AIGA Design for Democracy
Design for Democracy is based on the premise that good design makes your choices clear. This 2022 election cycle, I designed pieces to help get out the vote in my community for crucial midterm elections.
62%
Statistics reveal that voter turnout for U.S. presidential elections has never peaked above 62%. Even worse, this number drops significantly for non-presidential cycles. What does only 62% of voter turnout look like? In this design, the percentage is visualized with the stars of the American flag (only 62% appear, as a somber homage to the disparity). The absence, here replaced with a dark blue void, becomes a kind of messaging, in and of itself.
Democracy is a Process
An international figure representing our nation’s democratic ideology, The State of Liberty is shown here under construction. Relying on archival photography from the New York Public Library's Digital Collections, the design metaphorically humanizes the infamous icon, reminding a U.S. audience that our ideals require ongoing civic engagement in order to work. The typography reads: "democracy is a process, not a discreet event. Vote." It falls to us, as citizens, then, to determine what our ideology will be today, tomorrow, and in the future. We do this through the civic processes that give voice to our values: to speak, to organize, to vote.
Make It Count at the Polls
A simple typographic poster whose message, through typeface design, layout, and hierarchy, insists urgently on one thing: VOTE. The typography conveys the urgency of a contemporary, digital landscape, wherein the state of our nation’s democracy is at risk through new, mediated channels of misinformation and disinformation.
Your Voice/Vote Counts
A bitmap image of the iconic Lady Liberty is legible only as an organized grouping of individual dots. The many circles make up an image greater than the sum of its parts and allude to concepts bigger than just individual marks: democracy, civic power, collective action, national ideology. If a viewer (and a voter) is too myopic, all they will see is individual dots making up a chaotic and non-sensical field. It is only when taking a step back and viewing the collective energy of many marks as a whole, is the powerful image formed. Like the image, democracy requires each person's individual commitment to make the larger democratic project work.
The core of the campaign is an online gallery of original, nonpartisan and apolitical (without political content or bias) posters generated by AIGA members for printing and public distribution by all. When sharing my works on social media, please tag @sarahedmands (Instagram) / @sarahedmands (Twitter) and @AIGADesign with the hashtags #AIGAVote and #GetOutTheVote.
GOTV posters and social squares created by AIGA members are available for printing and public distribution by all. By downloading this poster and/or social square, you agree to use it in its entirety (including the branded banner), unaltered and not for commercial purposes of any kind; any reproduction of it must include full credit to the designer and AIGA Get Out the Vote. Any variation from this policy must be documented in writing from the designer and AIGA. When sharing on social media, please tag the designer and @AIGADesign with the hashtags #AIGAVote and #GetOutTheVote.