All Fonts are Political – What Do Font Choices Say About the Candidates?
By Roberta Rosenberg on Jan 30, 2008 in Direct Response Design, Picture This!
As I write this Edwards is out and Rudy will soon join him, leaving the race on the Dems side to Obama and Hillary and McCain, Romney and Huckabee holding firm for Super Tuesday on the Republican side.
But hey, what do the font choices of the candidate campaigns tell us about the candidates themselves and their public presentations?
Whether it’s a little or a lot, all of us make ultimate decisions not on the facts and figures – although we use this information to rationalize our choices – we base them on large part on how we feel about it. Prospects read our copy and make judgements on a gut level. They review the illustrations we use to highlight our message with the same gut-based thinking.
That’s why this article struck me as a wonderfully interesting and different perspective on the candidates and their campaigns. Originally published in the Boston Globe, read What font says ‘Change’? Type designers decode the presidential candidate
Do you agree or disagree on the analysis? Did you/have you made choices based on the ‘look’ of the campaign logo efforts?
And while you’re thinking about it, here’s a fun poll that matches your issues and the candidates (some now out of race) WITHOUT revealing the candidate upfront. I’ll tell you my choices are now out of the race. Both #1 and #2.
Mores the pity, too 
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[tags] fonts, political campaign designs, presidential politics [/tags]
Dean Rieck | Feb 4, 2008 | Reply
This is fascinating. But I doubt the candidates put as much thought into their type as the author of that article. Fonts do have personalities, but 99 percent of fonts are chosen at random. The only people selecting fonts with great care are those designing logos for large corporations.
I do some political work here in Ohio, and I can tell you that most things connected to politics is utterly chaotic and screwy. They’re lucky to just get their signs printed.
As for your choices in the election…well at least you had some. As one of those odd birds who is conservative on economics and liberal on social issues, there isn’t a candidate out there who I feel good about. As usual, I will vote with one hand on the touch screen and one holding my nose.