Recently, I have been very interested in the many changes that are expected from the new Biden administration. While there is ample speculation in the media about what industries will be impacted by these changes, I wanted to see how this would trickle down to a specific industry: graphic design.

Why graphic design? Because it is a very visual and present industry that the public is exposed to almost continuously. From phone apps to billboards to magazines to websites, graphic design is everywhere and needs to react to economic changes to continue to be effective. We can think of graphic design as the canary-in-the-coalmine of change.

So, what can we expect to change in graphic design because of changing political priorities?

1. Medicine, Science and Data

The Biden administration has been quite insistent that they will be emphasizing science, medicine and data as the basis for federal policy. The pandemic certainly has put all things medical at the forefront of every news headline and it was also a focus of the 2020 campaign.

I expect that this will create a need to include scientific validation in design as well. Infographics with statistics are likely to figure more prominently as graphic elements. Charts and figures will likely be featured more prominently. Likewise, doctors and scientists will be presented as trusted sources for information.

This will likely also influence color palettes, not just clinically oriented ones, but also colors that evoke trust, grounding, and authority. Fell reds and yellows will likely give way to blues, greens, and earth tones. Pastels will likely see a resurgence. White space will continue to be a large element, but less so than before, with darker colors and backgrounds making a come-back to help ground and solidify the information.

As an interesting aside, a new shade of natural blue, called YInMn (see image above) was recently developed recently by chemists. Due to the fact that it is new and scientifically developed, I expect it to also feature prominently in design as well. While it is a on the fell side of the brightness spectrum, it is actually quite beautiful as well. I expect to see it appear in new designs very soon.

2. Green and Nature Elements

The Biden administration has been quite vocal about their interest in all things green. The return to the Paris accord, the renewed emphasis on green energy, and adding high-level government positions focused on environmental issues, all suggest a significant shift in policy. Perhaps even more importantly, this new emphasis is intended to be a key element in rebuilding the economy. This tells us that it is more than symbolic – it is embedded in a larger plan of government for the foreseeable future.

Consequently, graphic designs will include elements that share the same message. We expect plants, trees, and flowers to feature more prominently in designs. There will be a renewed emphasis on humanity’s place in nature, so images of people in natural settings will be more common. This will likely also feature green because is suggests birth and regeneration.

Solar, wind, thermal, and related technologies will feature more prominently. This will include technologies, devices, and structures that incorporate those technologies. We expect to see related graphics from computer chips to batteries to simpler elements like hexagons to feature more prominently.

Color palettes will draw heavily on green, of course, but also on earth tones, yellow, and blue as associated colors. Expect to also see contrasting colors to be thinner, more precise, and used as complementary rather than as bold statements. For example, instead of a bold red element, it would be replaced with a softer purple or red brown.

3. Video Technology

The Democratic Convention set a new standard for what is possible remotely. While far from the preferred in-person convention, it pleased most viewers. People had already become accustomed to video and an online communication medium because of the pandemic, so the Biden administration was successful in balancing these technologies to significant effect, even at a time when reaching larger audiences was so important to their success. Whereas video had been an awkward fallback to meeting in person before the pandemic, it has now become normalized as a preferred medium.

This will be reflected in design as well. Animation, video clips, and user-activated interactivity will become common place. Even on paper, where animation is not possible, those same elements will feature prominently in designs. So, for example, seeing a screen with a clear image of a videoconference will continue to become even more prevalent.

Design elements that are related to video interfaces will be more commonplace. A round play button instead of a click-here button, even for non-video content. I expect to see sliders for volume or selecting preferences rather than radio buttons and selection boxes. Even on paper, those elements will be used more consistently because they have become universal.

4. Education

The Biden administration has put significant emphasis on education as a foundation of their effort to rebuild the economy. This is not just about college loans forgiveness, it is also about restructuring K-12 education, and especially public education rather than private/charter school-based education. If children are in school, parents have more freedom to work outside the home. While this was undoubtedly also the goal of the Trump administration, the Biden administration has paired this with a more consistent approach to fighting the pandemic, so it will likely have more success in doing so.

This will be reflected in more collegiate designs, the use of collegiate fonts, and academic themes. Classrooms with children and teachers will return rather than the empty classrooms of the pandemic. We expect the Biden administration to put significant resources into advertising the return to the classroom.

Design elements from chalkboards to pencils to planners should feature prominently. Businesses will likely want to follow the trend and use similar design elements, especially if they cater to younger viewers. The return to the classroom will also apply to colleges and universities, which will likely include a return to collegiate sports and social events.

The color palette will be of traditional college themed colors: dark blue, red, and green, and of course, the spirit colors of specific schools. These darker colors will likely be bounded by white and yellow edges. Metallic colors would also feature more prominently.

5. Retro

While the Biden administration was very actively recruiting young voters in 2020, this has apparently not been the emphasis since the election. Faces that are popular with a younger demographic such as AOC and Sanders, have been largely pushed to the background. More liberal views that younger voters tend to favor have also been somewhat sidelined.

This is because the Biden administration is pushing a more conservative, traditional, and back-to-basics message, at least until the pandemic is brought under control. During times of crisis, people demand stability and things that they understand quickly. “Just the facts” will be the theme.

This conservatism suggests that traditional design elements will feature prominently, especially when it comes to consumer electronics. Older automobiles, floppy disks, mature pop stars, and film cameras will make a comeback in designs. The focus will be on design elements that an older generation understands but that a younger generation will need to live with.

Fonts that were popular with baby boomers and millennials will make a comeback as well. Models in advertisements may have disco puffs, high-waisted jeans, and platform shoes. Glam rock music, men wearing make-up, and roller-skating will make a comeback. Even classical music will see a resurgence.

The color palette will accent those themes as well, but I do not expect loud glaring colors to feature prominently. Colors will likely follow the theme of the image messaging of the entire design. Psychology will play a prominent part in color selection, with an emphasis on trust and stability.

6. Minimalism

Biden is focusing on a back-to-basics approach both to establish a break with the uncertainties of the previous administration and to deal with a national emergency. It resonates with the voters and brings comfort. This also means a return to simpler things and quickly understood communications.

The way this is likely to be reflected in designs is by using very minimalist elements. Instead of bold, loud, and complex elements, they will be muted, smaller, and simpler. Instead of a mailbox graphic it will be an envelope, instead of a helicopter, a small plane, instead of an octopus, a dog, and instead of a laptop, a cell phone, and Apple one if possible. Think simple, familiar, and quickly recognized elements.

Likewise, the large page-width photo of the city will be replaced with a smaller, half-page or boxed photo of a house. Overlayed text will be put in boxes to better offset them from the image. Black and white or sepia photographs could see a comeback over full-color images as well. While modern art is not always simplistic, we do expect to see more modern art-type designs. Think Rothko or Mondrian rather than Picasso. This is not to confuse, but to simplify and help text stand out.

Fonts will tend towards sans-serif and bold designs that are easier to read. Expect to see more white text on darker backgrounds rather than on white backgrounds – this is not only easier on the eyes, but it also allows for a bolder statement with less text, thus offering more simplicity and less strain.

Conclusion

The Biden administration is promising extensive changes in several key areas from what came before. Several media outlets have begun to talk about how this will impact the economy and various large industries. However, there has not been much more drilling down to specific industries such as graphic design.

I said above that graphic design tends to be reactionary to industry changes. I made that statement primarily because most graphic design work is for parts of the economy that are driven by sales, like advertising, and I have drawn quite a bit from those examples. However, some graphic design that is not directly driven by sales, such as art may not be so directly impacted by these political changes.

That said, I do expect non-sales graphics work to follow eventually. This is because of the undeniable influence that advertising has on the graphic design industry. It is a major driver, and many artists cannot help but be influenced. In the end, art must sell too.