Changethethought

The Design Director of the Obama campaign, Scott Thomas contacted me several months back about a project he was putting together to chronicle the grass roots art and design contributions toward the historical campaign. The finished product is shaping up to be something really special. The book is 360 pages and hardbound. They are currently accepting donations to print the book and will only print as many books that are ordered. You can read more about the project at the official website.

Some of the work I created over the course of the campaign (that is still free for download on this site) will be in the book. Some of the same work was also recently featured in another book: Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change.

The participating artists from the book:
Justin Hampton, Aaron Allen, Aaron Axelrod, Aaron Nagel, Eddie, Adam Culbert, AG Ford, Armando Lerma, Carlos Ramirez, Michelle Page, Amanda Martin, Annie Weatherwax, Ben Speckmann, Billi Kid, Delicious Design League, Brett Yasko, Brian Flynn, Christopher Smith, Caleb Kozlowski, Chad Mize, Chuck Anderson, Cody Hudson, Christopher Beaumont, Derek Gores, Deroy Peraza, Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, Erika Iris Simmons, EMEK Studios, Emily Gallardo, Evan Bench, Felix Jackson. Jr, Frank Chimero, Graye Smith, Paula Scher, Greg Beauchamp, Gui Borchert, George Vlosich III, Greg Vlosich, Lance Wille, Aaron Meshon, Herb Williams, Christopher Cox, Jonathan Hoefler, Michael Murphy, Alex Fuller, Antar Dayal, Derek Hess, Martin Schoeller, Armando Lerma, and Carlos Ramirez, Leon Bedore, Reuben Raffael, Billy Baumann & Jason Teegarden-Downs, Jason Munn, Jeff Domke, Jimm Lasser, John Locke, John Steins, John Sokol, Judy North, Ales Bask Hostomsky, Josh Wisdumb, Jessica Witkin, Kishore Nallan C, Ratha Sok, Lance Wyman, Larry Roibal, Michael Leavitt, Mr Brainwash, Margaret Coble, Adam S Doyle, Michael Forbes, Manick Sorcar, Marc Scheff, Marco Pece, Mason Fetzer, Max Estes, James O’Brien, Melvin Heng, Michael Jacob, Don Garcia, Christina Alexandra, Oliver Barrett, Gugger Petter, Phillip Clark, Frank Plant, Rafael Lopez, Ray Noland, Renan Molin, René Garcia, Jr., Robert Haining, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, Ron English, Russell Young, Steve Deer, Rick Sealock, Shana Barry, Shawn Hazen, Shannon Moore, James Widener, Sofia Fridman, Melinda Beck, Scott Hansen, Thomas Brodahl, Todd Hirsch, Todd and Cain Benson, Tristan Eaton, Charis Tsevis, Ralph Ueltzhoeffer, Van Monroe, Wade Hampton, Wes Winship, Zara Gonzalez, Zilly Rosen, Zina Saunders

Is it just me or have we lost some steam since the amazing days of the campaign? It seems now that we are as mired as we ever were. Where did our voices go? Why did we stop after he got elected? Wasn’t that just the beginning? I guess I need to get off my ass and start doing some political design work again.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Designing Obama, Graphic Design, Scott Thomas

Tuesday will be an important earmark in American history as Obama will take office and put a new face on the American body politic. We have come a very long way since Bush was first inaugurated in what seems like a lifetime ago. I wish very badly I could have been in Washington for this historic day but just living here in Denver during the DNC was special enough. I am thankful for having been here in that special place in time.

As much as I want to just drown myself in the excitement and hype of the inauguration, I still feel very troubled about where both America and the world are right now. It has become impossible to ignore the dire straights we are in and even more impossible to know what to do about it. We so desperately need real leadership right now to put America back to task. I cannot admit to having much faith in our political system or leaders at this point, but I do still believe in the American people. I do think we are good at heart and truly want to make the world better, but we have lost our way these last few years. The best thing for us now would be for Obama and his administration to help lead us back to collectively working to solve some of the issues we face.

I am in no way claiming that we are helpless sheep, but we elect our officials for a reason, and that reason is to provide a constructive leadership that improves both our national situation and global situation. However, we have let our officials get away with too much for too long and part of the reconstruction process of our government will have to include prosecuting the politicians who have been operating and continue to operate outside of the law. Corruption has become the norm and real effective change that benefits the working class cannot happen under the watch of greedy, corrupt and criminal politicians.

Obama will only be as good a leader as we push him to be. If we expect a savior who will work while we continue to drown ourselves in debt and excess then we will be sorely disappointed and continue to spiral into apathy. We cannot afford this any longer and we must both elect better representatives and force them to be responsible. The government should fear the people and not the other way around. It is easy to say this but it must also be backed by action. If this means protesting in the streets, then so be it. We control this country, not them, and it is time that we use the law to remind them of that. Corrupt politicians and white collar criminals in this country should suffer penalties that are equal to their crimes. As far as I am concerned some of the worst offenders deserve no less than life sentences in prison for the damage they have inflicted on the economy and in turn a massive amount of people, including people outside of our borders.

It has become much harder for the working class in this country over the last decade and it keeps getting harder. We have been living out of league with sustainability for too long, and I think now we are feeling the result of that lifestyle. Hopefully we can learn to fare with less from here on out. It is painful though to see so many people becoming so disproportionately rich that it is beginning to topple the middle class in America. The middle class is and always will be the solid backbone of this country, and without it America will fail. As exiting as it has been to see Obama’s inaugural celebrations, it does stick in the back of the middle class Americans’ throat to see the front rows of the events lined by the rich and famous, when it seems those rows should have been saved for the working class people who went out of their way to make sure Obama reached the highest office of the government. Those people did not have the luxury of donating large sums to Obama, but instead paid him with time away from families they were trying to support and jobs they need to survive. I am not so blind that I do not see how it is those very rich and liberal people that the conservatives feel are completely out of touch with average Americans, and how they are angered by their access to everything while that access is denied the rest of us. It will be up to Obama to balance out his relations with the rich and famous in a way that he can still remain the peoples’ president and not lose touch with the average American. I hope he can do this because if he cannot, I fear people will not follow his lead. I hope to live to see the day that celebrity will not be so celebrated. It would serve us better to start sincerely rewarding our teachers, thinkers and scientists instead of those who entertain and sometimes distract us. If we continue to refuse to do this then America will continue to fade into the background of the continually progressing outside world.

Through it all, I remain optimistic because there is only one alternative that is not worth consideration. I am ready to work to make this country better, and I know I am not alone. The world and America are in desperate need of healing, and I fear we are losing precious time. Lets lift this administration up and force it to hold it’s mantle while we work to put this country back into the hands of the people it belongs to and was created for. Congratulations to Mr. Obama, and while we behold this historical day, let us do so in productive spirit as now is the time to turn the page of history and stop talking about change and make it happen for real.

written by Christopher | tags: , Barack Obama, Inaguration, January 20, Politics

An interesting interview is available at the NY Times from the man, Sol Sender (Senderllc.com/) who put the famous ‘O’ in the Obama brand.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Graphic Design, Politics, Steven Heller

Obamamania rages on and you can quench your thirst by downloading some pretty sweet free Obama dingbats here. Pretty cool graphics to be giving away.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Graphic Design, Obama Dingbats, Type

I know a lot of you out there get upset when I write about politics, but tonight I will just have to ignore that. To me this moment in the history of the country in which I was born means more to me.

Tonight really overwhelmed me. As an American and as an American who still loves this country but has been wounded by watching such a dismal last few years unfold, I really do pray with all my heart that this is a step in a new direction. For being such an influence on the global politic, as a young person it has been hard for me to watch other parts of the world make important steps towards progress while America has lagged behind. We still have a very very long way to go, but I feel that this really is an important step.

I have never seen so much energy directed toward something like this election in all my life. It was amazing seeing so many young people finally wake up and get involved. I only hope this is just a start and we will only see more and more young people take up their civic duty and not only vote but contribute to the electoral process in this county.

We did it. We worked hard. We hoped and toiled against some very hard odds and we did it. We finally elected our first black president. I have prayed that I would one day live to see this day in my life. I worked all weekend on graphics for MoveOn.org that were created for if Obama won the election (you can see two of those graphics above).

It scared the hell out of me because I felt like the person who must be responsible for creating all of the paraphernalia for the team expected to win the World Series only to have to watch them lose on game day. It made me all the more tense and I had no idea how I would react tonight if Obama won. The moment it was announced I burst into tears.

It is important to note that John McCain gave a wonderful speech tonight that revealed his true character and his love for this country. He showed true heart tonight and was incredibly gracious.

I think it is just impossible if you live in the United States to ignore the importance of this moment. I hope we can find a way to once again unify this divided country and heal the rift that has lately divided us. I sincerely do.

My sincerist congratulations to those of you out there to whom this means so much. And to those who do not agree with Obama or his policies, I sincerely hope we can find a way to begin to work together and try to make this country better. It is going to take everyone, not just one side versus the other. We need unity now more than ever before.

Now lets move forward. We have an incredible amount of work to do and this is only the beginning.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Obama Wins, President Obama, The 44th President

I just found the photographs of Time photojournalist Callie Shell fantastic. There are some really amazing moments captured along the rise of the Obama campaign and some sincere personality really comes across, especially in the moments shared within the immediate Obama family.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Calie Shell, Obama Photos, Photography, Time