January 24, 2019

Is the Kamala Harris logo "the worst political graphic design job in a generation"?

Jonathan Last says it just might be.



So... is there anything worse? Or... what's so awful about it?

The question whether "For the People" is a good slogan is separate. Feel free to talk about that. But I'd like to encourage the discussion of the visual — the shape and placement of the letters, the colors, etc.

Last says:
It could be that Harris’s design team looked at the AOC poster and saw the earth-tones, heavy-text, and adjacent colors and thought that that was the secret of their success. And about those earth tones—they’re straight out of the 1970s and they’re a bad idea.

Pantone describes the ’70s palette consisting of “Harvest Gold” and “Rust.” In the 1970s, designers used these colors because they wanted to take viewers “back down to earth—solid, earthy colors to ground us during shakey economic times.”
Here's the AOC poster he's referring to (alongside another poster he compares it to):



ADDED: On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."

221 comments:

1 – 200 of 221   Newer›   Newest»
rhhardin said...

I'd make camel humps from the first two A's.

gspencer said...

"For My People" would be more accurate.

gilbar said...

looks to me, like it says
Kamela Harris, the for people

tcrosse said...

The design offers space to modify the message, to wit: Fuck the people. On a lighter note, Kamalalala, or KKKamala.

MadisonMan said...

The 'is' in Harris should be better emphasized so it's easier to read it as Kamala Harris is for the people.

But those colors look faded.

chillblaine said...

The blue is dominating the red, how subtle.

chillblaine said...

The prequel to the great movie, "Gravity," has a flock of camels being hurled into space during the heady early days of the Egyptian space program.

William said...

If it's ugly in such a way as to stand out from its peers, hasn't it succeeded on its own terms?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

People on the left respond to that crap. Just like they responded to the Covington lies.

Bob Boyd said...

There's no white. Coincidence?

Ann Althouse said...

Why is "for" huge and "the" small? It just seems mean to "the," singled out like that.

rhhardin said...

Lift Clyde the Camel from Ray Stevens's Ahab the Arab.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLB15kBvn_c

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

She's missing the KKKK.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm seeing "LIE."

And "ARP"... ugh, now I feel like I'm doing the crossword puzzle.

chillblaine said...

Early Egyptian rocket scientists believed that camels, who are known as ships of the desert, would also be known as the, "ships of low-earth orbit," and we all remember how that turned out. The day the camels re-entered the atmosphere and burned up was kinda bitchen. Wheee!

Fernandinande said...

¡Lo siento por Ocasio!

I think I'll vote for the guy with the big forehead waving a newspaper at those kids because he just stepped bare-footed on a Lego, at least the lingo of his advertisement isn't primarily Mexican.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"Kamala Harris for the people"

This is the people-people version. Some people like movie stars and big DNC donors will get a better version of Kamala Harris.

This message has been paid for by Kamala Harris for the better-people...the people-people couldn't afford it.

ga6 said...

Oscar Mayer hot dog label.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=oscar+mayer&id=69C6D287BCFFA599ACFB7BC6987FAA0C941030D6&FORM=IQFRBA

Lucid-Ideas said...

People get the Kamala Harris they deserve.

Apparently the people deserve a Kamala Harris logo that's shit.

Fernandinande said...

what's so awful about it?

If you stare at it for 15 seconds and then look at a blank piece of paper you can see Satan.

Sydney said...

I don't think it's as bad as Hillary's logo was. The one with the arrow. Always made me think of a Hospital street sign.

Lucid-Ideas said...

It looks like an ad for a Netflix show.

"Kamala Harris for the People" - Tune in 8pm EST weekly for another episode where Kamala Harris goes head to head with Matlock in a courtroom drama pitting her CA 21st century liberal sensibilities against the old white patriarchy.

Wince said...

ADDED: On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."

There's a scene in Clint Eastwood's "The Enforcer" (cen't find a clip) where members of the "People's Revolutionary Strike Force" are on the way to steal light anti-tank weapons from the armory...

The Greatest Conservative Films: The Enforcer (1976)

POPULIST FRAUDS OF THE LEFT:
The villains in this movie are an interesting bunch. They’re called The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force—already we got two go-to terms for Lefties, “People’s” and “Revolutionary”. One of the members is a hippie chick with a headband and everything.

Early on, in fact as they prepare for a weapons heist, we hear:

All right, you guys—now, this is for the people.”“Right on!—for the people!

The leader Bobby Maxwell, however, just grumbles at this, “Spare me….”

The rank-and-file may be True Believers…but as far as he’s concerned, it’s just for the money. Story of the Modern Left….

chickelit said...

"For The People" is catchy and translates well into other languages:

German: Für das Volk

Spanish: Para los pueblos

Desparanto: Por la homoj

Lucid-Ideas said...

Also reminds me of food packaging.

"Kamala Harris for the people" is made from 100% organically grown and raised people. Try the diet version for fewer carbohydrates. *made from Republicans only. No Democratic people were used in the making of "Kamala Harris is for the people"*

Testimonial from Jeff Flake - "It was so good, I was happy to die for it"

HoodlumDoodlum said...

"For the People" is the slogan/tagline of personal injury attorney firm Morgan & Morgan:

www.forthepeople.com

Their advertising is pretty hard to miss. I know it's a common phrase, but associating your campaign with a well-known ambulance-chasing law firm might not be a huge win. Then again maybe it was intentional.

Chris of Rights said...

Ehh...the original Trump-Pence one was worse. The colors are awful. There's a reason Presidential and often Senate) logos are usually red, white, and blue. I presume that's the very reason this logo isn't. Still, just about anything would be better than the color choices she made. I guess I should be happy that she didn't go with red, white, and green.

Known Unknown said...

"The 'is' in Harris should be better emphasized so it's easier to read it as Kamala Harris is for the people."

Madison Man might actually be from Madison Avenue.

Known Unknown said...

"Always made me think of a Hospital street sign."

It was also a RED arrow pointing to the RIGHT

Even worse was "I'm with Her." instead of "She's with me."

chuck said...

The Communists produced a lot of good political posters, so did the Nazis. I am no artist, but the the Harris poster looks off center and unbalanced, there is nothing to pull the eye, it is just a blotch that isn't going anywhere. The other examples manage an impression of action, of movement, with the angled lines of text. Movement goes well with the revolutionary theme.

Known Unknown said...

Hoodlum-

Have you seen this?

Ralph L said...

She left off "Buy the People."

Was it 1988 that the Democrats used faded red and blue and off-white at their convention? I think it was GHWB that made hay from that.

I like the yellow buff because it's close to the color of my woodwork, but I'd have used a bluer blue.

Francisco D said...


I really hope that Kamala gets the nomination.

If you thought Hillary was nasty, just replay. some of her interrogation tactics while serving on the SJC.

Wince said...

A Boston area personal injury law firm with a growing advertising presence has adopted "For the People" as their slogan.

Watch this funny video that emphasizes the name "Morgan & Morgan" followed by an impish "For the People" as an afterthought at the end.

Fernandinande said...

Always made me think of a Hospital street sign.

If only - I took someone to the emergency room at dawn a few weeks ago and the EMERGENCY signs were the same small size as the OFFICES, etc, signs with even smaller arrows which looked like <- for left, very similar to the "ahead" arrows from a distance, so I ended up in the wrong place then turned around and got to the ER entrance and the doors were locked. No kidding. Then you go around a corner and there's a door with a sign that says use this other door --> that you can't see at first because there's a short wall whose sole purpose seems to be to obscure the door you're supposed to use, and when you finally walk in it could easily pass for a hallway from an insurance sales office, no medical stuff at all. After a couple of minutes we were finally greeted by someone wearing a "food service" uniform.

At least it wasn't crowded.

chickelit said...

Harris the church,
Harris the steeple,
Open the door and Harris the people

Daniel Jackson said...

The layout of the lettering is clustered to the center; a bit too small for the overall space, as if she is not really interested in the job (or if she is, we don't really want someone so narrow).

What I find the most grating are the analogous colors, which are clustered narrowly on the color wheel and a bit too desaturated (https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/?base=2&rule=Analogous&selected=1&name=My%20Color%20Theme&mode=rgb&rgbvalues=1,0.9683773928922134,0.36962166596186596,0.91,0.7051102553897276,0.3858327445935679,1,0.4110535809027088,0.3248208128157628,0.8623720206170292,0.5636213817790728,0.91,0.24607829009814475,0.2892242505538454,1&swatchOrder=0,1,2,3,4

It's like looking at a Nordhstrom's All Women page on their online catalog: https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/all-women?campaign=0107catwomenhp&jid=j009163-7874&cid=vvlwh&cm_sp=merch-_-corp_7874_j009163-_-hp_corp_p13_shop

She may be telling us that she is "For The People;" but, I'm in agreement with Ann Althouse--that's the LIE. The colors are giving her away.

Bob Boyd said...

Better calla Kamala

chickelit said...

If you thought Hillary was nasty, just replay. some of her interrogation tactics while serving on the SJC.

That's just the kind of mood the Left is in. -- minus the silent ones. Do you hear other voices on the Left?

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

Which people is she for? Certainly not anyone unjustly or wrongly convicted. Her idea of criminal justice reform included fighting against the release of people who were proven innocent. She fought against the early release of low level non violent offenders. One of her reasons for this was because the prisons needed the labor.

She is going to get destroyed by her own target leftist radicals.

Henry said...

It also says MRE

Bob Boyd said...

Kamala Harris
Why should Venezuelans have all the the fun?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

They’re trying to appeal to what is the essentially Third World sensibilities of first and second generation immigrants. Look at the promotional art of Latin America and Africa.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

There is no soft edge to Kamala Harris -- Willie Brown wrecked that. Do we really need a humorless hardass? After Trump?

Harris has a mean demeanor and probably a temper to match Hillary's. She's an uphill sell to the people.

Amadeus 48 said...

She has her top men working on it.

chuck said...

I'm thinking Kamala is going to be the JEB! of the 2020 campaign season. She has the DEMe support, but there is nothing there to appeal to the voters.

Leland said...

It looks simple and almost like a word cloud. I'm not sure what makes it really bad just than being bland. I certainly hope she didn't spend much on it. To me, simple logos can be extraordinary. Just look at the effect MAGA hats are having.

Henry said...

Doesn't seem so bad to me, really, though I don't like the acid yellow background.

It looks like a word cloud. Very oughts.

Henry said...

@Leland -- Beat me to the punch.

Anonymous said...

Why is "for" huge and "the" small? It just seems mean to "the," singled out like that.

It's a brave choice for a D candidate. Subconsciously, it's saying she's "for people." And, of course, that language is normally deployed against the environmental movement.

Also noteworthy is her subtle adoption of Communist language/themes, similar to Obama's ultimately successful choice of "Forward."

stevew said...

I don't pay much attention to these things - they don't influence me one way or another - but I thought Hillary's arrow thing was particularly bad, maybe the worst. My issue with it was the implied condescension. Kamala's is innocuous to me, neither love nor hate it. Isn't the catch phrase or theme most important? Make America Great Again (MAGA) identifies the theme in four simple words. Shite, isn't everyone that runs for office For The People?

Bob Boyd said...

Tired of Winning?

Kamala Harris 2020

Ice Nine said...

>>On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."

It also says "ASO." I'm thinking Ebonics here.

Nonapod said...

I don't know enough about design and color to comment on if it's good or bad. It seems fine I guess.

Anytime I see the term "the people" in a political slogan I automatically think of Communism. Yeah, I know "We, the people" is the preamble to possibly the most anti communist document in history. But practically every significant communist group that's ever existed had/has literature and slogans extolling the virtues of "the people" and hows there's is or will be a glorious revolution by "the people" and the name of the communist governments are always "The people's" this or that.

MayBee said...

It's very blaxploitation movie poster to me.

Bob Boyd said...

It also says "LIP". Not particularly ominous, but there it is.

RigelDog said...

Ugly ugly drained colors spelling out at a glance: KAMALA HARRISFOR
the PEOPLE
Cheesy 70's look, like an ad for Kojack. That's how it seems to me.

hombre said...

KAMALA
HARRIS FOR

POONTRONAGE

Paid for by Willie Brown

mccullough said...

It’s tough to follow up Make America Great Again.

For the People is lame. Better up her game or Beto gonna get the nomination.

Barry Dauphin said...

It evoked the idea of communism even before I saw the Lenin poster you put up. I'd be surprised if a professional designer put it together or at least a designer who has done political posters. It's retro in a bad way. At some point down the road, she'll just be using her first name, since it is distinctive enough.

Bob Boyd said...

The background color is old newspaper. It's a color you'd see in an ad for an antique shop.

AlbertAnonymous said...

All the emphasis on “people” brings to mind Charlton Heston at the end of Soylent Green...

“Soylent Green is People... It’s PEOPLE !!!! “

Wish I had a clip. Cool movie tho. Some ties to current turbulent times. Government control of our lives, etc.

Bob Boyd said...

For The People seems like an appeal to nostalgic hippies, like tie-dye.

Caligula said...

Graphic artists hate text. Therefore they present it in a thin font and in a color with low contrast against the background. The example here is, "PAID FOR BY KAMALA HARRIS FOR THE PEOPLE": this text has to be there, but its designed to fade into the background. Like the small, grey mouseprint in the cellular service ad, the part that explains there will be certain unspecified additional fees added to that big, bold advertised price.

The compare-and-contrast here is Kamala Harris' name vs. "FOR the PEOPLE." Her name is high-contrast because that's what you're supposed to remember. The slogan, perhaps, not so much.

There's no reason why "THE" is smaller than "FOR THE PEOPLE." That's just a graphic-art-fart.

Overall the colors look like someone ordered a two-color print job because full four-color cost too much.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"Kamala Harr is for the people"

Who the hell is Kamala Harr?

Charlie Currie said...

Harvest Gold, Rust and everyone's favorite, Avocado.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

The three-color design is the problem. As AOC's poster shows, the visual impact of dark blue on goldenrod is striking and easy on the eyes (as is AOC herself). KH's designer let her down with the addition of rust, as this color almost literally vibrates next to the blue and does not provide a pleasant contrast with the background goldenrod, as the small text at bottom shows: it virtually disappears for lack of contrast. So the eye flits back and forth between elements almost giving the name + slogan glob a "wordcloud" appearance. The subtle reaction is confusion. There is no confusion with AOC's poster. In fact I just noticed that all the Spanish text for AOC is in gray, a smarter choice for third color, or accent color on this poster. Gray and dark blue are on the same monochromatic spectrum and compliment each other, reinforcing the visual impact of her poster.

Finally, a note on the dark blue that both posters employ. This color and it's neighbors navy blue and bank blue, are often selected for their ability to engender feelings of trust and security in the viewer. That's why almost every bank uses a blue in its logotype. Almost all professionally designed bumper stickers and yard signs feature a blue background or a lot of blue accenting when they advertise a candidate. Most stay away from yellow and it's cousin from the 1970s harvest gold. Although yellows can stimulate excitement and projects feelings of happiness, it also creates anxiety. Fats Food logos almost always pair yellow with red because that combo makes people smile and say "I need a burger." Goldenrod paired with rust and blue just confuses the message, leaving anxiety as the dominant reaction because the blue is not dominant enough to engender trust and security.

Freder Frederson said...

I can think of something worse, the original Trump Pence logo.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

"Fats" should be "fast" before "foods" above. But it kinda works too.

Also. now that I've read the comments above mine I see that indeed Althouse and others are confused by the "wordcloud" and react with strange combos of the available vibrating letters. I think my analysis (after 30 years in marketing and dealing with a LOT of graphic designers and the best logos in the business) is spot on.

Greg P said...

In 1988, the Democrats used off color "red", "white", and "blue" at their convention, because the colors they chose would look better on TV.

The GOP rightly mocked them for their "pastel patriotism".

Now KH is using "earth tone" "red", "white", and "blue" instead of the real things. I'm going to enjoy Trump talking about her "earth tone patriotism"

Breezy said...

Looks like the template cover of a novel to me. Not much creativity there.

WK said...

I am sure that there were many hours of focus group testing to get to this. They realized that “Kamala Harris Against the People” was probably not a winner. So.... go with “for”.

SayAahh said...

She is for the people. The people of color.

Virgil Hilts said...

horrible, busy and ugly. BTW, the Obama logo was brilliant. No decent company logos are as busy and ugly as this. Logos are supposed to be a visual treat for the eyes, not a bunch of words. Google best corporate logos. OTOH maybe this is deliberately bad just so people will talk about it.

Tommy Duncan said...

The words are too close to "Kamala - Harass the People"

How about "Kamala for Camelot"?

Or "Harris Loves Willie"?

Jack Klompus said...

I'd get an irate Albert Brooks on the phone right away to complain that "WE are the people" is not the same as "We ARE the people."

WK said...

And “Kamala Harris of the people, by the people, and for the people” was too long.

Limited blogger said...

I am not one of those people

Momma Red said...

I see the words "Kamala Harris" on top of the words "For The People." And the shape of "For The People" makes it look like the people are on their knees. Not a good look. I don't think her graphic designer likes her very much.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

@Breezy

Remember when we had to read "A Raisin In The Sun" paperback in skool?

Birches said...

I saw it in red, white and blue originally and liked it. It seemed like the Anti-Obama slogan. And by that, I mean, every graphic designer should stop trying to recreate the 'O' magic. The H logo was one such idiotic attempt. I do not like the 70s color though. That is messaging a bit too hard in my opinion.

Sebastian said...

I beg to differ.

The logo sends a clear message: f** the red, white, and blue.

It also sends a subtle message: lefties can't openly say what they are really for.

mccullough said...

If Kamala wants to evoke the 70s she needs to go all in on this Foxy Brown schtick. As of now, it’s half-ass.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

"So, Kamala, do we use the standard 'Red White & Blue' for the logo?

"Wait!..What!?!? WHITE??????? Did you just say WHITE????

TrespassersW said...

Not a fan of the piss-yellow background.

There's an attempt at symmetry around the diagonal axis, but the placement of the little "THE" kind of spoils that.

I think it's just "meh," and that's why it's bad. It's not bad-bad in a Russian prison gang tattoo sort of way, but it's bad in a "You spent how much for that bland thing?" way.

AllenS said...

KAMALA HARRIS FAMILY SIZE

I stole that from a bag of potato(e) chips

So far the best is --

Bob Boyd said...
Tired of Winning?

Kamala Harris 2020

Ralph L said...

How about "Kamala for Camelot"?

Willie's Cumelot.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

with the 'piss yellow' background, and a little italicization,
maybe GuidoCannabis was on to something the other night

LordSomber said...

Clumsy design, but I think it's the gold background itself that ruins it.

It makes it seem like an ad for a product, rather than for a person.

Openidname said...

I think it's supposed to suggest an American flag, but it doesn't have the courage to come out and show one.

stephen cooper said...

I like it - it seems like she is honestly owning what she is , with respect to the colors - a nostalgic liberal who remembers the 70s aesthetic, when she was young, an age of hope and liberal triumphs (which it was for people who are still liberal) - but I am not her target audience (people who were pro-Trump since day 1 of the primaries, like me, are not going to vote for her).

Also I rarely do crosswords, so that sub-factor was not a negative for me.

I bet Scott Adams likes it too, if he talks about it: it clearly says I am not like the others. Sort of like announcing on an escalator .....

That being said, I think the SUBDUED colors also signal, which is not a signal she wants to give, that ---

she is preparing the ground like Jeb did for Trump or Citron did for Obama - that her role will be to be a frontrunner without the heart and ENERGY and smarts not to falter for a more empathetic person closer to the heartland ....

( probably Tulsi Gabbard (if Harris is the frontrunner when the primaries start). I don't think Scott Adams thinks that, though.)

Static Ping said...

To me, it looks like something throw together in 5 minutes by a bored graphic designer.

Bob Boyd said...

I don't think the background is Harvest Gold.

It's closer to Economic Downturn Dun.

Kevin said...

She's making it really easy for Trump if she's the nominee.

Kamala Harris for the people who come here illegally.
Kamala Harris for the people who want to raise your taxes.
Kamala Harris for the people who want to abolish ICE.

It can go on and on and on.

Trump is for Americans. Full stop.

traditionalguy said...

A poster is a sign. The rule of signs is that they must not be “busy”, which makes them unreadable at a glance as people go by them.

The temptation is to make them as a page for reading a message. But that makes them a total waste as a sign. Signs are pointers, not messages.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...


From 'Red White & Blue' to Rust, Azure & Ecru

How the Left Tainted America

AZ Bob said...

A lefty LA Times columnist took issue today with Harris. He condemned her for her failure to take a position on two California ballot measures to repeal the death penalty back when she was state Attorney General. He complained that her lack of a public position against the measures shows she isn't really "for the people."

Because those measures failed, "the people" of California must want the death penalty.

PM said...

It's just a redo of the old Black Panther slogan: All Power To The People.

Molly said...

Here's what I see that (as far as I can tell) no other commenter has noticed. The words are roughly in the shape of the US (lower 48), with the blue-ish letters covering the west and north central, and the red-ish letters covering the south down through Texas. So perhaps it was an intentional "us vs. them"

Bob Boyd said...

The background color is somewhere between Economic Downturn Dun and Out Of Ideas Ochre.

rcocean said...

She's FOR PEOPLE.

Also, favors puppies, walks on the beach, and sunsets.

rcocean said...

Harris will run a Hillary like Campaign.

Negative on Trump and mostly silent on what she'll do in office.

That will win her the Oprah vote and all the "Moderates" who'll want to believe she's a moderate.

rcocean said...

Unlike Hillary, there won't be much for Trump to attack.

Its probably going to work.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

'ADDED: On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."'

I'm seeing MRP LIE. Mr. P. is Mister President.

Bob Boyd said...

Make campaign slogans great again.

John henry said...

Good catch on the Morgan For the people URL. I liked the video.

Another law firm whose name could have been connected with a campaign is Morrison & Foerster

The son of a friend of mine is an attorney there. She was a bit dismayed when I sent her this clip of Texas gov rick perry saying "Adios, mofo" on ABC News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4tWZNxnABk

A bit longer clip with some context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihRGqikiFEg

Morrison & Foerster's website?

www.mofo.com

My friend was dismayed when I sent her the Perry clip.

I wonder if they will add a banner on the site saying "If you are looking for Kamala Harris, click here"

John Henry

Lucid-Ideas said...

"Kamala Harris for the people"

Kamala Harris is not for great white sharks
Kamala Harris is not for extra-terrestrials
Kamala Harris is not for taking with alcohol
Kamala Harris is not for applying to your bum when you have hemorrhoids

Darrell said...

It should be "Peoples."
She should know her voters.

Bay Area Guy said...

The logo sucks, but more importantly, on substance, Kammy is much more talented, skilled and ruthless than AOC.

The problem is that her Leftist policy prescriptions (more gov't, higher taxes, more regulations, sexual anarchy) will gradually transform the good 'ole USA in something more like Venezuela.

So, we need her to lose. She and Gavin and Pelosi and Moonbeam and Willie Brown and Feinstein, may have screwed up California, but don't let them screw up the country.

Mr Wibble said...

AOC's poster has a sense of energy, of being different. The angled text, the different sizes, contrasting colors, and the exclamation points, etc.

Harris' poster is too empty. I'd lighten the background and add a "wall" of lighter, smaller text with either quotes from speeches or her policy positions, surrounding the central text. That way it associates her policy positions with supporting "the people".

SDaly said...

With AOC's ad, I see stylized propaganda. With Harris's, the longer horizontal than vertical makes me see a yellow flag of surrender.

PM said...

ALSO, it's a worn-out sentiment, The People.
A slogan should be active, in the present tense, like MAGA.
Por ejemplo: KAMALA HARRIS/RISE UP
It clearly suggests The People do something.
Like get rid of Trump and Take What's Theirs: equality, better wages, rich people's money, control, etc.
That's a freebie, Blue Lurkers.

John henry said...

When I saw it I thought it was one of those word cloud things that I've never been able to figure out.

"For the people"? Isn't everyone "for the people" I know I am. I know PDJT is, though he shows rather than tells just how he is for the people. Is anyone here not for the people?

Seems like "Honest Ann's quality Used Cars"

If she really was honest she wouldn't need to say it. If they were "quality" cars, she wouldn't need to say it either.

If Kamala Harris is really "for the people" it would be evident and she wouldn't have to say it. It tells me that she is lying.

If I was PDJT I would point this out when the time comes. I would also point out all the things I had accomplished "for the people." Things like the economy, regulatory easing, denuking the Norks, stabilizing the middle east (sort of, maybe, to the extent it can ever be done)

John Henry

Drago said...

For The People!!......who are left after all is said and done.

But yeah, not really them either"

rehajm said...

If you told an algorithm to design a poster that would appeal to fascists and black people and black fascists and sent it out into the world to see what it would come up with it would come up with something like that.

If you told an algorithm to design a poster that would appeal to deplorables it would use the Dukes of Hazzard font set.

Henry said...

Converts easily to a bumper sticker:

"Kamala Harris brakes for people"

Brian said...

Yellow is a horrible color. It implies wishy-washiness. Caution. Bland. Cowardice.

This is right up there with the Jeb! logo, which just highlighted dare I say, "low energy".

Skeptical Voter said...

It's not so much yellow as mustard. Los Angeles Lakers play by play legend--the late Chick Hearn, had an expression about "the mustard is off the hotdog" when an opposing team was losing. Keep on with the mustard color Kamala.

Aside from that the message "for the people" is right up there with "fighting for you" as one of the least useful, unimaginative political slogans ever. Does Ms. Harris have a new thought? Does she have a thought at all? A brain dead mouse could have designed that poster.

She might tweak that poster a bit and put up a brighter yellow for the background as in "it's a sunny New Day in America". Oops--that thought belongs to the Reagan campaign. Or she could go for red white and blue like Hillary's "I'm with her" posters.

In any event that whole combination of colors brings to mind baby poop on a diaper. Not a good "fresh" image for Ms. Harris.

Yancey Ward said...

The Harris poster is out of balance to my eye, and such things are annoying to me personally. The Cortez poster is actually much better, but I don't like the colors of either poster.

I am guessing Harris will come up with something more effective eventually.

walter said...

Static Ping said...
To me, it looks like something throw together in 5 minutes by a bored graphic designer.
--
Running for School Board.."For the Children"

buwaya said...

The AOC poster has her face on it, which is her main selling point.

I thought the portrait pose was clumsy, at first, looking a bit strained up and to the side, but then thought that it does play up her eyes, which are the best part of her face.

It is overall crude, but its a start. IMHO political poster art has declined a lot since the last century. Back in the 1930's-40's the true masters could have done a lot with the image of AOC.

If they do go all out to make an iconic image of AOC, which would be clever, they need to get a proper artist to design it.

buwaya said...

Someone could do a similarly iconic image of Harris. They would be well advised to try hard on this front.

Probably working from a younger version of Harris, but still.

Her main selling point also is her face, which due to age is not as good an asset as AOC's. But a better one than her actual rivals.

bagoh20 said...

The background is very cracker. It could be a closeup of a tattoo on Trump's ass.

bagoh20 said...

I think the designer fell asleep before finishing it. The words "of Latin America" got left off at the very end.

SGT Ted said...

Commies like Kamala and Ocasio-Taco-Loco are never "for the people".

RobinGoodfellow said...

Blogger Lucid-Ideas said...
It looks like an ad for a Netflix show.

"Kamala Harris for the People" - Tune in 8pm EST weekly for another episode where Kamala Harris goes head to head with Matlock in a courtroom drama pitting her CA 21st century liberal sensibilities against the old white patriarchy.


I literally LOL’d!

Bay Area Guy said...

Harris can't beat Biden or Sanders this election, so she is gunning for VP.

I predict Biden-Harris, as the ticket.

bagoh20 said...

What exactly is there to be proud about Ocasio-Cortez? She is the most popular Democrat right now. I just don't get it, but I don't get why Democrats are even a viable party today. So much is wrong with what they do every day, and nobody seems to care on that side. I honestly don't know what could embarrass the left anymore. Is there anything, becuase it seems like they have recently done it all and got away with it. Trump hate is possibly the most debilitating mental illness ever known. I know, I know, I'm just a hillbilly who gets all his info from Fox News, but I don't. I watch them all, and I can't believe where they have drifted. I was a Democrat my whole life until this year, but now it has become something I'm ashamed of.

buwaya said...

Harris never had AOC's eyes, and though good-looking, perhaps more conventionally so in her day than AOC (back when she was Jerry Browns' mistress), she was never as striking. But she is much more attractive than Biden, Castro (a dweeb), Sanders, Warren, and Bloomberg.

She could fight it out in posterville with Gillibrand and Gabbard and O'Rourke.

Oso Negro said...

Modern Democrats are triggered by red, white, and blue in combination.

buwaya said...

"She is the most popular Democrat right now."

Image. She is very good looking, for a politician. Celebrity as celebrity. And a very great investment in publicity.

Saint Croix said...

For the People

looks like a commode

that Kamala Harris is sitting on

or maybe we're just a chair

she's definitely on top of us

Two-eyed Jack said...

To me, the phrase "for the people" is an echo of the Gettysburg Address. There it is balanced by "by the people." That is the heart of democratic government. Just the assertion "for the people" strikes me as demogogic, because it implies that she can discern the will of the people.

Saint Croix said...

Or maybe For the People

is a baby carriage

and Kamala Harris

is a giant blue baby

and it's about to topple over

Known Unknown said...

THIS is all I can see now.

Known Unknown said...

So it IS a Netflix show!

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

KAMALA
-ON-
BOARD

maybe the Poster Fairey can shepard her towards a more memey graphic

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

OT: Tucker might be the only person in all of TV media who tells the truth.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...


while we're on the subject ( for S's & G's)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

Robert Cook said...

"Why is 'for' huge and 'the' small? It just seems mean to "the," singled out like that."

It sends a double message: Kamala Harris is FOR people in general, and she will serve as a representative of and advocate for THE American people:

However, she is a former prosecutor, about whom I have heard troubling things, so I say "NO" to Kamala Harris for people/for the people!

AllenS said...

KAMALA HARRIS
FOUR SCORE AND
FOR THE PEOPLE
JUST LIKE LINCOLN

walter said...

With her skillset:

TULSI
-ON-
BOARD

Phil 314 said...

Obama's (as the Last piece suggests) was clearly the best in the last several elections. Very iconic.

AOC's looks like a movie poster and a '50's horror movie poster at that. Particularly with her big googly eyes (or maybe she sees the monster approaching).

Hillary's always looking like a traffic sign to me. I didn't see "forward" but "turn right" (as in "turn right for hospital")

chuck said...

> I was a Democrat my whole life until this year, but now it has become something I'm ashamed of.

I had the same epiphany in 2002 and swore off ever again voting for a Democrat. I have seen no reason to revisit that decision in the years since.

gadfly said...

So Sandy Ocasio-Cortez is tied to Lenin - just like that! Way to go Jonathan Last!

And if we call her WindSOC we can tie her to the Weather Underground - since she knows which way the wind blows.

Freeman Hunt said...

Looks like a graphic that would be used to advertise a television show like Blossom.

Paul Zrimsek said...

AOC probably had to be talked out of including "Land for peasants, factories for workers".

Bob Daniszewski said...

"Why is "for" huge and "the" small? It just seems mean to "the," singled out like that."

I think it's so that the left border is shaped like the California coastline. (Or is it just me who sees that?)

Scott M said...

ADDED: On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."

That's a stretch. By the same measure, it also says ARE, AIE, LSO, AFP, etc.

Not Sure said...

Looks like I'm the only person here who kind of likes KH's poster. To me, it's a subtle way of carving out a space where she's both a soft lefty (in the vacuous "people, not profits" sense) and a tough-minded realist ("For the People" referring to her time as a D.A.).

CROWDED CAPS grab your attention, while the smaller font size for "the" allows the dual interpretations I'm suggesting she intends.

Shades of blue and red that aren't really blue or red suggest she's aiming for crossover appeal. And yes, I'm aware that this is inconsistent with her performance in the Kavanaugh show trial. Maybe she recognizes that as a weakness and hopes to minimize it.

walter said...

Maria Arenas, the lead designer at Tandem on the campaign materials (Starrett and Gillen provided the art direction), understood the power of these posters when she heard that people were signing up to volunteer on the campaign because the poster inspired them. These images are now on buttons, t-shirts, tote bags, and mugs, all being sold by the campaign. "Even people outside the district are buying these things, to support the campaign" said Arenas.

To find inspiration for their design, the team at Tandem turned to old WPA posters, the activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huertas, and Rosie the Riveter. “We wanted the whole campaign to feel inspiring," said Arenas, and the illustrations of Cesar Chavez gazing upwards inspired her to choose a similar photo of Ocasio-Cortez (taken by photographer Jessie Korman).

While they were inspired by imagery from over a half-century ago, the poster itself feels modern and perfectly in place in New York. After stepping back from the work, Starrett said that he realized it looked like a subway poster, or a movie or TV show poster. “That's a visual language people are familiar with” in New York, he noted.

The poster is also bilingual, communicating in Spanish as well as English, and Tandem made sure that Spanish was displayed prominently throughout the poster. “Spanish shouldn't be a footnote...It needed to be equal, because the demographics of this district are not the demographics of America as a whole, it is a much more diverse district, and the white population is not the majority," said Starrett. "We really wanted to elevate it... so that it spoke clearly to people, that they were being included.”

http://gothamist.com/2018/06/29/alexandria_ocasio-cortez_poster.php

gadfly said...

KAMALA HARRIS FOR THE PEOPLES TEMPLE

Leora said...

Not as bad as the Hillary logo.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Tandem and Starrett & Gillen are pros and used powerful complementary colors. KH's looks like she used the guy at Kinkos.

pacwest said...

The yellow might be good on a billboard as an eyecatcher, but there is a lot of extra space on that poster. It invites graffiti along the margins. Might not be a good idea in her case.

Rosalyn C. said...

The sign is so unattractive it makes an impression. It stops the eye, which is very good. Trouble is the longer you look the less attractive it becomes, which is bad.

What kind of name is Harris anyway? If she were elected would she be called President Harris? That sounds and looks very old fashioned/Republican. Maybe she could take her husband's last name, Emhoff. If she converted she would be the first female and the first Jewish president. That would be funny, conspiracy wise.

While I find her candidacy very interesting I don't think she has any chance of winning, so by all means carry on!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...


Cortez is just Venezuela with red lipstick.

FullMoon said...

Goldang it Buwaya, WILLIE BROWN. Jerry is the white guy,like Sienfeld, Willie is the Brown.
Blogger buwaya said...

Harris never had AOC's eyes, and though good-looking, perhaps more conventionally so in her day than AOC (back when she was Jerry Browns' mistress),

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

It's a logo Wibble, not a position paper!

Bilwick said...

Remember, serfs: She's for the People! Not for the State as one would surmise--For the People!!

bagoh20 said...

Yea, funny that she feels the need to tell you she's "for the people", in case she gave you some other impression so far. Maybe she expects her opponent will counter with "I'm against the people!", or "For the hell of it!"

BarrySanders20 said...

HARASS THE PEOPLE

The agency who came up with it probably wanted the cleverness of using the IS in Harris to link her name to the “for the people” clause.

Kamala Harrisfor the people: Kamala Harris is for the people.

Craig said...

Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew frequently talk about how awful the '70s were, and how some of the values that enabled that awfulness are coming back into fashion. I hope they discuss this logo on their podcast.

Perhaps we need some "malaise" in order to appreciate Trump.

BarrySanders20 said...

For The Children is too cliche.

BarrySanders20 said...

And For The Children would upset the abortionists and Gaia freaks, not insubstantial voting blocs within the D primary.

jeremyabrams said...

"The people" expressly does not mean the citizens. Or Americans. But as to the visual, the blue is Willie Brown's willie, and the red is Kamala's receptor.

PJ57 said...

Yellow is a difficult color. It should be used sparingly unless the tone is more gold, less Peeps yellow.

Bay Area Guy said...

Hmm. The long knives have been unsheathed for Slow Joe Biden. The NYT warns Joe against helping Michigan Republican congressman win his seat. .

No bipartisanship ever - bellows the Times.

Is Joe already thinking about the General Election?

buwaya said...

Sorry FullMoon, I was not thinking of Jerry, but there it was.
It was Willie's willie indeed.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Immigration and Customs officers and teens in MAGA hats = not human.

Darrell said...

Kamal Toe's poster is purple and orange on my monitor.
Royal purple trumps orange man bad. The yellow background appeals to PeePee Ritmo.

FWBuff said...

@Darrell, I see the logo as purple, orange, and yellow as well.

It seems she's made a deliberate choice not to use the traditional red, white, and/or blue colors in her political logo. She's running for US President, but rejecting the colors historically associated with US traditions or patriotism. That sends a strong signal to me.

Maillard Reactionary said...

AA asked: "...what's so awful about it?"

Well, it's missing the upraised middle finger, for one thing.

Maillard Reactionary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maillard Reactionary said...

chillblaine @8:34 AM: You know why they're called the ships of the desert, right?

They're full of Arab seamen.

Gk1 said...

Reminds me of signage that belongs on "Laugh In" only its missing a big purple daisy and Goldie Hawn coming out from behind a door giggling with a giant peace sign painted on it.

tcrosse said...

AOC needs one of those Carmen Miranda tutti-frutti hats.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"Kamala Harris for the people"

Dogs and cats get their own "Kamala Harris"
Temperate rain forests get their own "Kamala Harris"
Your stock portfolio gets its own "Kamala Harris"
Cars and planes get a "Kamala Harris"

Kamala Harris. If it exists, she wants you to know she can be for it.

Howard said...

Blogger tcrosse said...

AOC needs one of those Carmen Miranda tutti-frutti hats.


ding ding ding we have a winter. I've been trying to place where I'd seen Arroz con Pollo before

AlbertAnonymous said...

Phidippus wins the internet for the day. Thank you all for playing. Better luck tomorrow!

Upraised middle finger indeed...

Unknown said...

Once you see (fnord) the lie

you (fnord) can't unsee it (fnord)

chillblaine said...

Phidippus, this is true. I am known around the Dinah Shore scene as Spit Shine Matt, and I love when those, ahem, gals, tell me to go get my shine box.

buwaya said...

"Cortez is just Venezuela with red lipstick."

Venezuela was Chavez, who was not, er, conventionally attractive.
Lets say Chavez had more in common with, dare I say it, Trump. Or Duterte.

He was the sort of person unhappy people choose to stick it to "the man", and there is no question that in Venezuela in the 1990's "the man" needed some sticking. But Chavez was the wrong man to make anything better, no matter what ideology we are talking about.

tcrosse said...

In Venezuela the Bossa Nova blames it on You.

FullMoon said...

ADDED: On the Kamala Harris logo, vertically down the center, it says "LIE."

That's a stretch. By the same measure, it also says ARE, AIE, LSO, AFP, etc.


I see asp. Poisonous snake. Or as soon as possible?

tcrosse said...

I do like the one with Lenin waving a fistful of ten ruble bills at the strip club.

Wince said...

Run that slogan through an anagram generator...

Fillmore Pharaohs parakeet

PBS | The Fillmore: Willie L. Brown Jr.
Willie L. Brown Jr. Mayor of San Francisco Former Fillmore Resident.
Willie L. Brown Jr. watch the movie (630k) Video Credit: KQED 1999. Fillmore Victorians
https://www.pbs.org/kqed/fillmore/learning/people/brown.html


More...

aloft homelike paraphraser
appeal earthlier hoofmarks
appealer loofah shirtmaker
appellate harries hoofmark
elf Kalahari spermatophore
faster Oklahoma peripheral
fleshier Oklahoma tarpaper
flappers heartier Oklahoma
flea marketers phialophora
foothill paraphrase remake
foppish Haleakala terrorem...

funsize said...

tertiary colors are a nice leap from the normal, boring red white 'n blue, but I'm not crazy about the combo personally.

narciso said...

no, Chavez was the son of a Marxist activist from barinas, who was the sleeper agent of the red flag, the guerilla group of the 70s and 80s, and he worked in concert with guerillas in Colombia, like the farc and the eln,

Tommy Duncan said...

Kamalama, baby, Kamalama Ding Dong

You may have to skip an Advertisement:

Band of Oz - Shama Lama Ding Dong

funsize said...

chicken little: it would be more correct to say "para la gente" or "para el pueblo". But my emphasis is mostly Mexican-American, I don't know much about PR Spanish.

Will J. Richardson said...

"For the People" is a registered trademark of the Morgan & Morgan Florida headquartered personal injury law firm.

FOR THE PEOPLE Trademark Information
MORGAN GLOBAL, PLLC

ATTORNEY SERVICES

buwaya said...

Background on Venezuela -

When Venezuela was Rich

Socialism is not new in Venezuela.

narciso said...

yes carlos andres perez, nationalized the major oil companies, gave much support to guerillas in central America, and the southern cone, then came back in 88, promising to restore the revenues that the oil price collapse triggered, then went 180 about face, igniting the caracazo, with the sudden imf adjustment page, of course, perez alfonso, was the founder of opec, (which he derived from observations of the texas railway commission)

iowan2 said...

There are differing thoughts on logos. My thought has always been that the designs should be identifiable without being able to see the lettering. Or the lettering was designed is such a way to be unique.

This is just several blocks with letters in them. I don't see anything identifiable.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Kowabunga, dudes!!
Harris is now going "Wakanda Forever!"
WTF

buwaya said...

Sample posters - from the peak of European political poster art -

Carteles Guerra Civil

madAsHell said...

I dunno. Hillary's "I'm with stupid" arrow is really hard to forget.

Tomcc said...

I rather like the style; it's simple and states a simple claim. It would take a lot more space to express her platform of "getting rid of all that crap that's making America great". I think "people" in that logo expressly excludes anyone who voted for or supports Mr. Trump. (But that is probably my own skepticism)

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