Currently, the conversation around voting in Puerto Rico is stale. Being born and raised in the island I was able to experience first hand how every four years we would see new people in office but not much else. Through design, Votemos aims to shift the narrative around Puerto Rico’s local politics by empowering Puerto Ricans so they can cast a conscious vote in 2020 and years to come.

Change does not happen overnight. Now, design can help captivate the viewers attention and allows them to see that there’s a different approach for when we talk about politics. I decided to dig back to educational content which was designed to engage audiences. Schoolhouse Rock!, vintage election posters and protest posters, along with personable type helped me see how my idea was starting to get a personality.

Before I could go any further with the Votemos identity I needed to hear from Puerto Ricans. I started reading local and international papers that spoke about the political climate in Puerto Rico. Through this research I was able to create a survey in hopes to capture some thoughts around the current political conversation. To my surprise, Puerto Ricans in the island and in the United States answered the survey and I was able to collect different perspectives that gave life to the brand.

In addition to this research friends and colleagues shared with me various voting platforms that were encouraging people to vote for the mid-term elections. As I studied their language and design approach I began to notice how it is possible to create a nonpartisan platform that encourages people to learn more, understand the power behind voting, and bring others along.

While I gathered my research and survey feedback I started sketching out ideas of what the identity for Votemos was going to look like. Approachable, engaging, and motivational were some of the words that kept coming to mind as I put the graphic identity together.

Focusing on the letter “V” helped me to also pick a typeface for the brand. I tested a few typefaces but always kept coming back to “Recoleta”. This typeface is a Latino Type typeface which complements the overall concept. I loved how Recoleta combines a variety of elements—I’ll quote from MyFonts description “from various popular 1970s typefaces—such as the soft and gentle shapes found in Cooper or the fluid, angled strokes in Windsor— mixed into one single design that features familiar, yet fresh, modern flavors. I also decided to add Adobe Garamond Pro, another serif typeface which balances the design.

To add a little bit more character to Recoleta, I took some inspiration from 60’s and 70’s protest posters and decided to give it a little bit more depth by adding a thin layered silhouette to the typeface.

In addition to a friendly logo, color is crucial for this campaign because it brings life to the overall brand. Color was definitely a challenge I had to overcome. I originally started with pastel colors, then jumped to very vibrant reds and blues, and then landed on two pastel colors, the buttermilk and charcoal.

I decided to find a local design group that could help me bring “Votemos” closer to life. After watching a documentary about Puerto Rico in recovery I was inspired by Luis A. Vázquez O’Neill's, from DD-Diseño, comment around how his studio values design. I decided to reach out to the studio via email and find a way to partner with them. Luis Díaz, Design Director at DD-Diseño, reached out to me and we were able to discuss my project and aspirations for it. He offered to provide feedback throughout the semester and considered the project to be a needed initiative in Puerto Rico.

I also reached out to my colleagues, Jamie Millard & Melanie Walby, whom formed part of the 2017 This Is MPLS Voter Guide. This Is Mpls is a non-partisan voter guide compiled by staff of Voices for Racial Justice, designed by Pollen Midwest with music from Rhymesayers Entertainment. Their feedback was very helpful because it provided additional direction mid-project.

One of their pieces of feedback that really stood out to me was “Think about the roles of humans throughout this campaign. Consider human photography. Have Puerto Ricans see themselves in the campaign.” This comment opened a new chapter in my design process that I hadn’t considered before and so I started reaching out to Puerto Rican photographers in the island.

To be honest, for a little bit, I had a difficult time finding a photographer who could help out. I reached back to Luis and he was able to put me in contact with an incredible, local, photographer who was willing to help me out. Eduardo (Waldi) Martínez and I discussed the project and he offered to share with me his images throughout my project. His images now live in the Votemos website.

Based on my survey, 95% of people said they consume all their information online. Votemos is a digital campaign where all the content is displayed in Spanish and is geared towards Puerto Ricans who have a desire to learn more.

For Votemos I have decided to design and create a brand identity, an online platform where people can access from anywhere, merchandise, a motion graphics video, personal photo repertoire, and a social campaign via Instagram.

There’s still a lot of ground to cover.

I left the island in 2013 not knowing if I’d ever come back. As mentioned, I got back from Puerto Rico last Wednesday and I left the island with a feeling of coming back to do something. To put all my learnings and efforts back to the Puerto Rican community. Currently, I’m building the foundation and pouring my vision and hopes and dreams into the work. From coming up with the concept to actually executing the vision has been worth every minute I have spent on Votemos. I’ve also learned that Votemos doesn’t have to do it all. I want it to serve as a campaign for inspiration and hope. It has definitely brought me closer to my island and I have really enjoyed building professional relationships with creative designers back home and in Minnesota. Even though the Capstone is coming to an end, I am excited to continue this project back home.