You know the race for Mayor is heating up… when a front runner CHANGES HER FONT. Here’s New Seasons co-founder and mayoral candidate Eileen Brady’s old font…
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz… snort! What?? Huh?? Oh, sorry—I sometimes suffer from font-olepsy. Anyway, here’s her brand spankin’ new font that debuted today on her updated website.
Whoaaaaa! Somebody put a bird on it! That’s a big change that’s obviously trying to send a big message. You know what this font says to me? It says, “Eileen Brady is of the people.” She’s “the grass rootsiest.” She’s “keeping Portland weird!” She’s “possibly going to ride a tall bike.” She’s “asking you to temporarily ignore her close ties to the business community.” And she’s “already extremely nervous about Jefferson Smith entering the race.”
Speaking of Jefferson, here’s his font:
Hmm. Could be more “grass rootsy.” And in Portland, he or she who can exhibit the most “grass rootsification” wins! Anybody got any ideas about how Jefferson can “grass rootsify” this font or logo?
SEVERAL THINGS STAND OUT ABOUT THIS. ONE: THE KERNING AND OFF-CENTEREDNESS OF THE ‘BRADY FOR MAYOR’ SUB-BAR IS SO FUCKING AWFUL IT MAKES ME WANT TO STAB AN ORPHAN. TWO: BOTH CANDIDATES ARE MAKING A CONCERTED EFFORT TO PUSH THEIR FIRST NAMES RATHER THAN THEIR LAST OR A COMBINATION FO THE TWO. THIS IS A BANAL ATTEMPT TO MAKE THEM MORE PERSONAL AND FRIENDLY (IN THE CURRENT ELECTION CYCLE THIS WAS MOST OBVIOUSLY USED BY THE MAX BRUMM CAMPAIGN).
I am by no means a design geek, but orange/blue contrast kind of bores me. Also, orange + arrow immediately reminds of FedEx.
Eileen, won’t you lean on me, please. How much I had baby when I had you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezLJDAX_LAc
Eileen’s logo was made months before Jefferson’s, because she announced her candidacy months before Jefferson.
She probably just wanted to update it, considering her campaign is more established now, and she knows exactly what her approach is.
BTW, this article is extremely “fair and balanced”. And no, you don’t sound like a complete biased asshole. It is completely rational that you find it necessary to write on the change of fonts. Why, if you didn’t then scandals and injustices would go undetected.
Now excuse me, I have to get back to reading an article in the Willamette Weekly. Poor form, Mercury.
Eileen Brady’s new font must have a name. Since I’m too lazy to look it up, I’ll just call it “Willamette Weak.”
@4:
“BTW, this article is extremely “fair and balanced”. And no, you don’t sound like a complete biased asshole.”
You obviously don’t read the Mercury very often.
Wow, that’s one of the worst designs I’ve ever seen! The weird spacing of E I L E E N…the off-center “Brady for Mayor.” It’s also weird because it reads as EILEEN (Brady for Mayor). Just doesn’t work. I get the decision to go all sans serif since it seems less stuffy, but that’s the only correct decision here. Jefferson Smith’s is way better.
Glad we are focused on the important stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc-P8oDuS0Q
I am glad to see all of the unemployed graphic designers finally putting their B.A. to good use. SANS SERIF?! SPACING ?!
You bicker over ascetic integrity while she is works to create jobs for you.
I am glad this election is about design and marketing rather than public policy, because that is so much more “Portland”.
Eileen’s had some Sizzle Pie. Jefferson should adopt the Hammy’s font.
Anyone else get the sense that Brady’s supporters might be a little too, uhh, think-skinned for this campaign?
Thin. Thin-skinned. Dammit.
Down with serif fonts and down with Jefferson Smith.
Comic Sans! People LOVE it!
@abusive Comic Sans is the typeface of the people. See: http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls00fegu…
That is music to my eyes Superior Chundy!
Now do something in Sanskrit font….
Really, isn’t the biggest problem with (Democrat) Jefferson Smith’s logo is that the arrow is pointing so boldly to the right?
Jefferson’s makes my eyes hurt. His designer has a drop-shadow abuse problem (look at his website). The color palette is weak and he’s crammed in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 font treatments. And if they’re gonna use periods after the first two statements, shouldn’t there be one after Mayor?
Clearly freebie work from one of his teenaged volunteers.
One can only imagine the handwringing going on at the Merc, on this one. On the one hand, Smith is part of the Bus Project team, thereby earning him unbounded accolades, yet he represents a part of Portland that doesn’t fit in with the “inner-NE/SE part of town is the center of the hip universe” demographic that is the Merc’s mainstay.
I rather like him thus far, shitty logo notwithstanding.
@ Super Chundy– the disease is inside of you– http://tinyurl.com/2yhks6