Ranking the 2020 Presidential Candidate Logos

With the growing importance of a specific brand image, I thought it would be fascinating to look at and rank each of the current (as of January 24th) 2020 presidential candidates’ campaign logos. Whether put on websites, podiums, stickers, signs, or t-shirts, logos say a lot about a person or a company, and are one of the most important things when it comes to recognition among diverse audiences. This grading will be absent of any political/ideological judgments, but will be purely based upon aesthetic design. Also, due to the large number of running democrats, the democratic candidates included in this discussion will only be those that qualified for the last democratic debate held on January 14th.

Biden (D)

Biden’s logo is visually bold and simple. The clever “E” representing red stripes alludes to the American flag and works quite well in this design. However, the logo’s simplicity lacks a sense of personality and presents itself as pretty generic. 6/10

Buttigieg (D)

Pete’s logo is interesting in that he has a lot of logo variations intended for the public to use as they wish. His main logo shown here contains a mixture of strong typography and slight curves, giving a hint of youth and contemporary awareness. The cream, gold, and blue color give off a very athletic, vintage sports feeling as well – which could be detrimental for older audiences. 8/10

Klobuchar (D)

Klobuchar’s logo displays “Amy” large, immediately catching the viewer’s eye. Although simple, the combination of three different typefaces at different sizes and colors makes the design lack a cohesive direction. 3/10

Sanders (D)

Bernie’s logo utilizes a slab serif typeface and curving lines to indicate a sense of both historical experience and dynamic movement. The star is a nice, playful touch, and the overall design uses classic red and blue colors that are not too harsh. But, the lines are a bit too reminiscent of toothpaste.  7/10

Steyer (D)

Steyer’s logo immediately stands out for its arresting thick text, accompanied with an orange 2020. The usage of navy and orange is interesting, as orange is uncommon among presidential logos. Yet, the typography doesn’t work too well here. 3/10

Warren (D)

Warren’s logo contains large, unconventional lettering – a good choice for a progressive candidate. While the horizontal line is fine, the purplish-navy and mint green colors don’t suggest much, and are rather holding back any sense of distinctive personality. 4/10

Trump (R)

Trump’s logo is very strong, recognizable, and pretty straightforward. Bold navy and red create a mood of patriotism, and the red stars and navy box frame the logo well. The exclamation mark seems a bit unprofessional, however. 6/10

Walsh (R)

Walsh’s logo is pretty much as simple as it gets – just text in two colors. The black and firetruck red seems like a strange choice, and a bit too arresting. It’s unmemorable and doesn’t contain much information, as if a high schooler designed it in five minutes. 2/10

Weld (R)

Weld’s logo takes a different approach in structure, with a combination of lines and text. However, the innovative look does not work well visually, and appears quite messy. The two shades of blue also don’t lend themself well to a presidential campaign. The “Weld 2020” would work fine on their own, but the addition of a subtitle makes the design quite clunky and awkward. 2/10