FREE BAIT!

On the Today Show this past Saturday, the breaking news story was Obama’s choice of Biden as a running mate. Brian Williams mentioned in his report that the two last names had the same number of letters and that people were actually paid to care about that. Those people are graphic designers.The fact that both last names have equal number of letters, makes for a no brainer campaign sign layout with Biden sitting comfortably under Obama. There will take a little finessing since Obama’s letters differ in proportion to Biden’s but still — this is political synergy.Graphic designers are trained to see type different than the average person. We see not just letters, but the space around them and the way they connect to each other. By breaking letters apart and putting them together, we can communicate not just what the words mean but we seek to evoke emotion. We are trained not just to choose the right typeface (or font to the lay person) but to see the unseen — those spaces between lines and letters, capitals versus mixed case, line heights and proportions. All of these elements work hand and hand to effectively communicate the message and the emotion behind it.So if I were McCain, I would pick Romney. I guess that is why I am a graphic designer and not a presidential candidate — at least not yet! All the best!