310AAD: Final Dissertation

The benefits of Design strategy (Strategic Designer) if it was implicated into Political campaigns.

Vienna Smith

Student number: 7173224

310AAD Design Contexts 3

A Dissertation for the Degree BA (Hons) Graphic Design

School of Art and Design, Faculty of Arts & Humanities,

Coventry University, 2018-19

The benefits of Design strategy (Strategic Designer) if it was implicated into Political campaigns.  (Abstract)

This study will discuss how tacticians carry out the brief and a strategist decides the nature of the brief, using secondary resources such as books, online journals and websites, which will include Marty Neumeier, Michael McNamara, Darian Rosebrook along with others to explore subjects entitled; Design strategy, the structure of Political Campaigns, Challenges Design are up against in Political Campaigns, Perception of Design in Politics, Implementing Design Strategy into Politics and Design Strategy put into practice. These aspects will lead to an understanding to conclude either against or for my statement. 

This study is important to me because political campaigns are now utilising new opportunities for engagement of the voters. Campaigns that invest in new approaches, will benefit from the impact meaning, they will benefit from the inclusion of strategic design. 

Acknowledgments 

I would like to say thank you to the inspirational people around me. Completing this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my Mother. I’m truly grateful for the sacrifices she has made to help me throughout my University journey, thank you, you are truly my biggest inspiration. I would like to say thank you to Rosa Moran for her support, guidance and patience along with pushing me to do my best. I would also like to say thank you to all of my tutors at the School of Art and Design, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, you have all helped me grow as a Graphic Designer. Also, thank you to my friends, you have all been amazing and motivational.

Contents Page

Abstract ………………………………...…………………………………………………… 2

Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………. 3

Chapter 1: 

Introduction ………………………………………………………………..… 5

Design Strategy ………………………………………………………..…….. 6

Structure of Political Campaigns ……………………………………….…… 7

Chapter 2: 

Challenges Design are up against in Political Campaigns ……………….… 11

The Perception of Design in Politics ……………………………………….. 13

Chapter 3: 

Implementing Design Strategy in political campaigns …………………….. 15

Design strategy put into practise …………………………………………… 17

Conclusion ...………………………………………………………………………………. 19

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………...…………..… 21

Chapter 1:

Introduction:

This study will examine and discuss the ideology of a tactician who carries out the brief and a strategist who decides the nature of the brief. A good example of this process is political campaigns. The brief generated by the agency or client is a great way to know early on that the designer understands your challenge and has the wisdom and creativity to address the problem.Political campaigns have always seemed to follow traditional communications strategies and persuasion techniques. They constantly continue using the same tactics, believing that, what has worked previously will work again (Clark 2012). However, in recent years, political campaigns are now manipulating media platforms. This causes new challenges due to changing demographics, social networking, and divided communities. A political campaigns biggest challenge today is innovation and communication strategies, which can target new voters and develop new technology strategies for fundraising needs. Designers see the need to work to set objectives and measure their work according to financial returns. This not only offers creative inspiration but a partnership in driving growth.Designers are discussing strategic questions and nurturing their client relationships once an effective partnership is in place. In other words, they’re collaborating with each other, they’re focusing on outcomes, not just aesthetics.What we witness in political campaigns are now new opportunities for persuasion and engagement of the voters. Campaigns that invest in new approaches to meet these obstacles, will benefit from the impact. Political campaigns can take inspiration from progressive businesses and organisations in the private sector. These businesses and organisations are already using design-based strategies and design strategists, to innovate solutions for different situations. During the beginning of the 2012 presidential campaign USA, Jim Messina, the campaign manager for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, said, “If we run that same [2008] campaign, we stand a good chance of losing... we have to run a new campaign” (Baribeau 2012). This alone shows that Messina realised that in order to win, they needed to produce a new strategy that was different than previous campaigns, and also new innovative solutions to target their specific communication problems.

How I will conclude this discussion is by using secondary research resources such as books, online journals, websites and more which will include Marty Neumeier, Michael McNamara, Darian Rosebrook and more to explore subjects such as; Design strategy, the structure of Political Campaigns, Challenges Design are up against in Political Campaigns, Perception of Design in Politics, Implementing Design Strategy into Politics and finally, Design Strategy put into practise. All of these aspects will help me form a better understanding of the situation and how I can conclude by either arguing against or for my statement.

Design Strategy

While political campaigns have been slower to adopt new methods of communicating with their intended audiences, the private sector has begun to adopt more of a design-driven approach to innovate solutions for their audience’s needs. Companies have recognised that innovation will be the new driving force behind the future of the economy (Kelley & Littman 2001). One way they can do this is by becoming co-creators with designers and implementing design strategy as a process of innovation within their own companies (Holston, 2008). With the rise of the innovation in technology era, designers will be the leaders of this movement (Nussbaum 2011). How this approach of design strategy is put into action will determine those who will succeed and gain the competitive advantage. Previous studies have shown that innovation and design are linked in some way. Companies are implementing design strategy approach which brought 27% more new products or services to market compared to their competition (Hobcraft 2018). Not only are these companies innovating new products or services, design strategy is helping them grow and maintain their growth rate (Hobcraft 2018). These companies are then benefiting as they are performing more efficiently compared to their competition and gaining more profit than companies who are not implementing design (the economic effects 2003). When it comes to brand, there is not a system placed used to measure its value of the company. This leads some members in higher positions to question if it is worth the time and investment for something that is viewed as non-essential. However, companies that use design strategy to strengthen their brands are gaining a larger section of market share and more loyalty from customers and employees (Neumeier 2006). Innovation not only comes from the acknowledgment of a user-centred business plan, it engages an audience. This forms an emotional connection which is equally important as the brand. Designers have been connecting the links between emotion and usability for a long period of time.

This technique is not only valuable for business, but for political campaigns as well. This means, becoming co-creators would be very beneficial for the campaign, along with implementing design strategy. The utilisation of both, would have a positive impact on the results leading to more success.

Structure of Political Campaigns

The 2008 presidential election has become historic for many reasons, not only because Barack Obama was the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States, it is also due to how his campaign was executed. His campaign effectively used the Internet to their advantage, Obama went from a little-known senator in Illinois to the Democratic presidential nominee. The campaign used the Internet to form small aids from a large audience and build tools, along with developing marketing strategies, to encourage donations. This strategy accumulated in the highest amount of fundraising produced by a campaign in American political history (Scherer 2012). The campaign also used the Internet to organise volunteers across the country and created the largest voter registration ever seen, resulting in the largest voter turnout – 62% of registered voters – since 1968, which also had the largest amount of total people (131 million) vote in a presidential election (Associated Press 2008). After the election Claire Miller, a reporter from the New York Times commented, “One of the many ways that the election of Barack Obama as president has echoed that of John F. Kennedy is his use of a new medium that will forever change politics. For Mr. Kennedy, it was television. For Mr. Obama, it is the Internet” (Miller 2008). However The Obama campaign was not the first to use the Internet as a fundraising and organising tool. Another campaign that saw the potential however was not as successful was Howard Dean, a former governor from Vermont. He was running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 when his campaign manager, Joe Trippi, decided to make the Internet the focal point of their campaign (Berman 2010). At the time, the Internet was a becoming a major part of daily culture, however other political campaigns were ignoring its potential. The Dean campaign used and found bloggers to spread their message, arrange meet-ups, organise local events and, most importantly, used the online participants to gather small donations from groups of supporters. This fundraising strategy kept the Dean campaign strong and was viewed as a significant improbability, which was later elaborated on to form the foundation that the Obama campaign would use to set record-breaking levels (Berman 2008). Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap, defines a modern brand not as a logo or identity system, but a “gut feeling,” an emotional connection with a product, person, or service (Neumeier 2006). The Obama campaign linked his ideals of hope and change to a visual representation of a horizon within an “O.” This was the first time that a presidential candidate, was visually represented by a mark rather than a logo or typographical symbol of his last name (Thomas 2008). The design pushed the traditional political visual themes and combined the candidate’s message with imagery to create something that felt new and original. Having a modern brand was important to the candidate, because it represents his ideals however, because it became a symbol of his campaign and a representation of the movement that supporters would later use. Sol Sender, whose team produced the original logo representing the brand, said that design helped achieve the following: “the identity was for the campaign, not just the candidate... some have termed it a movement, a symbol of hope” (Heller 2008). The combination of an original brand and visual identity went beyond its requirements as the main function of an identifier was helpful to Obama because, it attracted new participants to take part in the political process along with helping differentiate him from his competitors. 

An interview with Bloomberg Business Weekduring the 2012 presidential election, Jim Messina claimed that he was now convinced that modern presidential campaigns will have to mimic fast-growing tech companies rather than follow previous campaigns (Joshua 2012). Messina said, “What they’ve done is more readily applicable to me, because they all started very small and got big very quickly,” representing a change in belief of the traditional method of organising a campaign to one that allows them to move at the same pace of a tech company (Joshua 2012). 

A campaign’s leader, or CEO, is known as the Campaign Manager. They work together with the candidate and their senior advisors to determine the overall strategy for a successful campaign. The candidate’s role is to work beside the leadership team in the planning process. During this phase they will set the primary objectives, and then his or her role shifts to meeting donors and persuading voters (McNamara 2008). The campaign manager is then responsible for observing the day-to-day progress of the campaign, developing strategies, and determining how they will execute directives. Departments that are found within presidential campaigns consist of Communications, Fundraising, Legal, Field, and new Media or Digital. 

The information gathered supports the idea of implementing design into politics. In 2008, design strategy seemed to have a huge impact on the campaign due to forming an identity/ symbol that represented The Obama campaign as a movement. This symbol became a historical icon which represented hope. This could only be achieved with the use of design from Sol Sender. 

Chapter 2

Challenges Design are up against in Political Campaigns

Introducing design strategy and members to carry this out into the political campaign structure is still relatively new. This means, designers will have to work at building a bridge of trust by demonstrating their value. The Director (Dan Ryan) in charge of the front to end Development for Obama in 2012, stated their biggest challenge was, “the sheer volume of requests we got each day... turning around new designs through approvals by messaging, policy, research, legal, etc., then launching those projects within a few days or often a few hours was the single largest challenge” (Cutrell 2012). Designers unfamiliar with the political campaign structural process will have to adapt to this time frame. A political campaign views time, money, information, and people (TMIP) as their four major resources, and how they operate revolves around how these resources are utilized (McNamara 2008). Time management is very important. This means the speed in design production and finalisation of a project is crucial. 

Another challenge facing political campaigns will be how they recruit designers to their organisation. Most organisations and campaigns recruit through a tight process of applications. They need to begin the process by hiring a director or head of department. This person will then be responsible for employing other design team members later done the line. A campaign needs to recruit people who are passionate and driven to work for them. This is an important aspect due to the amount of stress put on employees, to meet deadlines, pressure placed on them and the need for a strong belief in what they are serving. When Google tells their employees that the mission of the company is to organise the world’s information and make it easily accessible to everyone, it creates a level of excitement and attracts potential employees, which has helped Google become one of Fortune’s top 100 companies to work for (Neumeier 2009). Promoting this type of excitement and emphysema towards the work, will help campaigns recruit the type of people they are looking for which, leads to a strong support team for the candidate.

People have transitioned into getting their information online not only about elections, campaigns have now had to come up with new strategies to reach audiences through the use of online advertisements. In comparison, the 2012 presidential election showed that the digital audience had grown since the 2008 election due to the use of mobile devices. Dan Ryan, said that early on in the 2012 campaign, “We were seeing 25% of our traffic coming from mobile devices, but almost none of our donations.” This forced the campaign to adjust to the influx of mobile users and rethink how those devices could be rethought to encourage donations (Cutrell 2012). This lead the Obama campaign having to adapt strategically to its online experience. This was so they could better accommodate the users accessing the site on browsers or on mobile devices. 

A persuadable voter that receives information from an unofficial source or a friend is more receptive to that message than if they were to receive that same information from an advertisement or a candidate’s campaign (Issenberg 2012). Critically encouraging the development of connections and emotional engagements from supporters, campaigns can use them by giving them tools and information to use towards recruiting their friends and neighbours to a candidate, making them become powerful asset to a campaign. In 2012, the Obama campaign began to implement this philosophy through the use of social media. They would gather information from supporters to find new persuadable voters through their friends list. 600,000 supporters signed up, which gave the campaign access to 5 million new contacts. The Obama campaign was then able to have the supporter provide campaign information to the potential voter, leading to accessing the potential voter through a trusted friend (Scherer 2012). The campaign saw the potential of a new medium (social networking) and was able to benefit from it. 

The challenges stated are all aspects that can be linked back to each other due to them working coherently. Even though these could be potential downfalls, all of these challenges can be reached with adaptation of the strategic designer. However, as technology continues to develop, so will the need for new strategic and tactical planning to suite the campaign and the voters.

The Perception of Design in Politics

There are various studies based on the perception of design in politics. In one study conducted by the Centre for Design Innovation, 78% of small and medium enterprises (SMes) polled in Ireland viewed design as important factor in staying ahead of their competition, yet only 15% of them intended to significantly raise their investment (Idi-design.ie, 2007).If design is to become more efficient and become a larger role in political campaigns, then designers will need to be viewed as strategic partners. Design strategy is the first step at being relevant in the industry of both design and business (Rosebrook, 2017). This means these perceptions will have to improve to allow for a more successful design and political strategy.  There needs to be away to bridge the gap between the business of design and the design of business (Rosebrook, 2017).

In the Political Campaign Desk Reference, which promotes a starter guide for anyone interested in getting involved with a political campaign. The guide mentions the campaign logo: “A campaign logo – the image that is imprinted on signs, literature, television and all other materials, is something that some campaigns spend far too much time creating” (McNamara 2008). This opinion alone, can be viewed as detrimental to the impact people may have on design within politics. 

It seems that the perception of design in politics is still not seen important due to the implementation being relatively new. However, if design is implemented they need to be viewed as a strategic partner and how this can be achieved is by being relevant in the industry of design and business. There will also need to be work in place to bridge the gap between the two to allow for a coherent process.

Chapter 3

Implementing Design Strategy in political campaigns

Talking to a designer will eventually lead to a creative solution. The conversation usually starts with objectives, insights and targets along withquestioning. This is what helps formulate a plan for what you’re designing for. By doing this, you’re opening the discussion to figure out the “who” and “what” we’re designing for in the first place. In this case, it is not directly for the candidate, it is in fact for the voters. This process forms a bridge between being tactical and focusing on strategy (Rosebrook 2017).

A designer can provide a creative input to strategies which can impact a campaign or business. The designer can add value and impact to tactics such as content strategy, media strategy, or interactive strategy, and even other aspects. Many of these strategies are closely tied however, they may not be offered by a business strategist. On the other hand, these are services that support the delivery of design strategy. Design strategists must be able to collaborate tactics together into a plan which can be execute with confidence by the designer and the rest of the campaign team. What a design strategist can do is help clients visualise how they can reach a set of agreed objective aims, with the appropriate tools and resources (Sherwin 2012).

Design strategy can be formed and executed with using these simple steps. Firstly, develop the design strategy by identifying goals.The best possible design begins with design strategy. Strategy without effective design falls flat. Using both achieves outstanding(Wells 2018). Before the design begins, research is needed which provides insight into the audience, competition, timing, needs, and constraints. Stakeholder interviews provide valuable insight for the design and execution (Wells 2018). This valuable research frames how the design approaches and executes the problem in order to remember who and what they are design for (Rosebrook 2017). “When you understand what a business or brand is trying to accomplish, you can propose a solution that answers the business problem with creativity”(Rosebrook 2017). The design strategist can then move on to visual design and execution by applying what was gathered by research and develop a strategic plan to achieve the goals. This is achieved by summarising any decisions in a creative brief that guides the designer and design strategist throughout the project. Finally, the design strategist can lead clients to the most effective and elegant solutions the campaign and the audience needing to be contacted (Wells 2018).

‘Designers add value to a business. That’s what buys you a seat at the table’ (Tran 2018) This suggest that we need to look at who else is at the table. Everyone needs to communicate which leads to reassurance with progression and leads to work which complements the other departments (Rosebrook 2017). Once this is achieved, we can begin to explore the roles that designers can play to formulate and realise strategies. Designers may influence strategies within the following areas within a sector. Corporate strategy, Business strategy, Brand strategy, Product/service strategy and Marketing strategy (Sherwin 2013). As designers become more involved in strategic decision-making, there could be a rise through the ranks, due to their unique understanding of strategy and the design sides of business. Companies and political campaigns should encourage this growth, empowering their designers to influence strategy. This will increase awareness of design, leading to better integrate strategy and design (Moore Williams 2015). As strategy changes, so should design, and if design changes, there should be a strong strategic reason for the change (Williams 2015). The sooner design is implemented, the smoother and easier the process to the objectives and goals are met.

Implementing design results in a creative solution meaning, it can have a good impact on a campaign or business. By adding a design strategist, you are also adding value and impact to tactics such as content strategy, media strategy, or interactive strategy, and even other aspects. However, some believe that a business strategist is better for the job arguably some aspects may not be met by business strategist but could be offered by a design strategist.

Design strategy put into practise

Businesses are using design strategy to connect a product or service to an emotional response to a brand. This connection of product or service is something that Marty Neumeier in ‘The Designful Company’ calls the “sweet spot.” This is because, this is where people gain a loyalty to the brand (Neumeier 2009). However, before this can be established, there needs to be a relationship where the client is completely open with the design strategist, and where the design strategist respects that and focuses fully on meeting their objectives, which forms a successful collaboration (Clegg 2018).

Innovation is considered the main reason why design strategy is implemented into business. Innovation has the ability to create new products or services giving its user a distinct competitive edge. ‘The Design Difference’ report, shows that 78% of companies using design strategy are bringing new products and services, while only 51% of companies who do not use design strategy brought new products and services (Idi-design.ie 2007). The inclusion of design strategy represents that a company is user-focused in its delivery of products, services, communications and brand. This shows an appreciation to how their users interact with their product or service. This leads to helping companies and organisations find new opportunities to meet their user’s needs, leading to innovation. This type of development can be credited to design strategy’s ability to focus on the user. Companies are now employing design strategy, have been more successful in creating a product or service with a strong sense of brand. The emotional connections formed with the user by how they view the aesthetics of a product or a service is just as important as the use and strategy behind its development. Companies that have successfully made the connection, have a more competitive edge over their competitors and gain more loyalty from their users (Neumeier 2006). In ‘The Brand Gap,’ Neumeier says forming this connection is not easy and for most companies it is separated by a “mile-wide chasm” (Neumeier 2006). What leads to the gap can be associated with the divide between left and right brain function. Neumeier notes that left brain thinkers’ favours analytical, logical, linear, concrete, numerical, and verbal thought processes tend to be strategists and business people. In comparison to right brain thinkers who favour intuitive, emotional, spatial, visual, and physical thought processes tend to be creatives (Neumeier 2006). How successful a project or product is often dependent upon bridging this gap and forming an emotional connection. This forms the belief in a user’s mind that a company’s product or service cannot be replicated, and that their quality cannot be reproduced. 

When design strategy is put in place, it is important to be aware of the implications of the gap between product/ service and the user to form an emotional connection. Forming this connection will allow for a more successful product or service which will benefit a political campaign.  

 Conclusion

In conclusion, this research piece has found that the inclusion of design strategy or a strategic designer would be beneficial for the process and successfulness of a political campaign. Furthermore, the success of campaigns will be determined by those who can effectively meet future challenges and successful overcome them. Different factors such as emerging demographics, segmentation, audience engagement, and the need to establish a brand are all of the main obstacles for political campaigns. Solutions to these problems could be solved by the inclusion of design strategy, into the political campaign structure. A strong place to start would be forming a planned system and process in which, campaigns and politicians can use to assess the current situations and develop strategies that are appropriate for the candidate and the voters. 

The findings show that every form of interaction with a political campaign, is now becoming a design experience. Whether it is by accessing information through a social media network, a mobile device, on the Internet, or in a face-to-face conversation with a supporter, design is playing a central and important role in every interaction. The effectiveness of these different forms of interactions, will be determined by the quality of the strategy and the design that is in place. By implementing design earlier in the process and including design strategy into a political campaign’s organisation, the ability to clearly communicate a candidate’s core ideals and positions will improve. This is not only valuable for campaigns looking to engage their audience, but it is valuable for the people who can confidently put their support behind candidates they understand and believe. The difference between how business and politics communicate with their audiences is lessening and there is now a crossover in how they both connect and communicate with their audience. Political candidates have become similar to products themselves, meaning they now require a clear brand and accessibility to their audiences. The overlap of the two, requires political campaigns to adopt new methodologies, strategies and tactics to enable themselves to keep pace with technology. As businesses have used design strategy to innovate and meet their needs, political campaigns will need to do the same. The future success of campaigns will be determined by those who can efficiently and effectively meet future challenges and successful overcome them. Solutions to these problems could be solved by the inclusion of design strategy, into the political campaign structure. A strong place to start would be forming a planned system and process in which, campaigns and politicians can use to assess the current situations and develop strategies that are appropriate for the candidate and the voters. 

If political campaigns were to implementing design strategy, they would also gain an advantage over their competing competition. The innovations and strategies put into practice during the 2008 campaign helped Barack Obama go from candidate to nominee, and in 2012, it helped him get re-elected. This was not achieved only by developing new tactics and strategies plan, but by using a strong brand to create an emotional connection. As the accessibility between communicator/ candidate and audience increases, the ability to design the experience for either a business or a campaign becomes more valuable. This means the inclusion of design strategy as a process of innovation is becoming more important.

Bibliography:

1.     Associated Press. (2008). 2008 Election Turnout hit 40-year High. Politico. Available at:  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16576.html[Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].

2.     Baribeau, S. (2018). 5 Ways The Obama Campaign Was Run Like A Lean Startup.[online] Fast Company. Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/3002973/5-ways-obama-campaign- was-run-lean-startup [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].

3.     Berman A. (2010). Herding Donkeys.(1st ed.). New York, NY: Picador. [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].

4.     Bradshaw, Joel. (1995).Who will vote for you and why: Designing strategy and theme.In Campaigns and elections American style., eds. James A. Thurber, Candice J. Nelson, 30-46. San Francisco: Westview. [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].

5.     Idi-design.ie. (2007). The design difference: A survey of design and innovation amongst Ireland’s SMEs.[online] Available at: http://www.idi-design.ie/content/files/the_design_difference.pdf [Accessed 28 Nov. 2018].

6.    Clark, D. (2012). A Campaign Strategy for Your Career. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2012/11/a-campaign-strategy-for-your-career [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].

7.    Clegg, E. (2018). Design now has a strategic role, not just a tactical one - Marketing Week. [online] Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/06/29/spring-strategic-design/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2018].

8.    Cutrell, J. (2012). Chatting with Obama For America's Director of Frontend Development: Daniel Ryan.[online] Code Envato Tuts+. Available at: https://code.tutsplus.com/articles/chatting-with-obama-for-americas-director-of-frontend-development-daniel-ryan--net-28220 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].

9.     Heller, S. (2008). The 'O' in Obama.[online] Campaign Stops. Available at: https://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/the-o-in-obama/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

10. Hobcraft, P. (2018). An Introduction to Design Thinking for Innovation. [online] Blog.hypeinnovation.com. Available at: https://blog.hypeinnovation.com/an-introduction-to-design-thinking-for-innovation-managers [Accessed 20 Dec. 2018].

11. Issenberg, S. (2012). Slate’s Use of Your Data.[online] Slate Magazine. Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/10/obama_s_secret_weapon_democrats_have_a_massive_advantage_in_targeting_and.html?via=gdpr-consent [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].

12.  Joshua, G. (2012). Obama’s CEO: Jim Messina has a President to Sell. Bloomberg Businessweek. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-14/obamas-ceo-jim-messina-has-a-president-to-sell[Accessed 13 Nov. 2018].

13.  Kelley, T., & Littman, J. (2001). The Art of Innovation.(First ed., pp. 1-14). New York, NY: Doubleday. [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].

14.  Mcnamara, R. (2008).The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A Guide for Campaign Managers and Candidates Running for Elected Office.(2nd ed.). Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, Inc. [Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].

15.  Miller, C. (2008). How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics. New York, NY: the New York times. Available at: https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/.[Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].

16. Moore Williams, J. (2015). Why designers should be shaping business strategy | Inside Design Blog.[online] Invisionapp.com. Available at: https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/why-designers-should-be-shaping-business-strategy/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].

17.  Neumeier, M. (2006).The Brand Gap. (pp. 143-146). Berkeley, CA: new riders. [Accessed 4 Dec. 2018].

18.  Neumeier, M. (2009). The designful company.Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, pp.150-153. [Accessed 10 Dec. 2018].

19.  Nussbaum, B. (2011).Designers are the New Drivers of American Entrepreneurialism. Fast Company. retrieved from http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665120/designers- are-the-new-drivers-of-american-entrepreneurialism. [Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].

20.   “Designers add value to a business. That’s what buys you a seat at the table.”

Tran, H. (2018). [image] Available at: https://dribbble.com/shots/3722644-Something-really-hit-me-reading-this-one [Accessed 10 Dec. 2018].

21.  Scherer, M. (2012). Friended: How the Obama Campaign Connected with Young Voters.[online] Docs.house.gov. Available at: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20180411/108090/HHRG-115-IF00-20180411-SD017.pdf [Accessed 2 Dec. 2018].

22. Sherwin, D. (2012). Success by design : the essential business reference for designers. Blue Ash, OH: HOW Books.

23. Sherwin, D. (2013). What Aspiring Designers Need to Know About Strategy.[online] AIGA | the professional association for design. Available at: https://www.aiga.org/what-aspiring-designers-need-to-know-about-strategy [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].

24. Sulkin, T. and Swigger, N. (2008). Is There Truth in Advertising? Campaign Ad Images as Signals about Legislative Behaviour. The Journal of Politics, 70(1), pp.232-244. [Accessed 29 Nov. 2018].

25. Rosebrook, D. (2017). What is Design Strategy?[online] Marvel Blog. Available at: https://blog.marvelapp.com/what-is-design-strategy/ [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].

26. Rosenberg, Shawn W., Shulamit Kahn, Thuy Tran, and Minh-Thu Le. (1991). Creating a political image: Shaping appearance and manipulating the vote. Political Behaviour13, (4): 350-367. [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].

27. Wells, M. (2018). Design Strategy: Strategy without effective design falls flat. [online] Opus Design. Available at: https://opusdesign.us/services/design-strategy/ [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].