0 3 / T H E S T A T E DESIGNING POLITICS THE A
STATE
MOCK
FOR IN
CAMPAIGN
THE
STATE
› AN OVERVIEW › THE MOCK CAMPAIGN
Th e S t a t e i s f o r m e d u p o n t h e c r e a t i o n
WHAT:
CONTEXT:
tr an s l a t i n g t h e g r a p h i c d e s i g n s y s t e m
Branding for imaginary “political”
This group would campaign during
in to s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e u s e d o n
group that is associated with the
elec tion time (putting up posters
a bi g g e r s c a l e , t o a i d i n p o l i t i c a l
design standards in democratic
and collaterals) but not for the sake
ca mp a i g n i n g , m a r k e t i n g a n d a c t i v i s m ,
Singapore. In the tone of a satire,
of g aining seats in parliament, or
an d t o e l e v a t e t h e s t a t u s o f o u r
the party would be named in an
beco ming president, but rather, a
na ti o n a l d e s i g n i d e n t i t y .
acronym that Singaporeans are
poli tical statement running at the
familiar with, in another context,
same time that reminds political
to emphasize the ambiguity and
figu res to employ good design.
of a s o c i e t y . T h i s p o r t i o n c o n s i s t s of t h e d e s i g n i n g f o r t h e s t a t e ,
obliviousness in the employment of our acronyms.
The party The People's Design Alliance (PDA) is an imaginary nonpolitical party founded in 2012 by an ambitious design student with the help of 110 other fellow youths who share her interest in design and politics. The Alliance seeks to fight for the rights of good design in parliament. Politics is not only about policies and taking care of the citizens. Politics in Singapore needs to be redesigned in order for the locals to communicate and identify better with their leaders.
The acronym "PDA" was chosen on purpose as it is also a wellk n o w n l o c a l a c r o n y m w i t h a n o t h er
The constitution
m e a n i n g – i t a l s o s t a n d s f o r P ublic D i s p l a y s o f A f f e c t i o n . O n o n e hand,
NAME
OBJECTIVES
The Party is an imaginary Political Party known as the People’s Design Alliance (PDA)
The Party shall be a national movement dedicated to the service of our nation and to the advancement of the well-being of our design scene. Towards this end, the Party’s objectives shall be: -
i t e m p h a s i s e s t h e n e e d t o p u b l icly s h o w l o v e f o r d e s i g n , w h i l e p o king f u n a t h o w t h e o b l i v i o u s f r e q u ent e m p l o y m e n t o f a c r o n y m s i n S i n g apore can become a joke.
PARTY PRINCIPLES The Party’s guiding Principles are:(1) Design sensibility (2) Communication with citizens (3) National design pride BELIEFS The PDA believes that it is of national interest that the design level is raised in parliament, promoting higher standards of visual design for the nation as a whole. Good campaigning by the leaders of Singapore will manifest in many Singaporeans their need to improve the national design standards, instill a sense of national pride and spread the love for Singapore. The PDA has no wish of gaining seats in parliament; rather, it wishes to be heard by the parliament and other potential candidates, pleading them to brush up their design sense. “People ignore design that ignores people, says graphic designer-writer Frank Chimero. The revolution has come for Singaporeans to put on their hipster black-rimmed glasses and bring out the designers in them. We are change.
/ All government agencies should employ qualified designers approved by the PDA Manpower Department to design their collaterals. All collaterals will be closely monitored by the PDA and might be banned from public display at the absolute discretion of the PDA. / All future political parties will be required to hire at least one PDA-approved designer to help improve the outlook of the party. Campaign posters and designs will be closely monitored by the PDA and might be banned from public display at the absolute discretion of the PDA. / All future Presidential Election candidates will be required to undergo a PDA-approved boot camp/ crash course on political marketing and design strategies to help improve the outlook. Campaign posters and designs will be closely monitored by the PDA and might be banned from public display at the absolute discretion of the PDA. Show some public displays of affection for us!
Ba sed on the Body, red, white, bl ack, navy and emerald green were am ongst the popular choices for na tional colours. Green and navy ha d the same number of votes; and to use green was unorthodox hence th e choice of colours.
The logo
The colours
Typeface
The red represents the little red dot that Singapore is, a symbol of the Singapore identity that encapsulates the element in the middle.
The red is reminiscent of our Singaporean roots with its strong associations to our national flag.
Frutiger LT is the chosen typeface as it is a humanist sans serif which is easily readible yet at the same time, contemporary. The large, bold text with the tight kerning makes the words loud and attention grabbing. For the body text, it is a well balanced sans serif that is easy to the eyes.
The pencil personifies the designer, as well as drawing on the fact that the pencil is used on voting slips to make the mark of a vote. By default, the pencil faces the south-west direction, micmicking the way a right-hander would hold a pencil to write. However this logo can be orientated in any other direction for aesthetics and communication purposes.
Based on the Body, the logo should be more trendy and contemporary, while remaining minimalist and to the point.
The aqua colour is a refreshing colour, also representing how close we are to nature with our surrounding waters and greenery. Occasionally, navy blue is employed to give colour accents.
Mrs Eaves Italic is the complementing typeface which gives the whole feel of the party a little more formality and professionalism.
South west, The default direction
Frutiger's sans serif, bold and humanist nature is reminiscent of the typeface used
South, For emphasising on the point below East, For pointing purposes/ emphasis on certain points
by LTA, which many Singaporean youths identified most easily.
show some love for the PDA !
PDA for design!