SAVING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY ONE REBRAND AT A TIME
In America's divided two party system, Reform Seldom Trickles Down
Everything is partisan and Americans are frustrated. To help level the playing field, GoodParty.org uses technology to empower Independent candidates across the country to run, win, and serve in public office without relying on big-money donors or affiliation with a major political party. However, if GoodParty.org is to transform civic leadership, it needs to cultivate greater awareness among prospective candidates with a strategy and visual identity designed to inspire and scale.
Negating the negativity
GoodParty.org envisions a future for American democracy where people matter more than money and society’s biggest problems get solved. Achieving this mission required GoodParty.org to embrace a new set of values and speak in a voice that avoided the cynicism and pessimism we’ve all become accustom to in today’s political discourse. The rhetoric had to change.
Negativity is infectious and exhausting. Living up to our values meant enacting a set of strong communication principles to keep from stepping into partisan muck. GoodParty.org prioritizes the positive impact—on our democracy, government, and communities—that result from opening the door for more Independent candidates to compete in local elections and win.
Designing a system of positivity
GoodParty.org’s leadership had one request for a new brand identity: keep the heart. For them, the brand mark serves as a bright, hopeful beacon of pride and unity, and emphasizes a humanity that stands in contrast to the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant. Taking this as a cue, we developed a custom typeface, Good Hands Sans, which added depth, character, and a hand-crafted touch of personality to the system. Since color is a symbol of political affiliation, we embraced a primary color palette of neutrals alongside a vibrant set of accent colors to represent the diverse spectrum of Independent views. Finally, a library of empowering illustrations inspired by ‘I voted’ stickers bring all of these elements together with a dash of panache.
