The Girl Scouts just got a rebrand for the 21st century
Plus: Why Biden’s attempt to brand “MAGA Republicans” isn’t working
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at…
Shepard Fairey’s new Beto O’Rourke poster is kind of a big deal, and I’ll tell you why
The Girl Scouts just got a rebrand for the 21st century
Why Biden’s attempt to brand “MAGA Republicans” isn’t working
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Shepard Fairey’s new Beto O’Rourke poster is kind of a big deal, and I’ll tell you why
Artist Shepard Fairey endorsed former Rep. Beto O’Rourke for Texas governor Thursday with a new poster, which isn’t something he does very often these days.
Known for his 2008 “Hope” portrait of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, Fairey told me in 2017 he wasn’t “as interested in making portraits of people that maybe play into the idea of image and celebrity as the important thing when I actually think substance is.”
Fairey’s endorsement for Bernie Sanders in 2016 came with original art, but it wasn’t a portrait, and in 2020 he didn’t release any new art to endorse Pete Buttigieg. His recent political portraits have been people who aren’t running for office: the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in 2020, and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and President Joe Biden in 2021, after Biden won the election. The Biden portrait was done with Greenpeace to call on POTUS to stand against oil companies and corporate polluters.
“All of Us” (2022) shows a profile O’Rourke with elements of the Texas flag and his campaign slogan written in Abolition, his campaign typeface. The Democrat is selling a limited edition of 200 posters for $60 each.
“I don’t believe that Texas voters are a monolith and I don’t believe that Greg Abbott represents all of his constituents, including the Uvalde community, properly,” Fairey wrote in a statement. “Beto O’Rourke represents many values that I strongly endorse and I’m happy to lend my support and my art to Beto For Texas.”
O’Rourke trails Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, according to polling released this month, but it could be a tight race. The candidates will face off next Friday in a debate at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas.
The Girl Scouts just got a rebrand for the 21st century
Visual branding for the 110-year-old Girl Scouts of the USA has gotten a modern upgrade thanks to Collins, a brand experience design company.
The agency said it began the project asking what the Girl Scouts’ mission to prepare girls to “meet the world with courage, confidence and character” meant in today’s world. “We developed a voice that looks girls in the eye, recognizes everything they are and can do, and seeks to empower them to blaze the trails only they can,” Collins wrote.
The agency designed a contemporary identity for the organization built around shapes, starting with the Girl Scouts’ emblem, the Trefoil. A simplified Trefoil appears on new uniforms, and it makes the perfect charm, appearing on hair ties, necklaces, and bracelets.
The agency said it was inspired by the Girl Scouts’ patches and badges, which they used to create the strong geometric forms that can be used as embellishment or to hold text and images. The custom typeface, Girl Scout Serif, was created with Positype, an independent type foundry.
Collins said the shape-centric branding gives the Girl Scouts’ 112 independent counsels a common visual language and assets they can adapt themselves. “A new brand system needed to address the reality of having dozens of energetic councils designing communications for the same brand,” the agency wrote.
The new uniforms were inspired by the Girl Scouts’ archive and ‘90s fashion. Items like shirts, dresses, and dress shirts are meant to be mixed, matched, and accessorized.
“By resurfacing archived styles with a contemporary take, the Girl Scouts can look to their original, beautiful catalogs for a wellspring of design inspiration,” the agency wrote.
Is anyone else suddenly hungry for Tagalongs? You can find out when Girl Scout Cookies are available in your area here.
Why Biden’s attempt to brand “MAGA Republicans” isn’t working
President Joe Biden isn’t shy about calling former President Donald Trump and far-right Republicans “MAGA Republicans” who represent a threat to democracy. He’s used the phrase more than 80 times since May as he pitches midterm voters, but it might not be working as intended.