US Democratic and Republican Logo Designs – A Lesson in History (Update)

Within American politics, there are several parties that citizens can become a part of, usually dependent on their viewpoints. It is said that the two most well-known political parties in America are the Democrats and Republicans. Surprisingly to some, the two parties are represented by the symbols of a donkey and an elephant (respectively).

Initially, these animal symbols were used on campaign banners, but over the years they have become two of the most outstanding logos in American politics, allowing candidates to introduce their US political professional logo designs.

To understand the true meaning behind these two popular symbols in politics, let’s take a look at the brief history behind these democratic and republican logo ideas. We’ll also review how these two animal symbols came to represent two of the biggest political parties of the US.

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The Democratic Donkey

Image Source: istockphoto.comThe Democrats were the first to use the donkey as their representative symbol. The donkey represents the Democrats’ beginning in 1828. The running President of 1828 was President Andrew Jackson and he was labeled as a “jackass” due to his populist views and stubborn nature. His main slogan was, “Let the people rule.” Although the cartoon was depicted to mock him, it was later adopted by Jackson himself to represent his Democratic party in 1837.

The Republican Elephant

Image Source: istockphoto.comSome believe that being a Republican influenced Thomas Nast to choose a bull elephant to represent his party. However, the Republican elephant was not as intentional as Jackson’s donkey. It was formed through a series of events involving New York’s two popular magazines, The Herald and The Harper’s Weekly.

The Herald once ran a story of zoo animals being let loose and roaming in New York’s Central Park looking for prey. Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a cartoon of a donkey wearing lion’s skin, chasing away all the animals.

This cartoon was a metaphor for President Ulysses S. Grant whom was running for third term presidency and there was a significant amount of conflict in the Democratic Party. This was one reason that the cartoon included a panicked elephant bearing the label, “Republican Vote.”

Ever since then, the elephant became the Republican Party’s its main symbol. However such attacks on political campaign branding are not isolated incidents of the past. We witness Republican logo design goof ups today as well.

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Discussion and Meaning of these Symbols

The Democratic donkey represents hard work, diligence, humbleness and dedication to the USA. The Republicans, however, strongly disagree and consider the donkey a symbol of stubbornness.

On the other hand, the Republican elephant represents intelligence,and dignity and is considered as the symbol of strength (as it is seen as the only animal that stood up to a lion). In contrast to this, the Democrats see the elephant as comparable to a circus animal.

Both of these symbols found a firm foundation in the growing American pop culture and were copyrighted to represent the two political parties. The political logos have the prominent standardized colors and stars of the American flag. Generally, the Republican elephant logo upholds 3 stars while the Democratic donkey logo design has multiple. However, the donkey can also been seen with a variation of 3 stars.

Related: World’s Most Famous Symbols And Their Unknown Stories

The Man Behind the Logo Designs

Thomas Nast was a political cartoonist, who usually drew satirical cartoons depicting the state of American politics. It was his idea to use the two animals to represent the Democratic and Republican parties. Thomas Nast was born in 1840 and had a great career as a caricaturist, an illustrator and a painter.

Apart from the political symbols, he is also well-acclaimed for the sketch of a fat and jolly Santa Claus carrying gifts for little children (previously, Santa was depicted as skinny). Although the artist died in 1902, his sketches and drawings still live on.

Just as Nast’s designs shaped public perception, modern creators and professionals need tools that help them stay focused and productive.

There you go! Wasn’t that an interesting history? Let us know what you think of the Republican and Democratic logos.

Blog Update: 7 July 2015

For a presidential candidate, the first impression they give about their campaign is their logo design. From their on-air personality to the tie they wear, politics is loaded with personal branding. The candidate’s goal is to use personal branding to face opponents and grab that party nomination.

Without taking sides, let’s take a quick look at the top candidates of each party and see how they measure up over the last 20 years. Which political party does a better job with their logo designs overall?

START A LOGO CONTEST*This post was originally written by Alexis Stone.