New York — The bright blue campaign signs with bold orange lettering were impossible to miss as Zahran Mamdani made his historic and unlikely run for mayor of New York City this summer.
On storefront windows and telephone poles from Queens to the Bronx, “Zahran for New York City” signs stood out from the standard red, white and blue slogans of the campaign. Many saw the lettering as an intentional reference to old Bollywood posters – a subtle nod to Mamdani’s Indian heritage.
But Anish Bhupathi, the Philadelphia-based graphic designer behind the elements, said the campaign also drew from the vibrant primary colors that help bodegas, yellow cabs, hot dog vendors and other small businesses stand out amid the city’s hustle and bustle.
The stylized font — with a drop shadow effect and vintage comic book look — was meant to evoke the old-school, hand-drawn signs that can still be found in some neighborhoods, he said.
“In a nutshell, it’s New York,” said Bhupathi, who previously lived in New York and helped with previous campaigns for Mamdani and the Queens chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
She was also a pioneer.
Mamdani’s main opponent, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, even made a rebranding midway through the campaign. The Democrat initially launched his mayoral bid using a red, white and blue color scheme and a simple font, reminiscent of the bumper stickers used by President John F. Kennedy in 1960.
But after his defeat by Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June, Cuomo began his general election campaign as an independent candidate by rolling out a new logo featuring a silhouette of the Statue of Liberty’s crown and a new color scheme: blue and orange — Mamdani’s colors, but also those of the Knicks and Mets.
Mamdani, who will be the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, is the son of two prominent Indian-American figures, Mehmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor, and director Mira Nair, known for “Monsoon Wedding” and other Hollywood films.
The campaign’s aesthetic wasn’t just stylistic, notes David Chwitek, a professor of digital media and graphic design at Lehman College, a city-owned college in the Bronx.
“It evokes the working-class fabric of New York City: the bodegas, taxis, and halal carts that not only support the city but also reflect its cultural richness,” he said.
The retro vibe is also certainly likely to help foster “positive associations with happier political times,” at least among Democratic voters, suggested Gavan Fitzsimmons, a business professor at Duke University who studies the influence of brands on voters and consumers.
“It feels like something from an earlier era, an earlier time when politics were less divisive and Democrats were perhaps more organized and more successful,” he said.
Richard Flanagan, a political science professor at the College of Staten Island, said the branding is reminiscent of the signature campaign line that became a calling card for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another young New York liberal who achieved political fame.
Likewise, the Democrat’s poster boy during her stunning 2018 victory over U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley for a seat representing parts of Queens and the Bronx drew from her heritage and working-class New York.
The brightly colored, upward-slanted lettering reminded some of prewar labor union designs and others of Mexican “Lucha libre” pamphlets, especially since it included the inverted exclamation mark used in written Spanish.
It’s difficult to say how much the campaign photos contributed to Mamdani’s success, but they certainly made him recognizable and memorable in a field initially crowded with mayoral candidates, said Kurt Stroud, a marketing professor at New York University.
“The playfulness of his campaign design created a brand that supporters wanted to wear and share,” he said. “Mamdani’s team showed how using visual design as a secret handshake can make politics feel real and community-oriented.”
It’s also too early to say whether Mamdani’s campaign designs will ultimately have the same staying power nationally as Ocasio-Cortez’s signature look, which has since become a staple of the progressive candidate’s branding, campaign experts said.
“It’s still rare for candidates to stray from the tried-and-true red, white and blue,” said Lisa Burns, a media studies professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. “I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
Certainly, the popularity of Mamdani’s designs was evident during the New York City mayoral race, which helped inspire Anomalous viral campaigns Such as “Zahran’s Hot Girls” merchandise. Worn by model Emily Ratajkowski And other young celebrities.
The most important thing I learned from Mamdani’s visual impact is that effective branding is not generic or safe, but specific and intentional, Chwitek said.
“In a sea of sanitized political messages, Mamdani’s images stand out because they mean something,” he said. “That’s the lesson.”
Bhupathi added that a good campaign design should remain relevant to the candidate.
“None of the boldness and energy here can succeed without a candidate who is as energetic and energetic as the city that raised him,” he said.
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Follow Philippe Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo