Paul DePalo for Governor's Council

My friend Paul asked me to handle the creative for his political campaign. You can see the website right here. I even did about 70% of the coding, i.e., anything that is not JavaScript. (One day, I really will get around to gaining an actual JS proficiency.) 

I READILY ENJOY working on the creative for political campaigns. Most [local and state-level] candidates cannot afford super-professional websites and it shows. Branding also tends to be an afterthought, and any sort of doorhanger, mailer, or other campaign literature tends to be VERY wordy — candidates want you to know exactly where they stand, but may not always remember that you may not have the time or motivation to read every single word. Since everything I've referenced above is typically a (mostly) volunteer output, I like offering my skills to put forth:

  • Simplified yet engaging messaging
  • A crisp, clean visual identity
  • A professional digital presence

(On a purely selfish note — Working on these side projects also give me a chance to hone my visual design and coding skills.) 

For any political campaign or organization, the most important thing is ALWAYS to get the user's contact information. Arguably more important than even that is to make sure the call to donate is ALWAYS clear and ALWAYS available. 

For any political campaign or organization, the most important thing is ALWAYS to get the user's contact information. Arguably more important than even that is to make sure the call to donate is ALWAYS clear and ALWAYS available. 

A super-accessible and easy-to-understand volunteer form is also key. Minimize fields and don't require too much of the user from the initial ask. Just ask for Name and ZIP Code along with their Email. And while its important to get their mobile num…

A super-accessible and easy-to-understand volunteer form is also key. Minimize fields and don't require too much of the user from the initial ask. Just ask for Name and ZIP Code along with their Email. And while its important to get their mobile number for text updates (primarily) about events and GOTV (Getting Out The Vote), the email address should still be prioritized in the ask — emails should be regarded as an important fundraising channel. 

Naturally, every political campaign still needs print collateral. I've come to the conclusion most politicians have a serious UX problem when it comes to palm cards and mailers. They operate under the assumption that they must say EVERYTHING. As anyone who has ever worked in advertising knows, people do not read all the things you really want them to read. I'm assuming that since Paul taught high school, he came to this same conclusion, so its been pretty easy to turn out pieces that meet both of our exacting standards. 

This first-edition palm card concentrates on communicating his core aims and values succinctly, but with the utmost conviction. (Pro tip to any and every politician — More words do not ever mean more conviction. Emotions sway opinion before facts. If you don't believe me, simply ask yourself what constitutes as presidential at this very moment in time.)

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