Running for the upcoming elections?

Whether you’re aiming for a small or big office, your success relies heavily on good marketing. You need to get your message and your name out there so people will remember and vote for you.

Campaign logos play a huge part. They’re easy to print on stickers, banner ads, online ads, and billboards.

Not sure how to design the best political logos? Check out our guide below to learn the 10 principles of designing amazing campaign logos:

1. The Right Typeface

Crafting iconic campaign logos start with the right typeface. You’ll want to feature text that embodies a sense of authority, leadership, and respect. At the same time, it has to seem friendly without giving up a formal direction.

In short, it has to be both corporate but voter-friendly too. It has to be formal but easy to read.

To achieve this, pick serif fonts. These are fonts with strokes at the end. Blacker, Bookmania, and Electra are all good starting points.

2. Pick Colors Wisely

Never forget color psychology. People often associate colors with certain emotions. Yellow, for example, can make people feel happy towards a certain brand.

For political logos, it’s easy to fall into the typical choices: red, white, and blue. Those are the colors of the flag and when people see this combination of colors they immediately associate them with politics or the military. They’ll know they’re looking at a political logo before they can even read the text.

Try to strike a balance between picking traditional political colors and thinking outside the box.

3. Keep It Simple

You know you’ve got a bad logo in your hands if it seems like visual noise. If there are too many elements that make it look cluttered and disorganized, it’s time to scale things back and rebuild it from scratch.

Keep your design simple.

Look at a few presidential logos. Trump, Ted Cruz, Obama, Sanders, and Hillary Clinton all used simple but memorable logos. They limit how many elements appear in their logos but still maintain iconic design choices that help their logos stand out.

Trump’s features a clean border. Obama’s logo uses the typical flag colors but blends them to showcase a rising sun, which also resembles the letter O. Bernie Sanders uses the same flag colors but his logo waves and flows.

4. Remember the Rules

Ever noticed that most political logos stick to traditional imagery? They often use stars, stripes, and colors of the US flag. You’ll rarely ever see logos step too far outside the box and this is for a good reason.

Before you implement anything new, go over it with the campaign manager. Make sure you’re not breaking any of the rules. Also, keep in mind that each new election period introduces changes to the rules so update yourself and keep your logo design within these boundaries.

5. Your Name Matters

Images help sell your campaign but at the end of the day, your name matters most.

Do you want to know why campaigns with strong financial backing often succeed? It’s because they gain more visibility. Their names go everywhere and get optimum exposure.

People are more likely to vote for names they remember. Your logo should put your name front and center. Let people see and remember your name so that they don’t ignore it when it comes to election day.

6. Know Your Brand

The word “brand” might seem too corporate for some. However, you are selling something: yourself. People will associate your logo with your name, your political party, and your message.

Remember: Trump prioritized his slogan. Make America Great Again spoke volumes to thousands of people. His logo highlighted that message and all the topics Trump discussed during his presidential campaign.

Follow suit. Your logo should remind people about your message. It should remind people about the changes you talked about or the promises you made.

7. Look at Winning Examples

Learn from the best. Take a moment to look at the political campaign logos of candidates that won. These logos played a big part in their success, after all.

Put all these logos on one big page and look for similar elements. Did they all feature certain colors, imagery, or typeface? How did they present the candidate’s name and how did they highlight images such as stars or stripes?

Take cues from these winning examples but don’t plagiarize them. Understand the philosophy behind their success and implement these winning strategies with your political logo.

8. Implement Iconic Imagery

Let’s get the basics out of the way: stars, stripes, and the color combination of red, white, and blue. These are almost always going to find their way into a logo. However, there are other iconic choices out there.

For people running for sheriff, a large gold star can do well. If you’re running for office in the state of Illinois, you could implement an image of a white-tail deer. It’s been the state animal of Illinois since 1982.

Look for symbols associated with the office you’re running for or the city and state you’re in. These might give you images that go beyond the usual stars and stripes. Remember to check the rules to avoid adding images prohibited from advertising materials.

9. Test It

Don’t forget to test your logo before putting it everywhere.

Not sure how to check it? First, start by removing all the colors. Test how the logo looks when you print it in black and white.

Does it look like a jumbled mess? Fix it in monochrome before you put the colors back in. This ensures your logo looks great even when printed on newspapers or other monochrome mediums.

Next, try to shrink your logo. Check how it looks when you print it on something small like a business card or promotional pins and buttons. If you want to learn more about using logos on buttons, check out this blog here.

10. Practice Consistency

Found a logo that works? Keep this design! Don’t change it after a few weeks into your campaign.

Sure, there might be a few details that could use improvement but changing the design midway could negatively affect your campaign. People might not recognize the new logo.

Creat Effective Campaign Logos Now!

Don’t settle for any generic logo design. Use these tips and create the best campaign logos for your campaign or for the candidates you work for.

That said, succeeding in any political run doesn’t end with a good logo. You’ll need more promotional materials and a powerful message. Learn more about these with our other guides today!