I just ordered a book called " Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush" from Amazon and I am very excited to get it on Tuesday. I want to look at how these campaigns have changed through time and how design played and plays a role in selling a person to the American people.
It's interesting to look at even the campaigns that I can remember, but I think ultimately I will enjoy looking at the older campaigns and how things have changed.
William H Harrison, the first president to have a 'slogan' also had this print 'selling' him to the public. It shows him on horseback, surrounded by images of his accomplishments (home, military service, political activity, etc.):
(United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs)
It is interesting to compare that poster to the very familiar Obama posters that simply rely on "hope" or "change" as an idea and are much more 'designed'. I think, for this reason among others, that my project may be going in the direction of how advertising design has had to change over time to cater to a new kind of public (we want a military leader vs. we want someone awesome!) and a new kind of candidate (I did these things, I want to do these things) that is being sold.
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ReplyDeleteI am very interested in seeing your ideas and final project for this topic. I came across this website that shows different campaign designs, which discusses "A history of presidential campaign graphics before they got Obamafied."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gelatobaby.com/2009/02/23/a-history-of-presidential-campaign-graphics-before-they-got-obamafied/
Ha, Shanna, you're right. I glanced over the busy campaign of William Harrison and jumped to the Obama poster simply because it was easier to look at. Designing for a short attention span would be a pretty interesting project too!
ReplyDeleteI am interested to see how older campaigns compare to newer ones. But I still won't vote....(Shanna will get my joke)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic. I never even considered the fact that there would have been a time when Presidents weren't trying to sell themselves to the American people for votes. It's actually strange to think that at one point they didn't have to. Comparing the picture that you put up of President Harrison with the kind of campaigns that are being made now is remarkable. Of course technology has changed over time so the quality of campaigning will by default change too, but the message and the overall feel of each are so different; it’s fascinating to see where it all started from. I will be really interested to see how your project turns out because I would love to see how the Presidential campaign has evolved over time. It's a great point that you brought up that point about how a successful candidacy is about what you will do instead of what you don't do. It's more and more evident that the American people want someone who is going to change their now instead of showing us what is the equivalent to a resume of what they have already done. Then again the campaigns are a reflection of society, and the problems that are going on now require Presidents that can fix the future not highlight their past.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting to see the comparisons on the design for William H. Harrison's campaign and the design for Obama's campaign.
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to see how your project develops. I love that you posted the old campaign poster because at the time it was probably a very innovative approach to running and if you look at it, if someone did that today, referring to the layout, I feel the public would think it was awful, I'm glad you're going to trace how the design has changed for the public, because the older poster just wouldn't work today.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that Obama's posters were so simplistic in the 1-word slogans such as "hope" and "change" shows how influential design is; the visual elements persuaded people to look at the campaign and want to do further research on Obama to find out what his tactics were to promote the "hope" and "change" that his campaign posters promoted.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a really interesting topic to study. I'm excited to see how you develop it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you'll be looking at the evolution of campaigning - I think it'll be more interesting to see trends over time than to focus on a single, familiar campaign.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what you come up with. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to politics so I love seeing pieces which reflect on it because that way I am able to somewhat get the feel for what ideas around politics are going on. I always learn something new and get to see how people critique politics through their work helps me understand and critique actual campaigns if that makes sense.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would be interesting to try out a comparison of the older campaigns versus the newer ones, and see if there are any aspects that both have overall.
ReplyDeleteI remember learning about Presidential Campaigns in my History class from High School. At that time my art brain did not know what design could do and now I appreciate those campaigns a lot more. Can't wait to see how your project develops.
ReplyDeleteI think your project is developing really well- (I think) we've done little in our time in the design department analyzing design and its progression from a historical standpoint, which is very interesting and worthy of studying.
ReplyDeleteI think you have great ideas for your project I'm excited to see what you can come up with.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting topic, Katie. I'm excited to see what you come up with.
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