by Adam Zoltowski
Strategic Design has become incredibly important to political campaigns over the last several years. The 2008 Obama campaign ushered in a new era of political web design integrated with traditional outreach strategies to reach voters.
I wrote about the firm that lead the strategy behind that effort, Blue State Digital, last February. Now, in 2010 elections, online campaigns and the use of strategic design as an integral part of the campaign are part for the course. Thanks to the Obama victory, strategic design has a new place in the world of politics. In the video below, the Obama Campaign design director, Scott Thomas discusses the strategy behind the design campaign, and the process for working under such tight deadlines and pressure.
Now that we have seen the success of strategic design in the Obama campaign, where else are we seeing it? As it is an election year, there is massive opportunity to use strategic design as a tool to win seats in both the house and the senate. It’s a tight race this year, with ground to be lost for Democrats and to be gained for Republicans. Polling aggregator Real Clear Politics has Dems winning the Senate, but losing the House. Design has the significant ability to control the conversation, and with realized potential online there are likely to be more grassroots efforts from policy organizations utilizing social media outlets such as facebook and twitter. Both parties have picked up on the rising prevalence of applications, having both released one in the last few months. Whatever the result this election season, one thing is clear: The tools used to win elections have changed, and they are predominately digital.
