Brand Identity
Anabel Mendoza was a first-time congressional candidate in Illinois’ 7th District, running in a highly competitive field where most campaigns used similar political design language. The goal was to build a brand that felt immediately distinct while still credible and campaign-ready.
We built the visual direction around Anabel’s identity as a proud Latina and Chicagoan, drawing inspiration from Mexican art, papel picado, and corner store signage to create a bold, recognizable system rooted in place and community.
I began by auditing competitor campaigns and identifying common visual patterns like light blue palettes and familiar patriotic motifs. This opened a clear opportunity to create something more distinctive.
Logo Suite
The logo system was designed to be flexible, recognizable, and easy to deploy across a wide range of campaign materials. A responsive suite of lockups ensured the identity could scale from social media profile photos to large-format signage without losing impact.
We also created a complete Spanish-language version of the system, ensuring the campaign could communicate authentically with both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences while maintaining a consistent visual identity across all applications.
Typography
Because this brand is for a grassroots campaign, we needed to choose high-quality free fonts that aren’t overused. Type designer Matthew Hinders-Anderson designed “fonts for a progressive future” that we chose as the primary and body typefaces.
Mort is a bold and different display sans, so it makes a statement in headings.
Klima harmonizes with Mort and is highly legible as body text.
Protest Riot evokes handwritten signage and stands out as accent text.
Color
We chose cobalt & lime as bold primary brand colors, navy & white as high-contrast secondary brand colors, and pink & red as accent colors. This juxtaposition of patriotic colors against zingy neon pink and lime feels fresh and bold but is still easy to recognize as political campaign branding.
Illustrations & Patterns
Custom illustrations, patterns, flourishes, and graphic accents helped bring the brand to life. Inspired by papel picado, Mexican tile work, and Chicago corner store signage, these elements added warmth and personality while creating a visual system that felt uniquely tied to Anabel's story and values.
Photography
We wanted photography that felt professional while still capturing Anabel's warmth, authenticity, and the campaign's youthful energy.
As Creative Director on set, I coordinated the shoot, directed shot priorities, and ensured we captured content that could scale across social, web, fundraising, and print. I also selected and edited the final images to maintain a cohesive visual identity.
Creative Direction
Final Photography
Web Design
When I joined the campaign, an initial website had already been built using the RUN! platform. Rather than rebuilding from scratch, I focused on improving the user experience within the platform's limitations. The redesign strengthened visual consistency, clarified messaging, and streamlined key actions such as volunteering and donating.
Social Media
Political campaigns move fast. Working closely with writers, videographers, and campaign leadership, I helped create templates and workflows that supported daily content production across Instagram, TikTok, X, Bluesky, Facebook, fundraising efforts, and field organizing initiatives.
Video content filmed by Jon Anderson and José Pérez. Editing responsibilities were shared.
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