Video: Branding Obama
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Filmed on: October 10, 2009
About this
video
Dubbed a “strategic and smart campaign” by Fast Company,
the Obama “brand” has received much recognition not only within the
design community, but also throughout the nation and abroad. Sol Sender
and Scott Thomas, creators of the official Obama logo and website, will
discuss their experiences developing this historic political brand.
Speaker bio
As
founder and principal of Sender LLC, Sol Sender spearheaded the logo
development for Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign. Now an associate
partner with VSA Partners, he works across disciplines to impact the
communications of some of the world’s most valuable businesses and
brands. Prior to founding Sender LLC, he spent seven years with
Designkitchen, as senior designer, VP brand strategy and president. Over
the course of his career, his work as a designer and a strategist has
been recognized by the AR100, the Webby Awards, The International Web
Awards, Communication Arts, HOW magazine and as a finalist for
The Brit Insurance Design of the Year. Sender has been a featured
speaker at events for AIGA, the American Center for Design, the Art
Directors Club and The Society of Marketing Professionals and will be a
keynote speaker at the ICOGRADA World Design Congress in Beijing. A
faculty member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 1999,
his articles on design history and design education have been published
and distributed by Allworth Press.
Scott Thomas (or SimpleScott) is constantly seeking the simplest
answer to complex problems. His design pursuits began by studying
architecture before bouncing to graphic design and web development. He
started practicing design in London's Shoreditch, before moving to
Chicago where he started focusing on user experience design informed
through immersive user research. From products to websites, Thomas works
to simplify the experience of use. In 2006, he and five others began
the design collective, The Post Family. The group is devoted to
supporting each other's design habits, from silk screen to letterpress,
from illustration to blogging, in an effort to “get back to the hand.”
In 2007, his career took a dramatic leap when Thomas was invited to join
the new media team at Obama for America. The chance encounter led Scott
to becoming the design director of the historic Obama presidential
campaign.