POTUS Typographicus

I don’t follow architecture or interior design intimately like some other designers do, but I certainly have an appreciation for it. I’ve read The Fountainhead, and the Interior Decorators of Texas is actually one of my clients. I also subscribe to Metropolis.

In the current May 2006 issue there’s a great article by Steven Heller adressing the issue of the typographical graphics that adorn the background of the President’s public addresses. Steven calls it POTUS Typographicus, and makes a great point that due to President Bush’s “less-than-commanding oratorical style” the current administration must feel a need to use these visual aids as if they were cue cards to summarize and drive the point home.

Heller does mention that no other president before Bush has done this, yet Reagan had done something similar. Anytime President Reagan was on T.V. or on a stage or somewhere that could be staged, there was always an American flag (or five) in the background. This was a planned strategy by the Reagan administration to use the flag as a branding tool to instill a sense of patriotism for American viewers everywhere, thus heightening Reagan’s popularity and removing any doubt as to what came out of his mouth as anything less than American. Frank Miller, in his Dark Knight Returns graphic novel (good luck trying to find any of the four original issues for under $35 apiece), has a futuristic Reagan continuing as President and addressing the nation with (you guessed it) stars and stripes and American flags in just about every frame Reagan is in. I would venture a guess that Miller also understood Reagan’s American branding technique, therefore incorporating it into his illustrations.

Heller also touches on the aspect that communication happens even when you’re trying not to communicate, such as the use of an “expressionless serif font for the slogan ‘Compassion in Action’ which actually removes any hint of ingenuousness from the word compassion.” I do wish he drilled down a little further and really dissected what the typographics actually communicate (in his words). It’s a good article though, so go pick up your copy today.