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With all the posturing, it’s tough to tell which candidate for the US presidency is going to “bring about change”, so I thought we’d use colour psychology to cut through the crap and see what the candidates are really saying through their website design.

I got the idea from the Boston Globe’s article, which asked some typographers to assess the logos of US presidential candidates.

Today let’s make a similar assessment: what messages do the colours, fonts and logos send? Who’s really about progress, change and growth?

First up, Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton’s website

Colour psychology: what Hillary Clinton’s colours say

While almost all candidates use blue heavily, Hillary goes for a very conservative, corporate blue. It’s the navy blue of a thousand banks and computer businesses. It says old establishment and traditional values.

Blue colour symbolism says:

• trustworthy
• understanding
• calm
• conservative
• masculine

Red, associated with passion and stimulation, is used sparingly, mainly for the “Contribute” buttons. I’ve talked before about how to use warm colours for effective calls to action, where you use reds and oranges to draw the eye to something like a button.

What Clinton’s font and logo says

The font for the logo itself is serif (with hooks and tails on each letter, as opposed to the clean straight endings of serifed fonts), like Times New Roman. Serifed fonts are traditional, harking back to the first newspapers, whereas sans serif fonts like Arial are heavily used on the new media of the web.

Her logo is dull, the same as a thousand others before her.

What Hillary Clinton is really saying

“You can trust me, I’m not going to change a thing. Let’s keep the status quo.”

Barack Obama’s website

Obama’s design is the most sophisticated and youthful, though his colours are still fairly traditional.

Colour psychology: what Barack Obama’s colours say

His colour choices are blue and white. We have medium blue again, but compared to Clinton’s, the blues here are much richer and lighter because of all the white ghost-like light running throughout.

Blue is the colour of wisdom, which ties in nicely to all the candidates’ claims.

What’s different is the liberal use of soft white and the ever-fashionable steel grey as a background, giving a lighter overall feel to the site. Like Hillary, his only use of red is for the “Donate Now” buttons.

White colour symbolism says:

• purity
• truth
• newness
• innocence
• clean

What Obama’s logo and font say

Obama’s font is a modern serif. He’s used all caps, and offset the “O” at the beginning, which gives it a fresh look. It says he’s no clueless stiff — he knows design.

What Barack Obama is really saying

“I’m not tainted by politics. I’ve got vision and new ideas, but I know what I’m doing.”

On to John McCain.

John McCain’s website

A black background, wow. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a political candidate use black. McCain is clearly out to make a bold statement.

Colour psychology: what John McCain’s colours say

Black means power and status. It’s the most dominant of colours.

Black colour symbolism says:

• strength
• potency
• durability
• luxury
• heaviness/weight

Sure, he’s still got a lot of blue going on, a nod to tradition, though he has more red than either Democratic candidate. More fevered passion (red), less intellectual weight (blue).

The colours don’t sit together comfortably — the black background and logo clash with the red/blue of the rest of the site. Much like his maverick tendencies clash with the mainstream of the Republican party.

But I give him credit for taking an unusual path.

What McCain’s logo and font say about change

McCain has one of the most modern font choices, but the militaristic star centred above his name, coupled with the yellow and black colours, makes a very corporate statement. Especially because it reminds me of Sprint’s logo:

Finally, Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney’s website
I admit I was a tad gleeful when I first saw Mitt Romney’s website. From a psychology of colour standpoint, it’s a gem.

Everything about Mitt Romney’s colours say “mindless drone”. Of all the colours you could choose, middle grey (not charcoal, not steel) is the least inspiring.

Medium grey colour symbolism says:

• drab
• conformity
• bland
• neutral

It’s the colour of uniforms and dull depressing days. Add the standard blue and red to the mix, and you’ve got zero innovation.

What Romney’s logo and font say

Serifed font again, all caps but oddly spaced, as if the font wasn’t designed by a professional who knew about tracking (space between letters).

Same rent-a-logo as Clinton.

What Romney is really saying

“I’m terrified of being different, and want to be exactly like everyone else.”

Conclusion: your colours say what you’re about

Well that was fun. It’s probably obvious I’m an Obama supporter, so I was delighted to see that his website design is completely consistent with his message of change and hope. Hillary Clinton’s website is also consistent — with her actual politics, as opposed to what she says. It’s Establishment, status quo and staying the course.

McCain surprised me with the black, but his reputation has been as a maverick, and so it fits. Romney, well, I had no opinion on him and his website just tells me there’s nothing to have an opinion about anyway.

Think I’ll have to do this for every major election.

For more on colour psychology and web design, check out our articles in Learn Good Design.

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