Design
This Is What Democracy Looks Like
A gathering of designers talk about the art of creating political brands in 2018.
It was cheap and garish and not very imaginative, so generic that it might well have been churned out by some your-design-here online vendor. And it was—no matter which side of the aisle you’re on; no matter if you get amped or feel hollow when you see it—genius. Perched atop the heads of millions of voters, a red baseball cap emblazoned with one vague yet unforgettable message became the most politically potent image of 2016. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” it commanded in all-caps.
Of course, the poly-cotton accessory alone didn’t win Donald Trump the presidential election. But the MAGA hat did initiate strangers across state lines into a club governed by a shared (albeit amorphous) dream. And that helped get him to the White House.