I have mad respect for Michael Beirut and the system he developed to accompany the logo but the icon itself just felt blah. Then again, lots of companies that DO spend millions developing or redesigning their visual identities have similarly uninspiring logos, so her campaign was hardly alone on that front.
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Well, you know… we could use some boring, level-headed sanity around Washington right about now.
Pete: A Warm Breakfast for Your National Hangover?
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I see this as a pretty facade for a milquetoast candidate. I was a graphic designer for years and though I love and appreciate good design, right now I want to see movement toward strong policy. Pete isn’t doing much for me there.
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If you’re going to put forward a public face it might as well be a pretty one.
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Yeah, you’re right. Better to look classy rather than end up like Jeb!
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Please clap 
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I see this run primarily as a launch for either Senator or Governor in Indiana. However, he does remind me a little of Carter in his first run.
what is up with poor indiana? looks like it’s been run-over by a truck, or caught up in some terrible windstorm.
i’m guessing they have a list of the important electoral states somewhere, and gave them a little more love
In previous elections I’d agree, but clearly the old rules for “how much political experience one should have before running for the #1 spot” no longer apply in a post-2016 world.
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Not to mention that it consisted of a red, right pointing arrow.
For the Democratic candidate.
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I saw a lot of that criticism, and still don’t get it. Yeah, it’s pointing “to the right”, and somehow that’s become a “Republican” thing. But I think that’s way preferable to a logo that’d literally be pointing backwards.
Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Democratic candidate and a proponent of “democratically influenced capitalism”.…
Hmm. I get a very slight whiff of ‘calculation’ here.
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I can’t entirely fault that part—unfortunately it’s hard to escape the cultural association with “pointing to the right” and “moving forward” in a left-to-right-reading society. Even PBS flipped their logo in 1984 to make the head face “forward” even though that meant it no longer formed the letter “P.”
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That’s an interesting phrase. Like, is Buttigieg suggesting that democracy should at least hold some sway over simply bowing to whoever has the most money?
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In fact, experience can be a liability, which is why in modern times sitting legislators running for president never beat an opponent who isn’t also a sitting legislator: as a senator or representative you can’t both do your job, which is 90% horsetrading, and avoid supporting bills that will come back to haunt you.
I agree that PB has an unusually good chance, which is why it will be interesting to see what happens with the Iowa shakeout. However, there are so many candidates in this race that he and his people have to see this first as an investment in the future.
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There are those who argue that current US-style capitalism is a result of our democratic system of government. Then you have those who believe that in a true democracy, we shouldn’t have said US-style capitalism.
I think Pete has casted out an intentionally wide net.
It’s a series of vaguely liberal sounding buzzwords, but with no actual content.
Are you sure it’s just placeholder text?
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If he reads this text aloud, in standard politician speech-making cadence, I’ll donate the maximum. And he’s not even my preferred candidate.
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That is correct.
Which is why the arrow itself was a poor design choice for a Democratic candidate. I’m just saying- a million symbols to pick from, and that struck them as the best option.
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I think the concept of an arrow pointing forward towards the future is a basic, simple icon clear to pretty much anybody. It’s just a shame that American politics have gotten to be so toxic that things like the direction an arrow is pointing have apparently unacceptable connotations.
