Visual Clues

With local elections taking place all over this little island and the May Day Demonstrations, my attention is drawn towards politics. Now I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. Anyone who has the right to vote, also has the responsibilty to research candidates and party policies before marking their all empowering check in the box. And I don't care for all the media hype and jovial jabs that are endemic of todays political environment. What intrigues me, is how the participants visually represent themselves on paper. I'm talking about the little guide I got in the mail just yesterday. It describes the elections, how to vote and includes the manifesto for everyone in line for seat at the head of the table for my local assembly, the Mayor of London. The guide itself is great, simple and well designed, giving clear instructions on process, how to use your 2nd vote correctly (don't mark your 1st choice twice) and who is standing for each of the 3 ballots. And all colour coded to avoid the slightest confusion between the 3.


As for the graphic representation of these ever so important individuals...I'm not sure if it's comforting or disappointing, but there were no surprises as to colour palette, layout, font and photo choice for any of the candidates. Rather than describe each one, I'll simply state what 4 of them were visually communicating:

A. Everyman, straight-up, welcoming diversity.
B. Hardworking, green, young urban professional.
C. Energetic, alternative, green, self driven.
D.Patriotic, stable, traditional, strong.

Throughout history we have had visual clues telling us someone's position in society or cultural roots. That identity and defintion continues to expand today defining our political opinion, sexuality and even our taste in music. We wear our most inner thoughts and emotional state on our sleeves for all to see. London is a great city for that very reason. You can be as brazen and outrageous as you like and feel comfortable doing so.