Changethethought™

The Design Director of the Obama campaign, Scott Thomas contacted me several months back about a project he was putting together to chronicle the grass roots art and design contributions toward the historical campaign. The finished product is shaping up to be something really special. The book is 360 pages and hardbound. They are currently accepting donations to print the book and will only print as many books that are ordered. You can read more about the project at the official website.

Some of the work I created over the course of the campaign (that is still free for download on this site) will be in the book. Some of the same work was also recently featured in another book: Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change.

The participating artists from the book:
Justin Hampton, Aaron Allen, Aaron Axelrod, Aaron Nagel, Eddie, Adam Culbert, AG Ford, Armando Lerma, Carlos Ramirez, Michelle Page, Amanda Martin, Annie Weatherwax, Ben Speckmann, Billi Kid, Delicious Design League, Brett Yasko, Brian Flynn, Christopher Smith, Caleb Kozlowski, Chad Mize, Chuck Anderson, Cody Hudson, Christopher Beaumont, Derek Gores, Deroy Peraza, Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, Erika Iris Simmons, EMEK Studios, Emily Gallardo, Evan Bench, Felix Jackson. Jr, Frank Chimero, Graye Smith, Paula Scher, Greg Beauchamp, Gui Borchert, George Vlosich III, Greg Vlosich, Lance Wille, Aaron Meshon, Herb Williams, Christopher Cox, Jonathan Hoefler, Michael Murphy, Alex Fuller, Antar Dayal, Derek Hess, Martin Schoeller, Armando Lerma, and Carlos Ramirez, Leon Bedore, Reuben Raffael, Billy Baumann & Jason Teegarden-Downs, Jason Munn, Jeff Domke, Jimm Lasser, John Locke, John Steins, John Sokol, Judy North, Ales Bask Hostomsky, Josh Wisdumb, Jessica Witkin, Kishore Nallan C, Ratha Sok, Lance Wyman, Larry Roibal, Michael Leavitt, Mr Brainwash, Margaret Coble, Adam S Doyle, Michael Forbes, Manick Sorcar, Marc Scheff, Marco Pece, Mason Fetzer, Max Estes, James O’Brien, Melvin Heng, Michael Jacob, Don Garcia, Christina Alexandra, Oliver Barrett, Gugger Petter, Phillip Clark, Frank Plant, Rafael Lopez, Ray Noland, Renan Molin, René Garcia, Jr., Robert Haining, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, Ron English, Russell Young, Steve Deer, Rick Sealock, Shana Barry, Shawn Hazen, Shannon Moore, James Widener, Sofia Fridman, Melinda Beck, Scott Hansen, Thomas Brodahl, Todd Hirsch, Todd and Cain Benson, Tristan Eaton, Charis Tsevis, Ralph Ueltzhoeffer, Van Monroe, Wade Hampton, Wes Winship, Zara Gonzalez, Zilly Rosen, Zina Saunders

Is it just me or have we lost some steam since the amazing days of the campaign? It seems now that we are as mired as we ever were. Where did our voices go? Why did we stop after he got elected? Wasn’t that just the beginning? I guess I need to get off my ass and start doing some political design work again.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Designing Obama, Graphic Design, Scott Thomas

I just saw this posted at Surfstation and decided (after reading a passionately written post) to listen to a talk by Gordon Brown as part of a recent TED conference. Brown delivers a really unique talk for a man in his position and really espouses some unusual views on how he believes the world is being shaped by emerging technology. The juxt of his position being that we are now in a unique era where we have a genuine opportunity for real change driven by people who are able to connect instantaneously. It’s a ballsy thing to put into the stream of consciousness from a politician but that is exactly why it is hard not to take it as a genuinely heart felt cry for real change and progress.

written by Christopher | tags: Gordon Brown, Internet, Politics, Technology, TED

Good Magazine is suggesting the idea that organs could be harvested from death row inmates. Currently no plan for something like this exists within the United States. It’s a dicey issue considering strong feeling about capital punishment. Personally, I am against it. Although I know there is absolutely no way I could ever understand what it would be like to lose a loved one to murder. I have had someone in my family nearly die in an accident and that forever changed my outlook on life and the value of life. It’s been hard for me ever since to side with terminating another person’s life for any reason. To me, it highlights a flaw within our societal makeup that is not addressed by capital punishment. It cuts the weed but doesn’t pull the root.

So, what do you think? Does this sound like a good idea? Good is suggesting, so long as we have capital punishment, it might as well be used to save lives in turn even though one is lost through the saving. It sounds like a smart idea to me and I know it could help a lot of people but it is hard for me to get around my personal feelings toward capital punishment.

written by Christopher | tags: Capital Punishment, Death Row Organ Harvesting, Good Magazine

Great photos of Barack Obama taken while a freshmen at
Occidental College. It’s nice to finally have a president with a bit of style!

Taken from The Stimulist

written by Aaron Ray | tags: Barack Obama, Lisa Jack, The Stimulist

Happy Earth Day everyone. Keep it green. As soon as I am finally unpacked and moved into my new home, I am going to be looking for green alternatives for power. Do what you can, the world needs it now.  Thank you to Katrina 2353 whose photo I used after a quick search for ‘Earth’ on Compfight. She has some beautiful photos of beautiful places in her Flickr-folio.

You can visit the Earth Day Network website here to find out more about what is going on and what you can do.

written by Christopher

Well, if the Whitehouse website is any indication of Obama’s intention to ‘get things done’ we might actually be in for some real changes. The code validates and the site was updated pretty much the second he was sworn in. Hooray for good design in the White House.

C’mon folks. Its the little things you know. Bit by bit. We’ll get there.

written by Christopher | tags: Inauguration, Obama, Politics, White House, Whitehouse.gov

Tuesday will be an important earmark in American history as Obama will take office and put a new face on the American body politic. We have come a very long way since Bush was first inaugurated in what seems like a lifetime ago. I wish very badly I could have been in Washington for this historic day but just living here in Denver during the DNC was special enough. I am thankful for having been here in that special place in time.

As much as I want to just drown myself in the excitement and hype of the inauguration, I still feel very troubled about where both America and the world are right now. It has become impossible to ignore the dire straights we are in and even more impossible to know what to do about it. We so desperately need real leadership right now to put America back to task. I cannot admit to having much faith in our political system or leaders at this point, but I do still believe in the American people. I do think we are good at heart and truly want to make the world better, but we have lost our way these last few years. The best thing for us now would be for Obama and his administration to help lead us back to collectively working to solve some of the issues we face.

I am in no way claiming that we are helpless sheep, but we elect our officials for a reason, and that reason is to provide a constructive leadership that improves both our national situation and global situation. However, we have let our officials get away with too much for too long and part of the reconstruction process of our government will have to include prosecuting the politicians who have been operating and continue to operate outside of the law. Corruption has become the norm and real effective change that benefits the working class cannot happen under the watch of greedy, corrupt and criminal politicians.

Obama will only be as good a leader as we push him to be. If we expect a savior who will work while we continue to drown ourselves in debt and excess then we will be sorely disappointed and continue to spiral into apathy. We cannot afford this any longer and we must both elect better representatives and force them to be responsible. The government should fear the people and not the other way around. It is easy to say this but it must also be backed by action. If this means protesting in the streets, then so be it. We control this country, not them, and it is time that we use the law to remind them of that. Corrupt politicians and white collar criminals in this country should suffer penalties that are equal to their crimes. As far as I am concerned some of the worst offenders deserve no less than life sentences in prison for the damage they have inflicted on the economy and in turn a massive amount of people, including people outside of our borders.

It has become much harder for the working class in this country over the last decade and it keeps getting harder. We have been living out of league with sustainability for too long, and I think now we are feeling the result of that lifestyle. Hopefully we can learn to fare with less from here on out. It is painful though to see so many people becoming so disproportionately rich that it is beginning to topple the middle class in America. The middle class is and always will be the solid backbone of this country, and without it America will fail. As exiting as it has been to see Obama’s inaugural celebrations, it does stick in the back of the middle class Americans’ throat to see the front rows of the events lined by the rich and famous, when it seems those rows should have been saved for the working class people who went out of their way to make sure Obama reached the highest office of the government. Those people did not have the luxury of donating large sums to Obama, but instead paid him with time away from families they were trying to support and jobs they need to survive. I am not so blind that I do not see how it is those very rich and liberal people that the conservatives feel are completely out of touch with average Americans, and how they are angered by their access to everything while that access is denied the rest of us. It will be up to Obama to balance out his relations with the rich and famous in a way that he can still remain the peoples’ president and not lose touch with the average American. I hope he can do this because if he cannot, I fear people will not follow his lead. I hope to live to see the day that celebrity will not be so celebrated. It would serve us better to start sincerely rewarding our teachers, thinkers and scientists instead of those who entertain and sometimes distract us. If we continue to refuse to do this then America will continue to fade into the background of the continually progressing outside world.

Through it all, I remain optimistic because there is only one alternative that is not worth consideration. I am ready to work to make this country better, and I know I am not alone. The world and America are in desperate need of healing, and I fear we are losing precious time. Lets lift this administration up and force it to hold it’s mantle while we work to put this country back into the hands of the people it belongs to and was created for. Congratulations to Mr. Obama, and while we behold this historical day, let us do so in productive spirit as now is the time to turn the page of history and stop talking about change and make it happen for real.

written by Christopher | tags: , Barack Obama, Inaguration, January 20, Politics

An interactive map on the NY times website gave an insightful look today at just how much the voter landscape changed in just 4 short years. It is by far one of the most detailed maps on the subject to appear so far. It is really amazing considering what all the talking heads were saying just how much the public shifted in this election.

There is little doubt that the Obama campaign will be studied down to the smallest detail in the future.

written by Christopher | tags: Democrats, Election 2008, Interactive Map, NY Times, Obama

The right speech for the right moment. I was amazed at how composed Obama was last night and also surprised to already see in him the realization of how much work he has to do and the enormity of the responsibility that he has been given. He already looked like a president.

I went to see Jesse Jackson speak in my hometown of Kearney, Nebraska when I was very young, probably 13 years old or so. He spoke in a cornfield to a small group, in front of a grain silo or something like that if I remember right. I was really young at the time. I remember wondering then at that age if I would ever see a moment like this and also feeling confused as to why Americans could be so shallow as to not be able to see past a persons skin color. It was never an issue for me growing up as I was raised not to even consider it. I was taught to just see people and judge all people on their character and nothing else. So to see Jackson there last night crying last night, really brought back a lot of memories and stirred something in me that I don’t think I even realized was there. What a night.

written by Christopher | tags: Obama Acceptance Speech, Obama Won, Yes We Can

I know a lot of you out there get upset when I write about politics, but tonight I will just have to ignore that. To me this moment in the history of the country in which I was born means more to me.

Tonight really overwhelmed me. As an American and as an American who still loves this country but has been wounded by watching such a dismal last few years unfold, I really do pray with all my heart that this is a step in a new direction. For being such an influence on the global politic, as a young person it has been hard for me to watch other parts of the world make important steps towards progress while America has lagged behind. We still have a very very long way to go, but I feel that this really is an important step.

I have never seen so much energy directed toward something like this election in all my life. It was amazing seeing so many young people finally wake up and get involved. I only hope this is just a start and we will only see more and more young people take up their civic duty and not only vote but contribute to the electoral process in this county.

We did it. We worked hard. We hoped and toiled against some very hard odds and we did it. We finally elected our first black president. I have prayed that I would one day live to see this day in my life. I worked all weekend on graphics for MoveOn.org that were created for if Obama won the election (you can see two of those graphics above).

It scared the hell out of me because I felt like the person who must be responsible for creating all of the paraphernalia for the team expected to win the World Series only to have to watch them lose on game day. It made me all the more tense and I had no idea how I would react tonight if Obama won. The moment it was announced I burst into tears.

It is important to note that John McCain gave a wonderful speech tonight that revealed his true character and his love for this country. He showed true heart tonight and was incredibly gracious.

I think it is just impossible if you live in the United States to ignore the importance of this moment. I hope we can find a way to once again unify this divided country and heal the rift that has lately divided us. I sincerely do.

My sincerist congratulations to those of you out there to whom this means so much. And to those who do not agree with Obama or his policies, I sincerely hope we can find a way to begin to work together and try to make this country better. It is going to take everyone, not just one side versus the other. We need unity now more than ever before.

Now lets move forward. We have an incredible amount of work to do and this is only the beginning.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Obama Wins, President Obama, The 44th President

If you are registered and you haven’t done so yet, get up off your ass, get out there and vote today! Please, be sure to do it. Nothing you do today will be more important. Every vote does count. Do not take anything for granted. This is one of the most important elections in American history. Get out there and take part. If you have to stand in line and miss work then so be it. It is your legal right to do so. Tell your employer or teacher you are voting.

If you don’t and your candidate loses, you revoke all your rights to complain.

written by Christopher | tags: Election Day, History, Politics, Vote

Credits:
Its been eight long years since the boys said wassup to each other. Even with the effects of a down economy and imminent change in the White House, the boys are still able to come together and stay true to what really matters.

Client: Wassup08.com
Production Company: Believe Media
Director: Charles Stone
Director of Photography: Shane Hurlbut
Producer: Katie Matson Walker
VFX Company: Mass Market
VFX Artist: Rich Rama
Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Editor: Nico Alba
Sound Design: Bill Chesley,
Henry Boy
Sound Mix: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Philip Loeb

written by Christopher | tags: Believe Media, Change, Obama

Go here and make sure if you live in the state of Colorado that you are registered to vote. And if you are, get out there and do it. Every single vote is going to count in this election and your vote matters.

Thank you for the reminder Joyengine.

written by Christopher | tags: Election, Vote, Voter Registration

The good people at the Cuban Council have initiated an interesting project to try to help determine exactly how much influence the alien vote could have on the upcoming election. Its an interesting idea that will no doubt yield even more interesting data.

written by Christopher | tags: Aliens Vote, Cuban Council, Politics

I think we have ourselves a new presidential candidate here.

written by Christopher | tags: Captain Kirk, President, William Shatner

It was everything it needed to be last night and more. It was tough, it was smart and it was dead on. It was exactly what needed to be said.

written by Christopher | tags: 2008 DNC, Barack Obama, Obama Speech

Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha. Ha hahahahahahahhahahhahahahahhhaaahahahahahahahah
….ugh…oh….oh….ah…ha…ha..hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah…ohh…ahh
…haha…ha…whoo!

Whew, had to get that out. I’m in tears.

written by Christopher | tags: Fox News, Michelle Obama, Obama, Terrorist Fist Jab

I haven’t yet posted news about Upper Playground’s ongoing Obama poster series because of mixed emotions. I haven’t been able yet to determine if all the money they are making is going toward the Obama campaign or not. In times like these, I say give if you can and if you are earning money from Obama’s image, give that money back to his campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is great the Upperplayground is contributing. I just think it’s a little immoral to be turning a buck of the Obama trend on one hand and touting support with the other. This is America though and that is how capitalism works I guess. Like I said though, I could be totally wrong, they might be giving a small amount of money to the artist and then giving all the rest back to the campaign. With each poster costing a whopping $200 in this economy, with a target audience that is most likely comprised of artists and creatives, I hope they are putting that money towards a good cause.  If they are, then I applaud them whole-heartedly and apologize sincerely for any misperception on my behalf.

That peace being spoken, the poster by Ron English really is noteworthy. Not just because Ron English is such an interesting and controversial artist but because of his interpretation of Obama in his poster. It stirs a lot of emotions looking at the image he has created and it also brings about an idea of a circle in history finally being closed once and for all. I think it’s a brilliant idea and speaks a lot about the intelligence behind English’s work. Of all the posters so far, I would say this one, if you have the actual money to spare, is worth the cost. It’s a brilliant effort by English and beautifully conceived. In a world of clutter it is so often the simplest images that speak the loudest.

written by Christopher | tags: Barack Obama, Obama Posters, Ron English, Upper Playground