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About CAPD

The Center for American Politics and Design (CAPD) is a research group investigating the graphic vernacular of American politics.

The first of its kind, this collection consists of campaign logos from the 2018 election onwards for Congressional, Presidential and Gubernatorial races. The archive is a tool to explore trends and typologies that reveal themselves only when viewed in aggregate.

Founded in 2018, CAPD aims to increase political literacy among designers and to foster a dialogue about the role of design in the American democratic process.

Our complete dataset is available upon request; we welcome anyone to use this collection to conduct their own analyses.

Members

  • Lukas Bentel
  • Will Denton
  • Susan Merriam
  • Seth Kranzler
  • Kevin Wiesner

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    Press

    “In a year of political logos, campaigns of all stripes preferred blue,” The Washington Post - 2018

    “Campaign Colors: How candidate diversity impacts color diversity,” The Pudding - 2020

    “What the 2020 presidential candidates’ logos tell us, explained by design experts,” Vox - 2019

    "As two women compete for Boston mayor in historic race, it’s purple vs. pink," Boston Globe - 2021

    “Reading the Tea Leaves in Every 2020 Campaign Logo,” Print Magazine - 2020

    “The logos of all 11 Democratic presidential candidates, ranked,” Fast Company - 2019

    “What’s in a name? When you're running for president, a lot,” Los Angeles Times - 2019

    "The colors of the midterm elections? Purple, green, and gold," Fast Company - 2018

    “What does the design of a political logo say about the candidate?” KCRW - 2019

    “A brief history of opposition branding, a tradition as American as apple pie,” Fast Company - 2020

    “Where Political Graphic Design Goes Post-2020,” Campaigns & Elections - 2020

    “The real politics of type,” Fast Company - 2020

    “Do fonts have a political party?” Yello Magazine - 2020

    “How the right GIF could transform the 2020 race­­­–and beat Donald Trump,” Fast Company - 2019

    “What campaign design reveals about the race to 2020,” Fast Company - 2019

    “Listen up, 2020 candidates: The design director of Hillary for America has some advice,” Fast Company - 2019

    “The 2020 Democrats’ campaign logos, in graphic detail,” NBC News- 2019

    “Debate Preview, Hunter Biden, Campaign Poster Design,” Politics! Politics! Politics! Podcast - 2019

    “How 2020 Democrats could rewrite the rules of political typography,” Yello Magazine - 2020

    “Democratas fogem do azul e ousam em campanha para atrair eleitor jovem,” Folha De S.Paulo - 2019

    “Why are Political Campaign Identities Generally So Forgettable?” AIGA Eye on Design - 2018

    “A Database of Campaign Logos is a Window into Our Politics,” Hyperallergic - 2018

    “US Midterm logos compiled into a searchable database,” DeZeen - 2018

    "Democrats vs. Republicans is Not Blue vs. Red: The Role of Color in U.S. Political Logos," Core77 - 2018

    "Here Are the Campaign logos of Every Candidate Running for Congress in 2018," Muse by Clio - 2018

    "The Centre for American Politics and Design explores the graphic vernacular of American politics," It’s Nice That - 2018

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    Color

    Typography

    Year

    Party

    District Lean

    Election Result

    Gender

    Office

    Incumbency

    Iconography

    Select...

    Candidate

    Select...

    State

    Select...
    Campaign logo for Alek Skarlatos
    • Alek Skarlatos (R)
    • OR, House
    • 2022
    • Likely-D
    • Male
    • sans-serif
    • blue