Fast Company Design Debate 2020

A few days after the first 2020 presidential debate, Fast Company reached out with an invitation to a design debate: Can design help win elections? It was a five-day email volley with Scott Starrett, cofounder of Tandem NYC and creative director of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 congressional campaign.

Design for politics is still young. We’re all still figuring it out, but the takeaway is that AOC and Hillary designers agree: Design can help win elections. 

Primary or general, presidential or congressional (or state or local), progressive or moderate, challenger or incumbent, a campaign should not be won with divisiveness and fear. It should be driven by ideas. Running for something is different from running against something. It requires more creativity, more vulnerability, and more optimism. Anyone can point and say “not that.” What requires some bravery and know-how is to say “how about this?” 

Right now, my heart is with the Biden-Harris team. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, they are saying “how about this?” And people are already voting. With my vote, I’ll be saying “yes, that” and hope you will too. 

If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote at iwillvote.com