Political & cause campaigns
A high level of planning goes into each campaign, starting with research into the electorate or audience: who will be voting, who are we trying to reach, what messaging resonates with them, what issues do they care about and how can we position our candidate or group as the people who will fight for those issues? How can we make the campaign relatable, reliable, inspirational?
As the visual strategist, art director, and/or, executing designer on campaigns, my role is to take the research and planning and craft the visual concept for each piece, taking care to weavea consistent story throughout the campaign.
Through this work I have touched many of the campaigns of New York’s political heavy hitters over the years, helping shape the conversation and drive the outcomes for many races and cause-based campaigns.
NYC Democratic Socialists of America for Bernie Sanders 2020
DSA endorsed Bernie Sanders for his 2020 presidential run leading up to the Democratic primaries. DSA had a massive campaign which included in-person canvassing, tabling, and online organizing. I was asked to come up with the look and feel for the NYC chapter campaign materials, including creating signs, palm cards, and buttons. These were used by hundreds of volunteers all over the city, and distributed to thousands of voters.
The visuals took a friendly tone and stood out from other campaign materials, in an effort to inspire involvement, but be approachable to voters unfamiliar with DSA.
Role: Visual Designer, New York City Democratic Socialists of America
Reclaim Pride Coalition
I designed the graphics for DSA’s participation in the Reclaim Pride Coalition contingent of 2018 NYC Pride Parade, aiming to re-center the march on the real struggles facing queer people these days, and how queer rights are inextricably tied to the anti-capitalist movement.
Role: Visual Designer, New York City Democratic Socialists of America and Reclaim Pride Coalition
Julia Salazar for NY state legislature
As a member of the Media Working Group of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), I have helped craft campaign graphics for many endorsed candidates. This was piece was a voter postcard campaign for Julia Salazar, who won a historic upset in the New York State Senate in 2018. She is the first member of DSA to serve in the State Senate.
Role: Visual Designer, New York City Democratic Socialists of America
This piece played off of her existing campaign branding
This style was meant to reflect DSA’s branding when Salazar was first endorsed
Communications Workers of America Verizon workers strike
During my time as Senior Designer at BerlinRosen, I designed the visuals to accompany the historic 2016 Verizon workers' strike, the largest labor action in the United States since 2011. The action involved about 40,000 Verizon Communications landline and Verizon Fios workers, garnering the support of Democratic Party presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, among other prominent political figures, including Chuck Schumer.
While the original visual style for the campaign was crafted for CWA before my time at BerlinRosen, I took over for this strike and expanded the visual strategy and assets, including the strike posters, banners, and flyers.
Role: Visual Designer, BerlinRosen for CWA
DSA for The Many state legislature slate
DSA has a decentralized way of approaching media, all volunteer based, with designers jumping in on different needs. I worked on various campaign needs for the slate of candidates running for NY State Legislature in 2020, including the original branding for Zohran K Mamdani (later expanded by another designer) and design mailers for Marcela Mitaynes. All members of this slate won their seats in a historic political moment for Democratic Socialists in the U.S. (the slate also included Jabari Brisport, Julia Salazar, and Phara Souffrant Forrest)
Role: Visual Designer, New York City Democratic Socialists of America
Social media graphics in response to the #defundthenypd campaign during the protests against police brutality in the summer of 2020, and another set for organizing around “friendbanking” to help spread awareness of the slate.
At another point, I was asked to contribute designs with a unique visual style to encourage volunteers for phonebanking. These were intentionally meant to deviate from other designs in order to jump-out on social media.
I was also asked to expand these for buttons, as part of a pack with other artists’ designs, to generate funds for the slate.
Pre-2016 campaign work
In my time at BerlinRosen and Incitement Design, I worked on materials directly for many Democratic and Working Families Party campaigns, or through PAC endorsements for candidates and unions including:
New York
Nydia Velázquez, United States Representative
Tish James, NYC Public Advocate
Scott Stringer, NYC Comptroller
NYC City Council members:
Carlos Menchaca
Antonio Reynoso
NY State Assembly members:
Michael Blake
Deborah Glick
Victor Pichardo
Rodneyse Bichotte
Linda B Rosenthal
Other
John McCrostie, Idaho House of Representatives
Steve Cassano, CT State Senator
Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach
Will Guzzardi, Illinois House of Representatives
Unions
SEIU
CWA
Actors Guild
Freelancers Union
Fight for $15
and many others.
