Fairey: "It would have been hard to miss the message since the text 'recovery.gov' is right there in the logo, but even if I'd just seen it without the type, it would immediately have given this sense of being patriotic and about the necessity of harmony between nature and industry."
The circle game
Fairey: "Circle logos tend to feel friendly; the leaves on the plant are rounded, the gears are round, all of the elements -- the pieces of the pie -- are all rounded at the edges. It's subtle but it makes it feel a little softer and friendlier, and psychologically these things make a difference."
Shout out for the sprout
Vit: "The leaves can mean either agriculture, or environment or caring for the Earth. But it's the kind that you have to care for and nurture, and take care to make sure you don't accidentally step on it."
Written in the stars
Vit: "If I were to take a guess, it might be one star for every year Obama will be in power -- but maybe that's just being optimistic."
True colors
Fairey: "The thing about the colors is that they aren't just the default red, white and blue colors that feel so forced upon you during an election cycle -- what I consider the redneck nationalist's version of patriotism -- it looks a little more hip. The choice of red looks better with the green, and the green gives a more nature/earthy feel."
Getting in gear
Vit: "Right away you understand it's about gears, it's about industry, it's about setting things in motion."
Fairey: "The Red Cross-like cross inside the gear is a very clever device. It gives you the idea that 'industry' and 'rescue' are the same thing. I don't know from a legal standpoint if that's something they can do because the Red Cross is very sensitive about [its] logo, but from a communications standpoint it's a smart move. Maybe the fact that the red is more of a brick red and not as saturated a red as the Red Cross logo means it's something they can get away with."
Location, location
Vit and Fairey point out that though the logo gets the point across, and symbolizes a new approach, its effectiveness as a branding tool is yet to be tested. "Right now we're only seeing the logos," Vit said. "But they rarely act in isolation. It will be a few months before we see them in action and see how they will be used." Vit said that a conversation he'd had with graphic designer Chris Glass (who is credited with the design along with Aaron Draplin) led him to believe there was more in the pipeline. "We don't know what supporting visual elements will go with [the logo]."
Merit badges, anyone?
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adam.tschorn@latimes.com
