Here come the font police over Bernie’s rally poster
Plus: I don’t mean to sound cliché, but the new Rolling Stone logo pops
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at…
Here come the font police over Bernie’s rally poster
Trump’s PAC paid for his Smithsonian portrait
I don’t mean to sound cliché, but the new Rolling Stone logo pops
Here come the font police over Bernie’s rally poster
Excuse me, Dunkin’ Donuts, someone used your brand colors and a rounded sans-serif typeface without your permission.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) promoted a pro-union rally in Massachusetts on Sunday with a Dunkin’-inspired poster, and Washington Examiner engagement editor Maria Leaf tagged the doughnut brand to ask if they authorized it. Leaf’s mentions and quote tweets were filled with people asking her if she was serious, calling her a Karen, and dunking on the Examiner for chasing down such a hard-hitting story.
Parody is protected in the U.S. under the fair use doctrine. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., that 2 Live Crew’s “Pretty Woman,” a parody of Roy Orbison’s 1964 song, didn’t violate Orbison’s publishing company’s copyright.
“The Supreme Court explained parody needs to mimic the original to make its point,” said Rachel Kim, copyright counsel at the Copyright Alliance.
Kim told me the poster was clever. “You have the colors, the browns, the oranges, the pinks,” she said. “You have the typeface and the font that reminds you of the Dunkin’ Donuts ads, you have the logos, you have the slogan at the bottom with the twist.”
Generally, elements like colors and typefaces aren’t protectable under copyright law, Kim said. Still, “not every attempt at parody is created equally,” and parodies that qualify for fair use exceptions can depend on the character and purpose of its use and whether or not it causes market harm.
Sanders has held 16 in-person and virtual events with unions and union leaders in 2021 and 2022, and his posters often play off company branding. The poster for a Dec. 2021 town hall meeting with Starbucks workers showed the Starbucks Siren raising a fist. A June rally in Chicago in support of candidates there used type and color to pay homage to the Chicago Bulls.
Support for unions is on the rise. Public approval for labor unions hit 68% last September, its highest point since 1965, according to Gallup. “We are seeing a rebirth of the American trade union movement from coast to coast,” Sanders said at the Boston rally.
In other Dunkin’ Donuts-inspired branding news, Doja Cat just dropped a clothing line called It’s Giving, and it’s giving Dunkin’ as well.
Trump’s PAC paid for his Smithsonian portrait
Former President Donald Trump’s official portrait for the Smithsonian’s America’s Presidents collection has been bought and paid for.
Trump’s Save America PAC made a $650,000 contribution to the Smithsonian Institution, according to an FEC filing first reported by Insider.
The contribution will “support the artists' fees, shipping, framing, installation, and events” for portraits of Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas told the site. She said two artists have been commissioned for the portraits and work is underway.
Save America has raised money off Trump’s false claim the 2020 election was stolen, and earlier this year, it paid former FLOTUS fashion designer Hervé Pierre Braillard $60,000. While donors do pay for these portraits (Steven Spielberg was among the donors for the Obama portraits), political action committees haven’t been among the benefactors. No PACs donated to the portraits for the Obamas or Bushes, the Washington Post found.
The National Portrait Gallery currently has photographer Pari Dukovic’s 2019 photo of Trump for TIME (above) on display until the official portrait comes out. And while Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of former President Barack Obama is out on tour, Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” is taking its place.
Who do you think is painting the Trumps’ portraits?? Let me know your guesses.
I don’t mean to sound cliché, but the new Rolling Stone logo pops
After using a flat logo for four years, Rolling Stone rolled out a revamped logo last week as part of a brand refresh. The lettering was designed by Jesse Ragan at XYZ Type, and former Rolling Stone art director Roger Black called it the magazine’s best logo yet.
“The assignment here was to carefully move the logo to better align it with the tradition,” Black said in a blog post. “Jesse Ragan has done that, bringing back the engraved drop shadow from 1967. And he has truly improved on the basic letterforms, while somehow making it look like it’s always been this way.”
Rolling Stone’s original 1967 logo was ornate and all caps, hand drawn by San Francisco poster artist Rick Griffin. It was redesigned by John Pistilli in 1975, and again in 1977 by Jim Parkinson for the magazine’s 10th anniversary. It’s the 1981 logo by Parkinson, though, that’s the brand’s longest running, used for 37 years until 2018.
Parkinson also designed Rolling Stone’s 2018 one-color logo, but it “muted” the magazine’s brand and the lettering often needed a drop shadow to be visible on magazine covers, XYZ Type said.
The new lettering is a mix-and-match of elements from past logos, like the ball terminal on the R from 1981 and a simplified e from 1977. It was designed specifically for magazine covers, with an alternate small-size logo that was simplified to look clear on screens with additional letter spacing. A custom RS monogram was also designed for social media.
Ragan called the assignment a “paradox.” “How could we make the logo look like it did in the past, without making it feel dated?” he said. “My hope is that loyal readers will believe the old logo is back, but on closer inspection will be surprised to notice how much it has been modernized.”
Rolling Stone’s rebrand also includes a new site and they’re ditching starred reviews for new music:
“If you’re into pop culture in 2022, you’re too sophisticated to let some arbitrary number guide your tastes,” the magazine said in an announcement about the redesign. “So we’ll tell you right away when a new single is an instant classic or an album is an absolute must-hear. After that, our critics will help you make up your own damn mind.”
The new logo makes its debut on the Sept. 2022 issue with cover star Harry Styles.
Like what you see?
Subscribe to see the visual trends, art, and design defining the look of politics: