NEW: The iconography of @AOC — my dive into how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s logo has formed a new graphical language for progressivism.
From KY to VA to NYC and even France, imitators abound.
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Political designers say her logo and poster's vibe has come to convey insurgency, youth, diversity, liberalism — and winning.
Unconscious branding experts say campaigns are “borrowing from all the work she has done” and triggering positive associations.
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
As @Amoyforcouncil put it: “Being a young woman of color with her bright purple and the slant and her full name — she set a bar to say we don’t have to do things the same way.”
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Even if not always intentional, the slanted and boxed text look has become something of visual shorthand for the left — adopted by @BernieSanders and @SarahHuckabee alike to sell shirts
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Some candidates, like @JumaaneWilliams, literally adjusted their logos shortly after @AOC won.
Left was his logo in June 2018 (the month she won); right was his logo by that September.
(He's now public advocate and still has the tilt.)
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
The trend is especially intense here in New York City, where congressional and municipal elections are littered with campaigns that have adopted her signature slant.
Here are four city council candidate logos...
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
And four NY congressional candidate logos....
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Plenty of progressives, meanwhile, have posed with a version of her poster's off-camera gaze.
As @MelforProgress said, “It almost came to be a joke. If you weren’t looking off to a distance you weren’t a progressive candidate.”
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Some were...pretty clearly copycats.
(Brossat is a communist in France)
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
A favorite example is Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, who challenged AOC in the Democratic primary in 2020.
She lost.
She refreshed her logo for a 2021 comptroller run.
It...now has the slant.
“First time I’ve thought about that,” she said.
And a Twitter exclusive! Here are some of the other AOC logo drafts/concepts that were under consideration as her campaign drafted its look in 2018
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Another bonus fun fact: @mayawiley has the *slightest* tilt in her mayoral logo (plus purple and side stare)...
...But her first TV ad this week rolled out a more AOC-like slanted text.
nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
And no list/thread would be complete without @senatormjpp, who won her race for first grade state senator earlier this year nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/…
Feel free to add any other look-alike logos you spot in the comments!
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