Convention unveils logo for Milwaukee event
Blue for the Democratic Party. Patriotism. Wisconsin’s state motto, “Forward.”
Designers say those are some of the inspirations for the new logo of the 2020 Democratic National Convention that was unveiled Monday.
The logo was designed by Zero Studios, which has offices in Milwaukee and New York. It will likely be all over the city during the convention, which will be held July 13-16, and in the five months leading up to the event.
The team from Zero said its designers created the logo and other visual elements for the convention after meeting with Milwaukee college students to talk about what values, symbols and landmarks best represent Wisconsin.
Chelsea Goldwell, partner and creative director at Zero Studios and a Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design alum, said many at Zero grew up in Milwaukee and saw designing the logo as an opportunity to share with the rest of the country what makes Wisconsin special.
“A value that everyone brought up was just the sense of community within Wisconsin and Milwaukee, especially, I think how friendly everyone is to one another. And the community around winter and how everyone sort of helps one another out and, and, you know, works through it, shovels for one another,” she said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. “That sense of community and friendliness was something that we really wanted to bring forward in the design, make sure it felt really welcoming and inviting.”
She added that the team also wanted to convey “the optimism that guides us,” in Wisconsin.
Some DNC 2020 merchandise, such as buttons, will feature bright blue and red, as well as gold.
“It’s the color that kind of comes up in lots of places, in the Hoan Bridge as well as the People’s Flag of Milwaukee, as well as cheese and beer and lots of other just cultural aspects within the city. And so we felt like it was something that was important to incorporate from that perspective,” Goldwell said. “As well as the warmth it brought to the feeling of the overall identity.”
Steve Kodis, a senior designer at Zero in Milwaukee, has also helped lead the push to make the People’s Flag the official flag of the City of Milwaukee.
This DNC logo and other merchandise will not replace the logo for the DNC host committee. Both will be used in the lead up to the event. The host committee is the group in charge of raising money and recruiting volunteers to stage the convention.
The host committee’s logo is dominated by a large M that represents two people connecting, and the word “Milwaukee” in capital letters.