In a democratic society voting, by its nature, should be an unbiased exercise resulting in a fairly elected leader.

Throughout history political campaigns have always done their best to help sway the electorate to vote one way or another via the use of persuasive language and imagery. It is after all a sale of ideology. These techniques have developed through the decades and with the advancement of graphic design paired with a myriad of new media to harness, there has been a paradigm shift in political campaigning. An article by Lamar (2010) highlights this shift by stating The 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign brought social media marketing to mainstream political campaigns. The success of the Obama team and the way this team used social media to spread their message should be a guide for every political campaign. Well-executed political campaign design can influence the outcomes of voting as it has the ability to portray a candidate as something they are not. Undecided voters can be swept up in a cult of personality and branding techniques can embed the candidate in our minds before the election process has even begun. Thus it raises the question: To what extent did the design strategy of Obamas campaign contribute to his mass popularity and victory in 2008, and also to the radical shift in public opinion that followed by the end of 2010? During a personal interview the creative director of the Obama campaign touched on this controversial question when he admitted, You can use good design and to a certain degree it blurs the lines a bit Thomas (2010). This statement forms the basis of the following study, which aims to investigate all elements of the Obama campaign to determine the influence of design on its success.

Research Methods Interview the creative director of the campaign to gain a concise overview of what was required of the design team. Find out any specific communication strategies that might have been imposed on them and explore the reasons behind their design choices (colors, fonts, use of imagery, layouts etc). Investigate if any strategic marketing techniques were used to promote Obama the same way a mass consumption product would be sold. Research all journals, dissertations and articles relating to the topic of political campaign strategies, design strategies, and communication techniques. Search news articles for pundit reviews and opinions of campaign success and current backlash. Conduct a thorough analysis of the Designing Obama book that contains the entire design strategy used by Scott Thomas.

 Limitations Of Study Due to the fact that this is a very recent event the amount of detailed and concise publications based on the topic are scarce. The bulk of the research will have to rely on Internet sources of news articles, pundit blogs and a search for relevant dissertations published by the academic community.

Organization Of The Dissertation The study attempts to break apart the thesis and give substantial answers via a variety of arguments. First the political landscape of America is analyzed, focusing on the years before and leading up to the campaign to put the study into context and explain why America was so hungry to jump on the first scent of change they were given. It also briefly looks at the conventional wisdom of political campaign design to show how this was deliberately broken to personify the change the campaign was advocating. It then continues to explore the design of the campaign itself highlighting techniques that could have influenced its success. These techniques are described and an explanation as to why they are effective creates the arguments that answer the thesis. Finally an analysis of public opinion following Obamas victory aims to explore why it has dropped so suddenly and significantly considering the hype of two years ago.

Time For A Change America in 2008 was not the beacon of hope it had once been. There was rising unemployment and a financial crisis that had brought the countrys economy crashing down. Social inequality was increasing rapidly and people were loosing homes due to foreclosures. The country was massively unhappy that America was still participating in the Afghanistan conflict and to top it all, there had been 8 years under the Bush administration that had seen its lowest approval ratings of all time (below 40%). Based on the right track wrong track polls taken in late 2008 it is clear the vast majority of the country wanted to take a new direction, In the face of economic upheaval in the United States, a record 89 percent of Americans now say the country has pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track while just 7 percent of Americans say the country is going in the right direction, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. (Thee, 2009). Running parallel to this was an America that was fully embracing the digital age and that had become so utterly saturated by marketing that this was one of the only facets of communication people would respond. A publication by Bratt and Smith (2009, pp. 3-4) stated, According to Nielsen/NetRatings and the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States has an Internet usage household penetration rate of 72.5 percent, and a population of users totaling 220 million.

The huge obsession with celebrity culture in combination with the growing global social networks had made it too easy to give rise to a cult of personality. America was begging for change at this point, which left them susceptible to intelligent marketing and design strategies. It was against this backdrop that in the run up to the 2008 Presidential Election support and enthusiasm for Obama was increasing at a dramatic rate culminating in a frenzy by the time of his victory and inauguration in January 2009.

Goodbye Convention Every presidential campaign had looked the same before the innovation of the Obama campaign, which enabled him to grab the attention of the watching electorate easily. It had become tried and true wisdom that the best way to present yourself when running was to use clean and masculine type, some reference to the American flag and an overall visual style reminiscent of 50s and 60s modernism and neutrality. Take Obama's rivals. Their visual identities are in the conservative style that would-be presidents have used for decades. (Rawsthorn, 2008). As the following examples show the logos lack any kind of conceptual
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 prowess. They are lifeless and deliberately neutral in an attempt to reach as many people as possible but in doing so lack anything a viewer can really connect with.

fig 1. Comparison between Obama logo and the previous campaign winners.

In 2008 this traditional conservative approach to campaign design was demolished with the unveiling of the Obama logo created by Sol Sender. This logo represented a step away from convention as it removed itself from the usual passive and neutral forms of traditional political logos and took a committed conceptual direction. The logo depicts a sun rising over a ploughed field, which symbolized the historic nature of the campaign, and a connection with the workingman. The reason behind this choice of concept was explained by the logo creator, Sol Sender in an interview with Steven Heller, When we received the assignment, we immediately read both of Senator Obamas booksThere was [a] strong sense, from the start, that his campaign represented something entirely new in American politics a new day so to speak (Thomas 2010, p. xxiii). The American people were looking for a change and thats exactly what the Obama campaign delivered. It was paramount that the campaign step away from the norms of visual communication if they
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 were to align the design aesthetic with their strategic goals of change and progress. It was a bold step but the results were hard to ignore. Harnessing The Media Although the visual ambition of the Obama campaign is unrivaled in history there have been other successful innovations in political marketing. Additionally this is not the first time a candidate has harnessed the power of new media to gain huge momentum in his campaign success. During the 1964 Lyndon B Johnson and Barry Goldwater elections, LBJs design team (DDB) created and ran an ad featuring a small girl counting petals on a daisy. As she is counting the voice of a loudspeaker mimics her numbers but it is clearly the countdown to a missile launch. The final part of the ad shows a nuclear explosion with the voice over saying Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.

fig 2. Story board of the famous Dasiy TV Advertisement.

The savvy design team had used the advent of TV to their advantage and propelled LBJ to a landslide victory. This was the turning point in TV advertising history and from this point every political candidate would try and gain the same success from TV spots. A negative consequence of this success however was the increased aggression in smearing of political opposition. In 2008 we saw the same intelligent use of new and existing media but on a much larger scale. It is a well know fact that marketing techniques are used to help politicians as stated by an article in Newsweek, Every presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1968 was actively "marketed" to the American public (Ramano, 2008), but never before have we seen such a flawless execution of political branding in the history of American political campaigns. This was the catalyst Obama needed to begin his exponential rise to success.

Hiding Inexperience From the very beginning of the campaign the design team knew they would have to subdue the public perception of Obamas inexperience via his visual presentation. This sentiment is expressed in a New York Times article that states, Every element of his visual identity has been masterfully conceived and executed to depict Obama as perfect presidential material (Rawsthorn, 2008). According to a lecture by Scott Thomas, the strategy used was to implement the timelesshes already president feel (Thomas, S. 2009) into his brand image. The use of consistency was vital as one thing that design can solve with consistency is [to] establisha sense of balanceit can also reallygive the visual impression that hes incredibly experienced. (Thomas, S. 2009). The Obama team invented a new type of presidential identity, intended to optimize their candidate's appeal to an increasingly fragmented electorate in the media frenzy of the Web 2.0 era (Rawsthorn, 2008).

fig 3. Expert use of consistency in the visual communication makes Obama seem organized, experienced and competent.

 Thomas (2010, p. 78) stated Because of their evocative power, design and branding elements can create a stable bond between voters and the candidatewe wanted to elicit the feeling that he was a familiar figure whose attributes and values they could relate to and trust. Another strategy to compensate for Obamas perceived weakness was to make elements of the design look reminiscent of such important documents as the Bill Of Rights and the original American Constitution to emphasize how historically important for America the campaign was. Rather than simply stating this in the communication the entire aesthetic was designed around old archival materials. We wanted to pull from imagery of the past to communicate the historic atmosphere of the campaign (Thomas, S. 2009).

fig 4. Certain information was designed using real historical documents found in local archives for an authentic vintage feel.

This strategy not only highlighted the importance of the campaign but also using imagery that resembled historical documents, elicited a sense of patriotism and American sentiment, which could have a strong subliminal effect. Another way the Obama campaign was able to achieve impeccable consistency was due to the versatility of Sol Senders Obama logo. It became capable of being used in isolation of the word Obama in the same way the Nike swoosh is synonymous with the word Nike. This meant visual communication needed only the small circle to be a part of the Obama brand package. It was also tailored to function as a visual identity for the myriad of
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 supporting groups associated with the campaign. Thomas explains To create these specialized logos, we integrated symbolic forms that signified a demographics distinct qualities into the visual centerpiece of the logo. (Thomas 2010, p. 15). The team also created a set of logos for each state that included elements of the original Obama logo into the letters which when combined showed the country as one cohesive unit.

fig 5. Complete logo set of each state shows the country as one untied unit

The next coup was to customize Obama's identity to appeal to different votersAxelrod has planned Obama's campaign on the Web 2.0 principle that we live in such a frenzied media landscapeand we only respond to imagery that seems to be directed at us personally (Rawsthorn, 2008). The following selection of Obama logos highlights this technique of targeting individual groups through visual imagery.

fig 6. Small collection of customized Obama logos that talk directly to constituent groups.

This approach balanced diversity with unity, using variety to highlight the power of individuals while maintaining a unified and consistent visual identity. Thomas (2010, p. 15). These techniques had a powerful effect that gave the country a real sense of solidarity. Combining this with the other forms of consistency already in place create an overall brand image that seems as effective as high end consumer brands. This sentiment is once again expressed by an article on the New York Times site, Obama's marketing is much more cohesive and comprehensive than anything we've seen before, involving fonts, logos and web design in a way that transcends the mere appropriation of commercial tactics to achieve the sort of seamless brand identity that the most up-to-date companies strive for. (Rawsthorn, 2008). Never before had such an innovative and consistent execution of a political candidates visual communication been attained in America. Steven Heller admitted, Everyone I know agrees that Barack Obama won the design race. Whatever reason, his campaign knew early on that coordinated graphics were beneficial and that modern typography would signal change (Thomas 2010, p xxi)

An American Typeface To help the campaign attain maximum consistency and elicit a feeling of American sentiment the design team was going to need a special font for the job. During the beginning of the campaign the two primary fonts used for the Obama visual identity were Gill Sans and Perpetua. Both of these were created by British type designer Eric Gill and had a subtle British style. Perpetua had been created for use in English churches and Gill Sans had been inspired by the London Underground signage. According to Thomas these qualities also made then seem stylistically formal, and somewhat reminiscent of a European black-tie affair (Thomas 2010, p. 99). After evaluating which typeface would be more suitable the design team turned to a modern and well-known typeface called Gotham created by Johnathan Hoefler and Tobais FrereJones. This typeface had originally been commissioned for GQ magazine and had a fresh, masculine feel. It had been inspired by signage at the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal and produced nostalgic feelings of old New York. A New York Times article commented no typeface could seem better suited to a dynamic, yet conscientious, American public servant. (Rawsthorn, 2008). This unassuming typeface was perfect for the campaign as it could be used in a variety of ways but more importantly subtly contributed to the visual feeling of 20s and 30s Americana. Thomas describes this effect as delicate and often subliminal (Thomas 2010, p. 100). Finally the secondary fonts were chosen which included Liberation Serif for body text and Snell Roundhand for special ornamental text elements. This was the second design touch that contributed to the visual communication seeming reminiscent of the historical documents of America such as the Bill of Rights.
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fig 7. Examples of the chosen typefaces and their possible executions.

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 Misleading And Subliminal Imagery Many people are suggesting a form of subliminal advertising and messaging was at work during the Obama campaign. One article tries to compare the subtle use of subliminal imagery by the Obama design team with the Illuminati, stating they know that when looked at, most people do not consciously know what the symbols (corporate logos, etc), all carefully chosen, and each with definite and specific meanings, that are put before them mean, but the human subconscious and race group mind does understand and reacts to them (Fobes, 2008). In June 2008 the design team created a seal to be displayed on Obamas lectern that very closely resembled the Presidential seal. This caused controversy in the media and when Steven Heller ask Scott Thomas to name the most heated design battle of the campaign Thomas brought up the infamous presidential seal debacle (Kessler, B. 2008).

fig 8. Obama in front of the controversial custom presidential seal with Latin slogan saying yes we can.

Imagery such as Obama standing in front of a presidential looking seal before he is president can have subtle subliminal effects. It implies that he has already won before the election has taken place and can be a powerful persuasive device if used strategically. Sol Sender, the designer of the Obama logo suggested although the presidential seal was used by the campaign only briefly, seeing Obama-the-candidate standing behind that familiar regal eagle had a lingering effect in the minds of voters (Kessler, B. 2008). In addition to this the
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 voters have been subject to rock solid consistency in the visual communication that has strengthened the Obama brand deep in their subconscious minds. Another more subtle portrayal of the presidential seal can be seen on the Obama website itself which shows momentarily before the content loads. This graphic has been changed to fit the site but it clearly has a presidential feel about it that once again reinforced the subliminal idea that Obama was already president before the elections.

fig 9. Presidential style seal in the background of the Obama website.

A final example of using misleading imagery can be seen in the complete redesign of Obamas campaign plane. The classic tail design of the American flag has been stripped away and replaced with the Obama logo. This could be considered unpatriotic but it seems the idea was to strengthen the connection between America and Obama. Also the campaign slogan is positioned in such as way that when Obama stands in the open doorway to wave to the crowds he is visually connected to the word change in bold to his right, which could have subtle subliminal effects on spectators.

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fig 10. Comparison between original campaign plane and Obamas re-branded plane.

Ambiguous Communication Just as the visual communication was at times verging on being misleading and deceitful so too was the verbal communication of the whole campaign. Ambiguity was the technique used to ensure the communication was inspiring but at the same time free to individual interpretation. From the outset of the campaign the three keywords used to inspire the nation were Hope, Change and Progress, which were the three ideals that the American
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 people were so desperately seeking in 2008. Thomas (2010, p. 78) commented on how important this was when he remarked, our strategy would not have worked if Obamas message hadnt rung so true and hadnt resonated so deeply with the American public. These words however inspiring are somewhat empty unless the exact implementation of each is explained but this was rarely the case when used by Obama. Regardless of this, they became woven into the visual language of the campaign to the point that the word Hope had become synonymous with Obama. A news reporter commented about an Obama rally he witnessed Obama almost never got into specifics. It was change, change, save the country, change, yes we can, change (Wendel, J. 2008).

A False Revolution One of the most signature visual elements of the Obama campaign shows what a convoluted collection of socialist, historical and patriotic visual influences went into directing the campaign. In order to allow the global community of artists to contribute, the campaign team initiated the Artists For Obama poster series. According to Thomas (2010, p. 127) [the] idea was to invite artists to participate in the creation of a new kind of campaign poster, one that would be the expression of the individual artist rather than a reiteration of campaign materials. The first contribution to this initiative was a poster by Shepard Fairey and to many, his invitation seemed counter intuitive. Fairey grew up in the 80s and from an early age was influenced by skating and punk rock, both of which are classically anti establishment and against the status quo. He built his fame by defacing public buildings with street art but it wasnt until the Bush presidency that his work began to be overtly political. He used art to express his criticism of what the government was doing and how allconsuming mass media advertising was becoming. Regardless of this he created an art piece for the initiative in 2008 and his campaign poster was deemed the most iconic image of Obama ever created, yet its unclear if the visual of Obama above the word HOPE was intended to be ironic.

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fig 11. An example illustrating the visual similarities between the Obama Hope poster and socialist/communist propaganda posters.

The reason this poster had such an impact was due to the simple fact that visually it was so far away from the traditional conservative campaign aesthetic everyone was used to. It had a strong connection to socialist and communist propaganda posters from the 30s but this irony didnt seem to register with the mass majority. To most people this poster symbolized the revolution that was coming but considering the lost enthusiasm following Obamas presidency the question is if this powerful image created a false anticipation of revolution in the minds of the American people. Thomas (2010) commented in an interview, Ive kind of heard that tone, whereShepard Faireys posterhad this very anti-establishment aesthetic that could have played into the minds of those that thought this was going to be a revolutionchanging Washington DC from the inside out.

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 Obamas Cult Of Personality A cult of personality is formed via the use of mass media and propaganda to generate a heroic image of an individual. By the end of Obamas campaign it was clear that this was beginning to become reality. Imagery of Obama appeared in galleries, on billboards and around the city as street art or graffiti, the vast majority of it in full support of him. In addition there were huge varieties of Obama merchandise being sold by independent street vendors all over the country. Social networks were buzzing with his name, independent bloggers were watching his every move and grassroots events, using the same Obama visual design for flyers and posters, were happening on a daily basis. Even though the visual tapestry of Obama that had been weaved across the country was a collaborative effort from hundreds of individual contributors outside the reach of brand control, it still maintained high levels of visual consistency. This was due to the highly efficient and transparent branding principles that required only the use of the Obama logo and typeface to make any visual production appear part of the overall marketing strategy. To a rock solid and seasoned democratic or republican supporter the choice of political candidate would still have been easy, but people who didnt necessarily need the programs suggested by Obama, for example upscale voters and the young demographic, would probably find the high end brand image appealing and allow themselves to be swayed by it come election time via communication based on persuasion in which voters, lacking enduring political convictions, are induced to support a particular candidate or party at election time (Swanson, 2004). This would be particularly effective given the cult of personality bestowed upon Obama by the media coverage of him and from his rock star status fuelled by regular endorsements from celebrities and musicians.

fig 12. Obama featured in a music video by the Black Eyed Peas that turned his slogan into an anthem

It is possible that due to this Obama frenzy it had become fashionable to be an Obama supporter and the thought of not voting for a candidate that was fresh, young, creative, energetic, and whose very ideals were adorning the city, seemed worthy of ridicule. Comedian Chris Rock best articulates this sentiment during one of his stand up
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 performances joking, Cause youll be real embarrassed if he won and you wasnt down with it (Chris Rock, 2007). Another compelling argument for the existence of this favoritism is raised by a Newsweek article stating, if policy was all that mattered in [2008], Hillary Clinton would've won five or six of the11 contests instead of losing them all. When it comes to specifics, there's simply not that much space between the candidates (Romano, 2008). The Age Of Disillusionment It is clear that the intelligent and consistent marketing strategy that helped propel Obama to victory may have now revealed its misleading nature due to the amount of people who have become disillusioned about what Obama was actually offering. His campaign was based on the man more than any set of ideas or clear vision of the future. Everyone knew what Reaganism stood for. No one knows what Obamaism means, which has allowed his enemies to fill in the blank (Packer, 2010). Packer continues to explain the current situation by stating Obama has no larger movement behind him; the one he had ended on election night (Packer, 2010). Since Obama has been in office the frenzy has subsided at an alarming rate, which has left many people confused as to where it went. One explanation seems to be that the campaign was effective because it was deceitful and generated false expectations. The following article describes the sentiment that was developing, there were many Americans seduced by the feel good Madison Avenue campaign of Obama, but the trouble with hype is that after all the BS, you must be able to produce something, four years is a long time to run on hype(Skookum, 2010). A downward spiral of disappointment, anger and lost enthusiasm swiftly followed and continued to the end of 2010. Senate elections in November saw the Republicans taking back the House, and the American public rejected many of Obamas policies of Change, most notably the healthcare reform suffered a 59% opposition (although a fraction of this reflects people who didnt think the reform went far enough). In addition to this, his approval rating had fallen from 65% in 2009 to 45% in 2010. The current Rasmussen right track wrong track poll as of 13-19 December 2010 shows that only 23% of the American people think the country is going in the right direction compared to 63% in early January 2009. The reason for such a huge turnaround in public opinion after Obamas monumental success can be attributed to two possibilities. Either the American public developed and overzealous expectation of Obama and his intentions based on the strategic design of the campaign, or they were not as open to change as they seemed to imply. Another element contributing to the inevitable collapse of opinion was the fact that the Obama electorate was a fractured coalition of people with paradoxical interests, but they were held together because the design strategically took influences from many places to appeal to as many demographics as possible. This is effective in attracting a large base of supporters but when the difficult decisions have to be made more people are at risk of being disappointed.

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 Since the Obama frenzy has subsided it is clear that the revolution people were hoping for hasnt happened. In an interview with the National Journal, Shepard Fairey commented on his plan to contribute work to help Obama in 2012 but stated he couldnt design the same Hope poster today, because the spirit of the Obama campaign hasnt carried over to the Obama presidency (Madhani, 2010). A final word from Scott Thomas encapsulates the sentiment of most people regarding the meteoric raise and fall of Obamas public image, It seems that whatever can or will be said about the Obama years, design does matter (Thomas 2010 p. xxiii).

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This study has drawn together many arguments that clearly show design can influence the success of a political campaign. Specifically it has highlighted many techniques that were successfully used by the Obama design team to take him to a historic victory in 2008 followed by a monumental fall. Ruff said, Hes achieved highs no president has ever achieved before and plummeting at probably the worst rate of any president Ive ever seen in my lifetime, and Ive been around a long time. Ruff is nearly 80 (Mondoreb, 2010). This showed that without real substance design trickery could not continue to generate false expectations indefinitely. Regardless of this even people with strong convictions were swayed by the compelling design but finally independents and Democrats are admitting to themselves that the Obama image [created] is nothing more than an allusion that they wanted to believe, against common sense (Skookum, 2010). Looking to the future at the 2012 elections it is unclear if Obama will run again but many political pundits are already predicting he wont No, Obama wont run in 2012, although hell be coy about it for at least a year. (Mondoreb, 2010). Regardless of who runs it is unsettling to concede that todays political landscape is almost completely media and marketing centric, which means it is impossible to run a straight up campaign that is completely honest and without the creation of false expectations. This is a historical moment in political campaign design as the full possibilities of harnessing all forms of media have finally been demonstrated and will undoubtedly be emulated from now on. This raises an important question regarding what it takes to win an election. Traditionally it was mainly the strength of the policies that would draw people to the polling booth; in 2012 it could be more about the brand image. John Stewart articulates this concern perfectly when he suggests, the campaigns are now so intricate and so all consuming that the ability it takes to win a campaign is not the same skill set to govern and are we raising a generation of leaders that can win campaigns but not adequately govern? (Stewart, 2009).

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Adolphsen, M. (2008) Branding in Election Campaigns: Just a buzzword or a New Quality of Political Communication?. Published MSc dissertation. London School of Economics and Political Science. Bratt, E. and Smith, K. (2009) The Obama Playbook: How digital marketing & social media won the election. [Online]. Available at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/store/product/20/the-obama-playbook-how-digitalmarketing-and-social-media-won-the-election (Accessed: 20 December 2010). Carter, D. (2008) Obamas Online Campaign: A Top-Down Brand sensation, or Bottom-Up Revolutionary?. Unpublished Thesis. Chris Rock (2007) Chris Rock Introduces Barack Obama. YouTube. [Download]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7EbURS2h4&feature=player_embedded#! (Accessed: 23 October 2010). Deborah, L.G. (2001) Voting Preferences and the Environment in the American Electorate, Society and Natural Resources, 14, pp. 455-469. Fobes, S. (2008) A War of Illusions. Available at: http://warofillusions.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/so-what-does-the-obama-logo-meananyway/ (Accessed: 21 December 2010). Lamar, M. (2010) Spiral16. Available at: http://www.spiral16.com/blog/2010/09/socialmedia-political-marketing-virtualization (Accessed: 21 December 2010) Madhani, A. (2010) Famed Obama Hope poster artist losing hope, Yahoo News, 24 September [Online]. Available at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_excl/ynews_excl_pl3712 (Accessed: 21 November 2010). McGirt, E. (2008) The Brand Called Obama, Fast Company, 19 March [Online]. Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/124/the-brand-called-obama.html (Accessed: 22 October 2010). Mondoreb (2010) Unconventional Wisdom: Barack Obama Cant Win, Wont Run in 2010, Death by 1000 paper cuts, 22 November. Available at: http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2010/11/unconventional-wisdom-barack-obama-cantwin-wont-run-in-2012/ (Accessed: 22 December 2010). Packer, G. (2010) Tom Perriellos lonely battle, The New Yorker, 20 October. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2010/10/tom-perriellomidterms.html (Accessed: 25 November 2010).

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 Rawsthorn, A. (2008) Brand Obama, a leader in the image war, The New York Times, 4 June [Online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/arts/04ihtdesign7.html?_r=3 (Accessed: 21 December 2010). Romano, A. (2008) Expertinent: Why the Obama Brand is Working, Newsweek, 27 February [Online]. Available at: http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/2008/02/27/expertinent-why-the-obama-quotbrand-quot-is-working.html (Accessed: 20 December 2010). Skookum (2010) Obamas Hope Poster Artist, Says Its Hopless, Flopping Aces, 25 September. Available at:http://www.floppingaces.net/2010/09/25/obamas-hope-posterartist-says-itshopeless/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Floppin gAces+%28Flopping+Aces%29 (Accessed: 21 November 2010). Stewart, J. (2009) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central [Download]. Available at: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-november-3-2009/david-plouffe (Accessed: 15 October 2010). Thee, M. (2009) Poll: Record High for Wrong-Track Rating, The New York Times, 14 October [Online]. Available at: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/poll-recordhigh-for-wrong-track-rating/ (Accessed: 23 December 2010). Thomas, S. (2010) Designing Obama. U.S.A: Post Press. Thomas, S. (2009) Scott Thomas: Designing the Obama Campaign. Vimeo [Download]. Available at:http://vimeo.com/5943199 (Accessed: 22 October 2010) Thomas, S. (2010) Personal Interview. Interviewed by Jamie Foulston for The influence of design on political campaign success, 26 Oct. Wendel, J. (2008) Obama: Cult of Personality?, The Group News Blog, 12 February. Available at: http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2008/02/obama-cult-of-personality.html (Accessed: 21 November 2010).

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Fig 1. Page 4, image montage using logos from 4President.org Fig 2. Page 5, collection of screen captures from a YouTube video Fig 3. Page 6, screen capture from a Vimeo video Fig 4. Page 7, screen capture from a Vimeo video Fig 5. Page 8, extracted from the Designing Obama book Fig 6. Page 9, montage using Google images Fig 7. Page 11, extracted from the Designing Obama book Fig 8. Page 12, montage using Google images Fig 9. Page 13, taken from Google images Fig 10. Page 14, image montage using a SunTimes blog as reference Fig 11. Page 16, montage using Google images Fig 12. Page 17, collection of screen captures from a YouTube video

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