Obama Administration Designs

With the 2008 Presidential election now in the past, we've become well aware of the potential effects "good" design can have... the ability to represent values, induce emotions, and give people a visual with which to associate and rally. So if presidential logos can have a "feel good effect," can the Obama Administration's government-sponsored logos do the same? In early March, President Obama unveiled the logos for two economic recovery programs of his own: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (Tiger). He said: "These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you the American people," and that they will remind the public "that your government is putting the economy back on the road to recovery." Steve Juras, creative director of Chicago firm Mode Project (that collaborated on the campaign "O" logo) led designers Aaron Draplin (Draplin Design Co.) and Chris Class (Wire & Twine) to creating the match for these logos. I can't even imagine the restrictions of freelancing for the White House, but what a nice porfolio piece! Juras said: "It was explictly stated that the ARRA logo not look 'governmental'.... We were asked to create a 'visible sign of progress' in a contemporary way while referencing energy, education and health care. The goals for Tiger were even simpler: use a tiger motif to speak to the Dept. of Transportation's new initiative, and be sure to include 'USDOT' somewhere in the mark.'" Sounds simple enough, but the turnaround was in under 4 days! Impressive. Well, just like the Obama O was atypical as far as presidential logos were concerned, the administration is definitely making a departure in its visual communication. I applaud the contemporary style and direction as the unifying aesthetic for this administration's designs, but I worry that the logos will lose their official, serious air and be hard to distinguish from other logos being designed today in the nongovernmental sector.