Warm and clear.

At the start of 2019, I was approached by Doreen Garlid, who was running for elected office for the first time. When we met, she had a color suggestion: a deep, "bipartisan" shade of blue.

I responded by pointing out something important. Her election would be a week before the Democratic presidential primary in Arizona. There'd be a lot of blue, and would looking like often-divisive national politics be a good thing?

I argued no and advocated for a warm coral orange, reminiscent of Papago Park. It was the color decision that bolstered a campaign—and helped it on the road to victory.

Effective and distinctive

The campaign brand was built around the idea of an image as warm and friendly as the candidate, visually distant from the tropes of what would indeed turn out to be a crowded Democratic primary field and closer to home.

Some elements were obvious. The Suncrop, rendered in negative to give dimension in another nod to Papago Park's reddish rocks (and to the City of Tempe logo), added character and interest. Others weren't; the shade of white used in digital applications was not pure #ffffff.

Another key element was producing print materials that were not cluttered. I designed three mailers—which, compared to communications from other mayoral and council candidates that cycle, were easier to read with emphasis on candidate photography—as well as several print advertisements to run in local newspapers.

The campaign was a resounding success. Doreen was elected having received more votes than the two incumbents standing for re-election to one of the three available seats, becoming the first Native American councilmember in Tempe's history.

And then we did it again.

Doreen ran for reelection in March 2024, which gave us a chance to reset and revamp the campaign brand that had worked so well for us in 2020.

The first change was shifting from the orange toward a more coral pink in part to avoid confusion with another politician that used orange as her color. Also incorporated were more subtle nods to Doreen's Navajo background with an accent turquoise and zig-zag motifs. Otherwise, much of the visual identity was retained, in part to retain compatibility with the original coral-orange 2020 campaign signs.

Again, Doreen had the most votes of any council candidate and was elected Vice Mayor by her fellow councilmembers when she was sworn in for a second term in July 2024.