The Design Behind the Biden-Harris 2020 Campaign Logo

November 2, 2020
Authored by:
Emily
Featuring:

We have currated responses from experts in the political and graphic design fields to discuss the Biden-Harris logo. While there are various versions floating around, the white background version is the one used on the JoeBiden.com website. If you are looking for a full-size svg of the Biden Harris 2020 campaign logo, the best place we have found is the version on the Wikipedia page for their campaign, specifically here at this url: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Biden_Harris_logo.svg

Harris was announced as Biden's running mate in August 2020 and made history as the fourth woman to be included in a major party's presidential campaign logo. The other three were Geraldine Ferraro, Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton. The stylized E in the logo is very trendy, and we have seen many modern logos using the three horizontal stripes to replace an upper-case letter e.

Some say that the three red stripes in the E harken back to the three red stripes used in the Obama campaign.

The font type is called "Decimal" and is available for licensing at Typography.com Biden's solo campaign logo used the Brother 1816 font style, and also included the stylized E. Replacing President with Harris is the simple change that allows for a smooth connection from his solo logo through to the joint campaign logo.

Biden's Solo Campaign Logo Before Harris

We reached out for comments about the Biden Harris logo and are honored to have a diverse panel. This includes an anonymous comment direct from a Senior Campaign Staffer for an alternative presidential candidate. We are sworn to secrecy but have verified that the contributor is indeed who they say they are.

Lori Ferber The Design Behind The Biden-Harris Campaign Logo

Lori Ferber

The Biden Harris 2020 logo campaign posters and buttons on our political collectibles website are outselling our Donald Trump items 3 to 1. In 2016 it was the exact opposite. Strong logos make a difference.

By the way in 2016 Hillary Clinton's campaign sent us a cease and desist letter for selling buttons with her logo on them. Hillary trademarked the logo for a variety of items, including dog bowls (really!). The Biden Harris campaign obviously realized that the more times the logo was seen the better it was for their campaign since they never complained.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli The Design Behind The Biden-Harris Campaign Logo

Anne-Marie Emanuelli

As a long-time graphic designer and art director, I like the Biden Harris logo design for 2020. The three lines of the letter E is a patriotic symbol of the red stripes of the US flag. The stripes follow the curve of the D before it which is a clean and modern design touch, and the red color stands out against the Democratic Party blue of the logo. The Decimal type font is a progressive-looking sans serif appropriate for this modern time period (2020) and a wink to Obama's logo font (Gotham) designed by the same foundry, Hoefler & Co. Furthermore, since these names are almost balanced, they both get equal billing in the logo, with BIDEN just a little bigger which is appropriate for the POTUS position he is seeking.

Suzy Wagner The Design Behind The Biden-Harris Campaign Logo

Suzy Wagner

The Biden Harris logo achieves 3 things with those 3 bold red lines – which easily evolve the logo from the familiar “E” in Joe to the “E” in Biden, making the logo more versatile. First, it’s “America.” Placed against the rounded D – it immediately evokes the American flag. By selecting the red, they’re connecting with the 13 original colonies – and the unifying spirit that brought them together. The Biden campaign seeks to unify the country. Second, “3” is the brand of his campaign. When the logo is placed over the 2020 it connects with Biden’s pitch. Text 30330. Finally, the shape and size of the red lines suggests motion. Like his frequently mentioned tales of riding the rails, Biden moves us forward. It’s solid in its simplicity.

Senior Campaign Staffer for Alternative Presidential Candidate The Design Behind the Biden-Harris Campaign Logo

Senior Campaign Staffer for Alternative Presidential Candidate

Biden/Harris's logo visually communicates the values of Joe Biden's campaign: Bipartisanship, coming together, and a return to normalcy. As far as political logos go, Biden easily had the most conventional logo in this cycle's packed primary field. But his logo succeeds precisely because it communicates that, and it's exactly what voters are looking for right now—coming together and a return to normalcy.

Lori Ferber

We are a 43+ year old family business specializing in presidential campaign memorabilia.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is a long-time graphic designer and former art director of Emanuelli Advertising Design in Taos, NM. She studied graphic and communication design at the University of Denver (CO; BFA 1983) and Pratt Institute (NYC; MS 1989). Prior to changing careers due to choosing to start a family, she was advertising, web and graphic designer at The Taos News (1984-1994) and Emanuelli Advertising Design 1994-2005. EMAD was one of the original graphics and web design companies in northern New Mexico, when the Internet came to the area in 1995.

In 2020, she has creatively changed careers once again (timely as it were due to the pandemic) as Creative Director and founder of Mindful Frontiers. Recently retired after 25 years as a classroom teacher, she founded Mindful Frontiers to offer guidance, online courses, and coaching for families, adults, and educators seeking the benefits of mindful meditation. Her background in mindfulness and meditation includes credentials from MindfulSchools.org in curriculum, difficult emotions, compassion and mindful communication.

Suzy Wagner

A media, advertising, and public relations dynamo, with experience that spans TIME Magazine, Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and Edelman Public Relations, Suzy is the person you want on your team when you have a communications problem to solve; a brand to build or a business to grow. Throughout her 25+ year career in Washington DC, Suzy has worked with almost every household name as well as with government and defense clients. Her energy and can-do attitude are contagious. Building smart strategies focused on ROI and with an eye on the bottom line, Suzy loves nothing more than creating programs that will drive success for your organization. Success is measured differently for each client. Suzy creates custom solutions -- building your brand; elevating awareness through high profile media; growing your social media channels or producing new content to reach key stakeholder audiences. “Brand and Buzz” is what she does.

Senior Campaign Staffer for Alternative Presidential Candidate