Not long after presidential candidate Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate, they revealed their joint logo. Lilly Smith, writing for Fast Company, asked 10 experts what they thought of the design including:
- Eddie Opara from Pentagram
- Douglas Sellers of Siegel+Gale
- Debbie Millman, the chair of the Masters in Branding program at School of Visual Arts
- Matt Ipcar, who worked on both of Barack Obama’s campaigns
The general consensus? The font looks great, the logo is generally good but it might not matter that much. Even the criticisms were rounded off with “whatever, I’d still vote for Biden because he’s not Trump“. Top expert opinions. But what was I expecting? When I look at it, I’m neither repulsed nor enthused. It’s Just Another Sans-Serif Logotype.
From Debbie Millman:
“I never, ever thought I’d say this after a lifetime in professional branding, but on the spectrum of good branding versus effective branding, I’d say at this point it is irrelevant. Frankly, the Biden-Harris logo could have been scribbled on a napkin and I’d be happy.”
And Sagi Haviv:
“Let’s be honest: it’s not a good logo. Why does the E deserve to be the highlight of the identity? How about emphasizing the B as his first initial? And turning an E into three lines is something we’ve seen.
For such a consequential election—and now an (sic) historic candidacy—I could see them taking a fresh look at Biden’s somewhat amateurish logo from the primary and maybe doing something more dynamic and innovative. (Harris’s logo for her own primary run was much more original and carried a message.) However, perhaps this bulky, uninspiring mark reflects exactly this ticket’s promise: a safe, predictable return to normalcy. I’ll vote for them.”
Safe, predictable return to normalcy? That’s a loaded statement if I ever heard one.