Harvest the Vote

So how can Democrats win again in rural American? Big question. Illusive answer. Is it possible? Maybe. If it is to happen, a big reason will be because of the tireless organizing work done by people like Jane Kleeb. She just released a book on the subject called Harvest the Vote. We made some shirts to promote the effort. To get people excited about Democrats winning again in rural America. To get people excited about voting and organizing and being proud of being from this place in the middle of the country.

Are you excited? You should be.

We compete with bad taste, low expectations, and a world of bland, boring, and busted.

We have high standards. We do not phone it in. We are better suited for some things over others. We are not a one stop shop. We do what we do and let everyone else do what they do. You decide your own level of involvement! We work hard, reasonably. We are the pushers of “the right way to do things” and are open to rule breaking when it’s called for. We want to make it beautiful and interesting and functional. ALWAYS. Our expectations are what we consider to be normal which means our expectations are high. We have taste and know what’s good. We’ve seen plenty of stuff that’s bad out there and we want no part of any of that. We are not what we do but we do take the title of designer seriously. It’s our work. And we wield it as best we can.

Never miss another lecture

We know, it happens. It sucks. Missing out when someone amazing comes to town and delivers an awesome lecture on an interesting topic in a compelling way. You’ve missed out, I’ve missed out. But no more!

Subscribe to the Design Alliance Omaha newsletter. Join our list, stay in the know. Never miss another lecture. Especially Pentagram’s Eddie Opara, whose coming to Omaha March 26th.

Why is this so hard? Because everything is hard now.

The quest to make something meaningful and great. No longer just making. Making with purpose and wanting to keep pushing it. Needing to keep pushing it. Are we out of ideas? No, we are not. But it isn’t easy coming up with this shit. We sweat the small stuff. We lose sleep. We pound the coffee. We think on it until our brain (almost) explodes. We are not satisfied with “good enough” because we don’t want that to be on our tombstone. Instead we want it to say “actually gave a shit, and it showed.”

Trying to get better at asking for what I want

In this case, who I want to work with. So I’m being proactive. Reaching out. Touching base. Etcetera. Which is something I don’t usually do. While I’ve worked with some AMAZING people over the years, and feel very fortunate to have been able to do so, there are still those organizations or ideas or companies out there I’d love to partner with. Full disclosure. This summer I said I was good to go for 4 more years at this independent game. After that, who knows. So in order to go out feeling good after that time, I feel like I have to leave it all on the floor.

Redacted: Logo for America

People seem to care more about political branding these days. Women running are breaking the rules. Graphic design experts are critiquing the Democratic field. Under Consideration is all over that Boot-Edge-Edge brand. From the Obama ‘O’ to the Hillary ‘H,’ politicians investing in their brand has been with us for the last few cycles. But all the buzz and noise and fervor around 2020 makes the branding this time around seem even more important.

Sure, you’re a candidate with a platform and policy ideas, but what’s your logo look like?

Full Case Study »

Know When

Any seasoned designer has the skill of knowing when it’s done. When whatever project needs to be over. No more iterating, exploring, concepting, or otherwise. Nope. Done and done. This includes taking no more feedback from the client. Sorry folks, it’s officially over. We can go on forever but no one wants that. We want to be done. And we want to move on.