New Recovery Logo: A Brief Semiotic Rundown

Via Talking Points Memo.

Here is the new logo for projects being funded by the stimulus bill. As is true with product launches and political campaigns, recovery campaigns need symbols, as the President said in remarks today.

These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you, the American people -- a commitment to investing your tax dollars wisely, to put Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done," Obama said. "So when you see them on projects that your tax dollars made possible, let it be a reminder that our government -- your government -- is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery.

 I like the logo's inherent retroness, built on the notion that it's speaking  in images, save for the website address, which also serves a tag for government involvement. My impression is that signs have taken a turn for the textual over the past few decades, so this feels like a throwback. At the same time, it does not feel anchored in a particular time period, so it does not feel entirely nostalgic. 

The bottom left hand corner suggests a plant, and the right has gears, with either a plus or a cross in the center (adding or aiding--you make the call.) The plant presumably means green energy, but it could also mean just growth in general. The gears suggest working together toward a larger purpose.

I don't like the top half of the logo; the balance between the patriotic stars and "recovery.gov" seems off, even if that construction is intentional. The logo seems to want to forego the "recovery.gov"; it seems like a compromise. 

These individual components are surrounded by a circle, which suggests a wholeness and completion. Or perhaps smoothness and ease. Or maybe it's just a circle!

GreenSooner at Kos has a brief history of recovery logos.

--J.S.

Real Semiotics

One half of the semi-Obamians made his way to a polling place today in New Hampshire, where he held election signs for the Democrats. At this polling place, he was one of 11 Democrats holding signs compared to six Republicans. 

Some observations:

*The signs themselves were fairly low tech--just graphic designed and stapled to a wood stick. Actually, some were taped--they didn't hold up as well. I cut myself a bit on a staple, and the foldout sign I had for Paul Hodes, the Democratic candidate for Congressman I had to balance on my foot. 

    There does not seem to a particularly high tech way to do the signage. It was somewhat comforting to think that in an age of high tech voting targeting, sign holding still came down to a basic technique that's probably decades if not centuries old.

   In a sense the act of voting and the sign holding are part of the same low-tech dynamic that comes down to choosing and helping others choose.

*Both the other Obama volunteer and I had to call into the headquarters for Obama signs--both of us were holding up signs for candidates who we had not heard of. I guess that's to be expected if you work outside of your voting area.

*The idea of standing and holding signs is rather strange but required because signs, at least in New Hampshire, cannot be left unattended. The election official took unattended signs and put them near the dumpster, causing one holder to ask if anyone had stolen the signs after she had come back from a break.

*There were sign stories. People talked about the cold and rainy conditions in which they had held signs for their candidates. One said, she had been holding signs for "twenty years." I said I had been holding signs "for an hour."

*I was cold. I didn't know my job when I left for the campaign today, so I dressed like a college professor with a corduroy blazer. Though it got warmer later, my hands and feet were numb. The New Hampshire natives were much better dressed.

*I felt a mix between human and sign; one of the Republican sign holders thanked people for voting. The only talking I did was to other volunteers. But I felt my function was more as a sign than a human. And I liked "visibility" because I could help without talking to more strangers; I didn't mine being read....

--J.S.