Capturing a New Client's Dream Brand by Asking the Right Questions

Case Study:

First-Time Political Candidate Campaign Brand Designs

I love working with clients who are just embarking on a major, perhaps life-changing journey – a new business, a first-time political campaign. Oftentimes, these clients are excited but uncertain about the first steps of brand ideation and look to me for total guidance. I take the responsibility of creating a brand that will feel personal and inspiring for these clients very seriously. It can be a challenge to create something that reflects a client’s personality when you have only just met them – especially when you are on a tight timeline – but I believe it all comes down to asking the right questions.

Clardy for School Board

Mary Frances was referred my way when she decided to run for school board. She needed a logo brand and website to start. I started with a small homework assignment; I asked her if there were any political logos she loved from the past local campaign cycle, and also pointed her towards the campaign logo database of the Center for American Politics and Design for inspiration.

Her choices indicated to me that she wanted a simple, clean look with strong lines, bright colors and a heavy font.

I chose a pencil motif, a clean sans serif font and a color palette that struck me as both modern and warmly reminiscent of secondary school without being childish (Mary Frances is a K-8 teacher of 23 years).

Ruth for House

When Ruth decided to run as a first-time candidate for her district’s Minnesota State House seat, I sat down with her to get a sense of her wishes for her logo brand and website. In speaking, I got a sense the things in a campaign brand that would be important to her as a reflection of her personality – a non-traditional color scheme, a font that was professional but not stiff, a motif embodying community, emphasis on the first name.

For Ruth’s website, her life story became an inviting timeline narrative reminiscent of an annotated photo album.

Ruth’s ‘About Me’ page on her campaign website for Minnesota State House