Did you know that a 2012 Google study found
that within 150th of a second, you will judge
whether a website is good?
And that is crazy.
Imagine if you had to create an advertisement that
grabs people's attention, tells a story,
shows that you can relate to them,
and convinces them to stand with you without saying a word.
That is what a political campaign
poster is supposed to do.
Political posters are nothing more than propaganda art.
Propaganda is simply the deliberate
spreading of information and ideas
to help a movement, institution, or nation.
This idea goes way back to 192 AD in ancient Rome.
Considering the scope and size of the Roman Empire,
transmitting information was incredibly difficult.
So how could you communicate with people
on a daily basis who were often days
away from the capital in Rome?
What would people have on them all the time?
That's right-- money.
As you might already know, the rulers of Rome
seem to never be in short supply of self esteem.
So it comes as no surprise that Julius Caesar
was the first to put his face on the Roman coin.
Of course, designs were often made
to give the emperor a more godlike image since they
love to associate themselves with mythology.
The greatest example just might be emperor Commodus.
In 192, he issues a series of coins
to be made with his head adorned with the lion skin on top.
I wonder if this might be like the first Halloween
costume or something?
Inscribed on the back was this, which means
"to the August Roman Herculee."
Yeah, Commodus considered himself
a descendant of Hercules.
You know, just Hercules.
Nothing too big.
Putting aside the crazy, this was an incredibly effective way
to communicate a story to the masses, which
was don't mess with Commodus.
It's no surprise then that political posters
adorn images of the candidates explaining
their story to the masses and often with a picture of them
on it.
Storytelling, or narrative art, is a powerful tool,
but incredibly difficult to master.
The first distributed poster was created for John Quincy Adams,
who was the first presidential candidate
to widely use posters in 1824.
Check out this campaign poster for William McKinley in 1890.
Simplicity is definitely not the goal here.
Let's break down this image.
McKinley, at this time, believed he
could pull the country out of a depression
by standing on a platform of sound money, which
he called the gold standard.
Businessmen and laborers hold up this massive gold coin, which
definitely makes a statement.
And of course, at the center of it all,
you have McKinley holding the iconic American flag.
[FIREWORKS]
My favorite is the sunrays in the background,
which convey optimism.
And by the way, yellow is psychologically
the happiest color in the color spectrum.
Not every candidate in the 1800s got this right.
Check out this poster for William Jennings Bryan.
Holy cow.
Someone went a little overboard with this design.
In fact, this poster has an entire speech of Bryan on it.
You need a magnifying glass to even read it.
Combine this with the pictures, lots of colors,
and you have a marketing nightmare.
But I get it.
Bryan had one chance to connect with people,
so he decided to go with more is better idea.
But things were about to change--
not just in political art, but in society as well.
The political poster became less of a newspaper
and more of an advertisement.
Take a look at this William H. Taft poster in comparison
of Bryan's.
Taft's is definitely more of imagery than text.
From an artist's point of view, Taft
is right in the middle of the focal point,
with the red, white, and blue colors framing him perfectly.
Then you have that personal touch of his signature.
Most impressive is the tag tied to his jacket, which
simply says "good times."
This is a powerful simple message
referring to his campaign's goal of emphasizing the positives
of Taft's platform.
Oh, and check out the contrasting yellow color.
You better believe that was intentional.
Speaking of color, now that we are quickly
moving into the age of advertising,
everything in a design has a purpose, even color.
I love color theory.
Let's simply look at the colors red, white, and blue.
While using the flag colors may have
been unintentional in the past, in the age of advertising,
everything is intentional.
Red is a very emotionally intense color.
In fact, it can enhance your metabolism,
increase your breathing rate, and raise your blood pressure.
It's incredibly visible, which is
why everything from stop signs to the McDonald's uses it.
Most importantly, it's used to indicate courage.
What do you think of when you see the color blue?
Sky water, right?
It's often associated with depth and stability.
It symbolizes trust, royalty, wisdom, confidence,
intelligence, and truth.
It's even beneficial for your mind and body
as it slows your metabolism and calms you.
No wonder why many companies like these
use this color in marketing products and services.
White is associated with light, goodness, purity, and often
perfection.
Now that you know a bit more about color theory,
let's fast forward to 1960 when John F. Kennedy
ran for president.
This poster most definitely emphasized the youthfulness
of JFK with a real photograph.
And check out those clean, strong blocks
of red, white, and blue.
JFK's campaign was all about youth and vigor--
the best word, I swear.
Then in 1968, graphic designers got pretty creative
with this Eugene McCarthy poster.
He was outspoken about the Vietnam War,
so this Picasso-ish pigeon along with the continued use
of high contrasting colors definitely makes
a powerful image.
During the same year, however, Bobby Kennedy
goes for something completely different
with this cartoon caricature, swirling font,
and bright colors.
Purple often represents royalty and power
while green represents growth and harmony.
The green in 68 definitely makes sense to me,
but not so sure about the purple.
Not sure if you knew this, but in 1972,
Shirley Chisholm ran as the first black woman
for president.
Chisholm had a simple yet powerful design,
including her slogan "Unbought and unbossed,"
which you have to respect.
Amazingly, she had three assassination attempts
during her campaign, but still kept fighting.
She is such an inspiration.
Fast forward just a handful of years to 1984,
and check out the imagery for Ronald Reagan.
I find this posterior so interesting.
Apparently, the campaign decided to revert to 1800s designs
with a lot more imagery, color, and certainly realism.
In 2008, we saw one of the most powerful posters created.
Whatever the cause may be, this campaign sparked something.
The art community started creating some amazing imagery
that we haven't seen before.
You may not recognize some of these powerful posters
and stickers, but I bet this one you do.
Artist Shepard Fairey, also known as Obey Giant,
created this now epic Obama campaign poster.
A lot of controversy surrounds this image
since Fairey used a photo taken by Manny Garcia
without his permission.
But things were settled, so let's focus on the art,
shall we?
Believe it or not, Fairey designed and printed
this poster in one day.
Crazy, right?
He also did this without the Obama campaign even
knowing about it.
Although not only did Obama approve and use this image,
but he also wrote Fairey a letter thanking him.
Check it out.
In this image, we see a mixture of realism and cartoon
within the face.
And keep in mind-- this was created with multiple stencils.
Instead of simply using the red, white, and blue
in the background or on the front,
Fairey used the colors throughout the entire artwork.
Not only that-- he uses some incredible contrast
to move your eye from one area to the next.
For example, check out the white shirt and collar,
which act as a pointer to the upper right red area.
Then, the red of the tie brings my eye back to the word hope.
Notice that white was not used in the font,
which you would have imagined.
This allowed the color white to act
as that primary focal point.
Hope reads in bold, simple, clean letters.
It's amazing to me how one word can
summarize an entire campaign.
Definitely reminds me that less can often mean more.
Even though we just scratched the surface
of the many political art designs,
hopefully this will give you a greater appreciation
for what goes into great graphic design
and the power of narrative art in political campaigns.
Until next time, be sure to get out there
and vote and be artrageous.