CASE STUDY
State Representative Anna V. Eskamani
Campaign Logo, Website, and Print Design
State Rep. Anna Eskamani describes the meaning and process behind her logo.
Challenge
Create a Meaningful, Memorable Political Brand
When Anna V. Eskamani asked You Should Run to design her first-ever campaign brand for Florida House District 47, she was motivated by years of activism and work to help people in Central Florida. Anna was running to win, and her creative needs were deeply rooted in her personal story.
Anna wanted an iconic logo that could be memorized and drawn by hand, as organizers had done while campaigning for President Barrack Obama at UCF. Anna’s resulting logo and campaign materials reflect her family history, personal identity, and hometown roots in Orlando.
Process
Collaborative Design to Inspire a Community
Anna needed a logo that incorporated many different ideas, so we approached the design process with an experimental mindset – we would try out nearly every graphical direction to see which were working. Our steps focused on typography, symbols, and overall appearance, soliciting frequent feedback from Anna.
Anna’s logo symbolism needed to incorporate something from her mother, Nasrin, who passed away from cancer when Anna was just 13 years old. Nasrin’s maiden name, Vishkaee, also Anna’s middle name, is represented in the “V” at the center. The three stripes on both sides are another reflection of Anna’s Iranian-American identity, and evoke the Faravahar, one of the most well-known symbols of Iranian peoples and Zoroastrianism. Anna wears her mother’s necklace with the symbol every day.
“There are three parts in his wings. It means good deeds, good thoughts, and good words. These are the tenants of my personal life, and also the tenants of our campaign,” Anna said in her logo video.
Anna wanted a blue and white color palette to represent her Democratic values. The logo’s bell-shaped top and wide base also evoke the shape of Orlando’s Lake Eola fountain. It took several revisions and a progression of ideas to arrive at the final design. We also sampled numerous bold typesets, and heavily customized the resulting letterforms.
“We did this logo in an effort to not only tell my story, but to tell the story of Central Florida,” said Anna.
Assets
Bright, Colorful Design Across Print and Web
We created Anna’s print assets and campaign website, providing a platform for online donations and to share Anna’s story and mission. The media began with amazing photography by Rob Bartlett of Bartlett Image. We attended two days of shoots and co-organized attire and volunteers.
You Should Run trained campaign staff and interns to add blog posts and edit pages. This allowed Anna’s campaign staff to have full control and working knowledge of how to use the website’s backend.
Finally, we created Anna’s online merchandise store, which fundraises and fulfills orders automatically.
Outcome
An Inspiring Victory, a Lasting Movement
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani made history as the first Iranian-American elected to any public office in Florida. After winning her first election in 2018 with 57% of the vote, she won reelection in 2020 with 59%. Anna has been nominated by the Orlando Sentinel as “Central Floridian of the Year” for 2021, an accolade rarely given to elected officials.
Anna’s leadership and action during the pandemic, especially by assisting thousands of Floridians with unemployment assistance, have led to efforts to recruit her to run for governor. Volunteers and donors can contribute through Anna’s political committee, People Power for Florida.
