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Poor John McCain. Even his font is wrong.

Thomas Veil

Thomas Veil

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Original poster
Feb 14, 2004
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Much greener pastures
Speaking of logos...

Here's an amusing op-ed piece from The New York Times. Not really issues-related enough to go into the PRSI forum, so I put it here.

Apparently a number of graphics designers don't think much of John McCain's campaign logo, particularly his use of Optima font. Can't say I much care for it myself.

mccainlogo-190.gif


A sampling of comments:

Debbie Millman, president of design, Sterling Brands

While I doubt that Senator McCain studied the subtle nuances of this popular face it says to me that his crafty design team aggressively attempted to appeal to voters with more traditional inclinations as well as those with slightly more progressive leanings. However, this multifaceted effort could easily backfire: it is still a rather bland face being used in a rather bland way.
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Ellen Lupton, curator of contemporary design, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

Optima attempted to merge characteristics of serif and sans serif typefaces. You could call it a centrist font. I’m sure John McCain’s design consultants know that Optima is the typeface used on Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial.
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Drew Hodges, director, SpotCo

Optima always says to me ’70s nerd — perhaps because I was one — but it sort of reeks of old thrift-shop, Danish furniture, and not in a good way; not in a Dansk pepper mill way.
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Thomas Porostocky, art director, I.D. Magazine

With a mix of Roman dignity and a subtle military presence, the typeface communicates the qualities seemingly most important to the candidate; honor and virtue. One could also say there is a slight sense of quirkiness that is also apparent in the candidate. But it is still a safe choice.
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Cyrus Highsmith, typeface designer

For some reason, almost every dentist and orthodontist seems to use Optima for their letterhead. Therefore, while Optima is a great typeface I tend to associate with getting teeth drilled.
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At least it isn't Times New Roman. :rolleyes:
 
This stuff is very closely studied because it does affect us on some subconscious level. One of the reviewers talked about how subtle changes in the lighting content of a room can darken or lighten the mood, despite the fact that nobody in their right mind ever consciously notices these things.

I guess in that sense it would be important for a candidate's design team to really heavily consider the subtleties of campaign logos and typefaces.
 
Good grief - this defines pedantry!

When I wrote my master's thesis I deliberately chose Times New Roman because it was boring and I wanted to avoid trying a different font and making some sort of formatting faux pas. Now I realize that some people will be making broad character judgments about me based on that choice...scary! :eek:

I agree that font choice can have a major effect on the tone or mood of a piece of writing, but I'm ignorant of the nuances of font choice. I go with gut reactions.
 
also from the piece:

Rudy VanderLans, founder of Emigre Type

What does Optima say about Senator McCain? Nothing. It probably says more about the designer than anything else. Who, except designers, would judge a candidate by the typeface?
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One of the reasons this is such a big deal this time 'round is because Obama's marketing is probably the best we've ever seen for a candidate. His website is amazing, and designers are falling all over themselves complementing his use of Gotham as one of his main typefaces.
 
P-Worm said:
I didn't realize so many people cared about this sort of thing.

P-Worm
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robert.j.strain said:
Some people have WAY too much time on their hands to care about this.
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obeygiant said:
McCain

*SNIFF* beautiful...
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Lord Blackadder said:
Good grief - this defines pedantry!

When I wrote my master's thesis I deliberately chose Times New Roman because it was boring and I wanted to avoid trying a different font and making some sort of formatting faux pas. Now I realize that some people will be making broad character judgments about me based on that choice...scary! :eek:

I agree that font choice can have a major effect on the tone or mood of a piece of writing, but I'm ignorant of the nuances of font choice. I go with gut reactions.
Click to expand...

You guys better watch it. Some of us designers still have lead type slugs, and we can whip them pretty hard...
 
Lord Blackadder said:
When I wrote my master's thesis I deliberately chose Times New Roman because it was boring and I wanted to avoid trying a different font and making some sort of formatting faux pas.
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I think for that purpose Times is a good choice. A master's thesis is no place to be trying to impress people with your font style. You're presenting straightforward information, not marketing something.

I do have to say that on McCain's logo, even the star is unimaginative: straight out of Zapf Dingbats.

Edwards had an even plainer star, but at least it was clean and simple, and it had a trail shooting out of it as it rose in the sky.

200px-John_Edwards_logo.jpg
 
Lord Blackadder said:
When I wrote my master's thesis I deliberately chose Times New Roman because it was boring and I wanted to avoid trying a different font and making some sort of formatting faux pas.
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You had a choice? Most universities are pretty strict on which font is acceptable for theses.

és: said:
7B905072-45A4-11DC-9A62-D553640B077D.jpg


Don't like the guy, but his chips are alright.
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This is exactly what I think when I see that logo és.
 
Yeah, font does have a sort of subliminal effect on us.
Like, I made a quick mockup of the logo above but using different font.
 

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iJesus said:
Yeah, font does have a sort of subliminal effect on us.
Like, I made a quick mockup of the logo above but using different font.
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Interesting. It makes me think of Texas--a ranch or something. Perhaps not the message he wants to be sending out (if he's trying to distance himself from Bush). ;) But you're right, it does indeed make an impression, more than I would have thought prior to your exercise.
 
themadchemist said:
Interesting. It makes me think of Texas--a ranch or something. Perhaps not the message he wants to be sending out (if he's trying to distance himself from Bush). ;) But you're right, it does indeed make an impression, more than I would have thought prior to your exercise.
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Haha, yup. If you didn't catch it... right below "McCain" it says "Don't vote for McBush". hehe.
 
themadchemist said:
Then it's this sh*tty monitor I'm using.
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try highlighting it. you can see it a bit better then.

i understand and know that font has an impact. i mean look at fedex as the best example. but i think its a bit much to criticize a political candidate for personally. even if it does have a small effect.
 
I really don't mind the logo; it is very simple, and I think it will hold up well as it slowly disappears from car bumpers over the next 10 years (I still see a lot of Gore/Lieberman bumper stickers!), but I should admit that I've always really liked Optima (and all Zapf fonts, really). For better or for worse, it is definitely a much more traditional-feeling campaign logo when compared with Obama's, which is very clean but kind of makes me think like I'm staring at a logo for an energy company:

Obama08_ThumbLogo200.gif
6a00d4141f3422685e00d09e5d609dbe2b5.png
 
PlaceofDis said:
try highlighting it. you can see it a bit better then.

i understand and know that font has an impact. i mean look at fedex as the best example. but i think its a bit much to criticize a political candidate for personally. even if it does have a small effect.
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Yeah, I can sort of make it out now, thanks for the tip. But man! You guys must have way better eyes than me, because I really had to squint just to make out that there were words at all, and even then, I could barely read them.
 
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