Our work on the Irish Presidential Election Campaign 2011

Mike’s work as Design consultant and Designer for Michael D. Higgins Presidential Election Campaign 2011.

Ireland has a new President and Factory Edge Design was delighted to help. Starting in March 2011, I joined the campaign to have Michael D. Higgins elected president. Initially my role was driver/runner/general volunteer for getting the campaign on the road. Come June 2011 and Michael D. got the Labour Party nomination for president and the work started to fly in.

After initial bouts of lengthy back-and-forths between printers and the campaign, I was called in to begin consultation on a lot of the design that went through the Galway Campaign HQ. This began with the personal Letterhead of Michael D and a suggestion for the typeface to use in the campaign. With the campaign getting underway, the next orders off the press were Business Card and Flyers (excellently designed by iSupply, Galway). My role in these was merely adjusting technical elements and proof reading / improving copy, but it demanded quick competence, making minor adjustments on behalf of the campaign committee and Higgins family. As the election progressed this became consultation on larger, more important pieces of design, all made by excellent Irish designers, who sometimes didn’t have the benefit of insight into the campaign that I had from the Galway office but mostly nailed it.

As the campaign moved along, I’d be told the campaign needs a newspaper ad or poster and I might not get the copy until midnight before the deadline, due to last minute discussions to ensure the ad was on-message.  Other times I’d have to come in and do up a critique report of work delivered by other designers, proposing alternatives. It was high-intensity, high profile work but the level of collaboration and spirit of teamwork in the campaign office made for a really satisfying and enjoyable environment to do it in. It was all worth it to be involved.