Design For Obama book, edited by Spike Lee & Aaron Perry-Zucker w/ an essay by Steven Heller. Click to purchase or for more information.

Hey! Remember the 2008 Presidential Election? The intensity, the rabble-rousing, the way that people were so directly affected to work for their chosen candidates? Well, color me included in that wave. Twice, if you will.

A poster that I designed and printed (my Vote! poster, below, or page 64 in your books!) to help get the word out about Barack Obama in the fall of 2008 was included in a fantastic new book called Design For Obama, published this November by the swell Taschen Books, edited & curated by Spike Lee & Aaron Perry-Zucker with an essay by design steward, Steven Heller.

2-color hand screenprinted poster, Vote! Click for more information or to purchase.

The book is culled from a collection of posters from around the world  that were submitted to and featured on the Design For Obama website before the election of the United States 44th President. Designers interested in the election and wanting to express their take on the entire Obama campaign’s story sent in an amazing series of work. When I became aware of the site, I sent in my own poster, which had already been printed, and in turn I was blown away by the work of hundreds of others who had also been feeling similarly. But don’t take my word for it, here are some of the editors words about their book:

Design/ers for Obama was created when Design Observer essentially asked the question, “how can graphic designers best support Barack Obama?” Our answer ended up extending the question to cover visual communicators at all levels. In addition to supporting Obama for America we jumped at the opportunity to bring the spirit of grassroots style organizing and collaboration to poster design which, to us, meant not only forming communal bonds but sharing the fruits of our efforts equally and in such a way that anyone can enjoy and benefit from (because most of us do not own our own printing presses).

Design for Obama was created by Aaron Perry-Zucker, a senior studying graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design, and was built by Adam Meyer, a senior studying industrial design at said school. This website was inspired and is supported by Design Observer.

Design for Obama book key info for you:

• For more information on the entire Design For Obama project or to see all of the designs, click here. You may also vote & comment on the online gallery of posters, as well as download your favorites in printable formats.
• Design For Obama is now available for purchase at Taschen Books here with a cool virtual leaf-through too.
• Design For Obama is now available for purchase here at Amazon.com
• To share photos of the posters “In the wild” add yours to the Flickr set here.

If you are at all interested in design, art, the intersection of politics, propaganda and the previous, well…I don’t know what you are waiting for, this book is rad. I’m sure that it would make a great gift for the design and political wonks in your life too. Thanks very much to Spike Lee, Aaron Perry-Zucker & Steven Heller for including my poster in your kickass book. Cheers!