
Every designer dreams of designing an airplane, but on a political campaign, it’s all about the buses. I designed this one for the “Get Out the Vote Tour” of southern battleground states. One side highlights the excitement and importance of voting, while the other side is a quieter branding moment with a step-and-repeat along the base for photo ops. The design was later adapted to a food truck for community engagement events by my colleague Margherita Urbani.
Policy Communications
I took the lead on designing all policy materials for the campaign. This included an over 80-page book of the candidate’s policy positions (created over the course of three long, sleepless days and nights), a state-by-state comparison of the competing policies broken down by battleground states, and a deep dive into the opposition’s healthcare plans.
Miscellaneous Work
Sometimes designs never see much light of day, but we’re still proud to have made them. Below are just a handful of concept work I did during my four months on the campaign.
