The Hardest Working Presidential Candidate Logo.

Did good logo design play a part in US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s solid performance in the recent Iowa caucus?

I hadn’t visited Obama’s web site in a long time, until last night when a nice designer from Nike e-mailed me pointing out the “ridiculously nice” (as he put it) implementation of the logo under the “People” section of the site. And, indeed, they were ridiculously well done. For each segment of people, the logo changes accordingly, tip-toeing a fine line between cliché and clever, and never crossing to the former’s dark side.

The iterations are quickly identifiable and feel genuinely concerned with connecting to the people they are talking to, without pandering. The executions are rather flawless and work perfectly on screen with the detailed gradients and subtle background illustrations.

In a tight contest it is often attention to the merest detail that can make all the difference. While I’m sure it goes without saying that the design of Obama’s logos alone won’t vote him over the line, they certainly go along way to creating a favourable impression.