United States Senator Barack Obama was considering a run for president throughout the summer of 2006. Late in that year, Obama chief strategist David Axelrod asked us to design campaign logo options “just in case”. Axelrod outlined the insurgent campaign’s themes of hope and change and referenced Chicago Mayor Harold Washington’s campaign button as a starting point.
Here are the nine logo concepts we presented to Axelrod, along with historical references and excerpts from our creative brief to the design team.
Obama | Historical Reference
Obama | Historical Reference
Historical Reference
Obama | Logo Concepts
Obama | Logo Concepts
Logo Concepts
Above is the concept that Barack Obama liked the most. He felt the speech bubble clearly represented the individual voices that make up a movement.
Obama | Final Logo
Obama | Final Logo
Final Logo
After several rounds of tweaking we arrived at the final design. The
candidate was skeptical of the “sunrise” logo (he felt it was too corporate) but Axelrod convinced Obama to give it a try. The rest is history.
Obama | Credits
Obama | Credits
Credits
AKPD Message and Media
David Axelrod
Mode Project
Creative Directors: Colin Carter, Steve Juras, Brooks Ruyle
Sender LLC
Principal / Project Manager: Sol Sender
Designers: Amanda Gentry, Andy Keene