Scott Starrett: Creating the AOC Logo and the Philosophy of Political Branding

Scott Starrett: Creating the AOC Logo and the Philosophy of Political Branding

Garret Brubaker sits down with Scott Starrett, founder and director of Tandem, the communication design and brand strategy firm behind the original campaign identity for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Scott traces his path from drawing kid and C-SPAN watcher in Kansas, to creative director at an Austin political comms firm, to bootstrapping a New York studio focused on climate justice, advocacy, and public interest work. Along the way he breaks down what it actually takes to build a visual language for a movement, not just a candidate. The conversation goes deep on the AOC poster: why yellow broke every convention of political design, how the speech bubble and inverted exclamation marks were chosen to feel authentic to Bronx and Queens, why the now famous progressive lean came from a space constraint, and how bilingual typography pushed the team into a tighter, sharper composition. Scott talks about the risk of running a Netflix style campaign poster in a sea of red, white, and blue lookalikes, the moment volunteers started fighting to hand them out, and the strange feeling of watching the design language get copied across the country. Beyond the AOC story, Scott shares the philosophy behind Tandem's work: design is planning, visual identity is the tip of the iceberg, and the real job is helping organizations stop competing with razor subscription brands and start meeting their actual audience where they are. He gets into schismogenesis, the fluency gap between cause work and business marketing, why distressed fonts usually lie, and why the Buffalo Bills logo is great even though none of it makes any sense. Key Takeaways ● The AOC identity worked because it broke political convention on purpose. Yellow, a speech bubble, inverted exclamation marks, and a forward leaning typeface treated a Bronx and Queens campaign like a Netflix launch instead of a yard sign blending into the median. ● Designing is planning. A logo is the tip of the iceberg, and without strategy, audience understanding, and narrative underpinning, a slick mark is just a nice facade on a building that is shitty on the inside. ● Every non-incumbent political campaign is a zero sum startup with a hard success or failure date, and the risk averse instinct to look like a politician usually costs progressive candidates the chance to actually stand out. ● Schismogenesis, the idea that cultures form in opposition to each other, explains a lot of why political branding is bad. Tactics get moralized just because the other side uses them, and good ideas get thrown out for tribal reasons. ● Access to the stakeholder is everything. Tandem spent real time with Alexandria before she won, which is why the brand fit her instead of dressing her up as a generic politician. ● A great mark is conditional and contextual. The Buffalo Bills name makes no logical sense, the Browns helmet is not even brown, and both work because they earned a story and stood the test of time. Guest ● Scott Starrett, Founder and Director, Tandem. Scott Starrett is the founder and director of Tandem, a communication design and brand strategy firm focused on advocacy and public interest work, predominantly with nonprofits. He studied illustration and graphic design and previously served as creative director at a political communications firm in Austin, Texas, with his studio known for creating the original campaign identity for AOC. Connect ● Creative Caucus on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecreativecaucus ● Studio Brubaker: https://www.studiobrubaker.com ● Tandem: https://tandem.nyc ● Tandem on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tandem.nyc Hashtags #CreativeCaucusPodcast #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCreatives #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalMarketing #CreativeStrategy #BrandStrategy #PoliticalDesign #AOC #Tandem #LogoDesign #VisualIdentity #AdvocacyDesign #NonprofitBranding #DesignStrategy

Charlie Goldensohn: An Unexpected New Social Media Star

Garret Brubaker sits down with Charlie Goldensohn, political strategist, commentator, and co-founder of Badlands Agency, for a candid conversation about how a former Dianne Feinstein staffer became one of the loudest voices in the left's organic media revival. Charlie walks Garret through the trajectory: Senate office at 21, chief of staff energy at ATTN: in LA, Jill Biden's digital director in Wilmington, Jose Andres advisor, senior advisor and executive producer on the Harris paid media team. Then, after watching the Harris campaign set six figures on fire making 30-second spots that died in testing, he picked up his phone and started ranting. The conversation digs into what is actually broken inside Democratic creative right now. Charlie breaks down why "we need a Joe Rogan of the left" misreads how Rogan was built, why his audience skews 60% women on purpose, and why authentic, direct-to-camera content from people like Amanda Zurawski outperforms premium scripted ads at a fraction of the cost. He gets specific about the consultant economics that push campaigns toward expensive cable buys, the difference between running on "affordability" and running on free buses, and why the @chez.chuck handle started as a misunderstanding of French. Garret and Charlie close on the bigger fight: how the left reclaims freedom and patriotism as its own, why Bernie's 2020 town hall video model still works, and what gives a 27-year-old in Florida hope when Zohran wins in New York. It is a tactical, opinionated, occasionally self-roasting look at where political creative goes next from someone making it and critiquing it at the same time. Key Takeaways ● Charlie's path from Feinstein staffer to viral creator ran through ATTN:, Jill Biden's digital team, Jose Andres, and the Harris campaign's paid media operation, where he watched six-figure ad budgets die in testing rooms. ● @chez.chuck launched on TikTok with privacy settings cranked because Charlie was embarrassed. A shirtless beach video aimed at "MAGA dudes" cracked the algorithm and proved 90% of the battle is getting over the cringe. ● His audience skews 60% women on purpose. When women share his videos with the men in their lives, he reaches the lapsed-Democrat, Theo-Vonn-curious dudes the left keeps losing. ● The "Joe Rogan of the left" pitch fundamentally misreads how Rogan was built. Politics is downstream from culture and Rogan spent over a decade earning trust before he had political power. The fix is investment in digital infrastructure, not a single replacement voice. ● Organic is the smartest, cheapest testing ground for paid. Amanda Zurawski had zero TikTok followers when Charlie cold-messaged her. The two-minute, no-B-roll vertical they cut hit 1.6 million views in a week and put her on the DNC stage. ● Specificity wins. Zohran did not run on "affordability," he ran on free buses and free childcare. Democrats keep losing because they are obsessed with being correct and forgettable instead of memorable. Guest ● Charlie Goldensohn, Political Strategist, Commentator, and Co-founder, Badlands Agency. Charlie is a political strategist, producer, and co-founder of Badlands Agency who has built a large political audience online as a social media commentator. He began his career as a Senate staffer for Senator Dianne Feinstein after growing up in a politically active family in San Francisco. Connect ● Creative Caucus on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecreativecaucus ● Studio Brubaker: https://www.studiobrubaker.com ● Charlie Goldensohn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chez.chuck/ ● Charlie Goldensohn on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chezchuck ● Badlands Agency: https://badlandsstories.com #CreativeCaucusPodcast #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCreatives #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalMarketing #CreativeStrategy #OrganicMedia #SocialFirst #CampaignCreative #DigitalStrategy #PoliticalContent #CreatorEconomy #BadlandsAgency #DirectToCamera #AuthenticMessaging

Laura Porat: The Motion Designer Blazing the Future of Political Creative

Garret Brubaker sits down with Laura Porat, the motion designer and art director who helped shape the visual voice of three presidential campaigns. From Elizabeth Warren's toaster explainer to the high-energy hype reels that defined Kamala Harris's 100-day sprint, Laura breaks down what it actually takes to deliver broadcast-quality animation under campaign-grade deadlines. She gets candid about the red tape, the 18-hour days, the Wilmington housing crunch, and why she fought for better working conditions on the Harris campaign before her team burned out in October. The conversation digs into craft as much as culture. Laura explains why a single motion designer can replace a designer, animator, and video editor on a tight political timeline, how sports graphics became the north star for Harris campaign creative, and why Cavalry has become her secret weapon for scalable, data-driven animation. She also talks about her work in Blender, the limitations of AI in real production workflows, and the compositing tricks behind those text-integrated Biden videos that made policy feel personal. Beyond the campaign trail, Laura opens up about being a deaf creative in a visual medium, how disability has sharpened her problem-solving instincts, and why traveling to 40 countries has shaped her color sensibility and storytelling. She shares the origin story of Motion Collabs, her eight-year-old global community of animators, and leaves listeners with a rallying cry: use your animation for good. Connect ● Creative Caucus on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecreativecaucus ● Studio Brubaker: https://www.studiobrubaker.com ● Laura Porat Website: https://lauraporat.com/ ● Laura Porat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraporat ● Motion Collabs: https://www.motioncollabs.com Resources ● GOTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v5RUX6IUS4 ● Early Voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=005Psv73hNc Hashtags #CreativeCaucusPodcast #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCreatives #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalMarketing #CreativeStrategy #MotionDesign #MotionGraphics #PoliticalCampaigns #CampaignCreative #Animation #Blender #Cavalry #DesignLeadership #AccessibleDesign

The Pete For America Video Team Reunion: Shooting a Presidential Campaign Like Reality TV

On this episode of Creative Caucus, Garret Brubaker reunites five members of the Pete Buttigieg 2020 presidential campaign video team for a candid look at life inside a presidential primary. Gina Reis, Hussien Salama, Maggie Sullivan, Becca Davila, and Carina Teoh trade war stories about building a rocket ship mid-launch, running reality-TV-style coverage, surviving debate night war rooms, and carrying the Pete playbook into the White House, the Senate, and the governorship. Guests ● Gina Reis — Pete for America video team; went on to be video director for Mark Kelly's Senate campaign. Website: https://www.ginareis.com Instagram: @gina_reis (https://www.instagram.com/gina_reis) ● Hussien Salama — Pete for America video team; went on to Senator Jon Ossoff, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Biden administration. Website: https://www.hussiens.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussien-salama-b982043b ● Maggie Sullivan — Pete for America video team; went on to the DCCC, Senator Alex Padilla, Governor Josh Shapiro, and now Representative Lauren Underwood. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretesullivan/ ● Becca Davila — Pete for America video team; went on to the Biden campaign and the White House. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/becca-davila ● Carina Teoh — Pete for America video team; went on to Senator Alyssa Slotkin's campaign and Senator Raphael Warnock's Georgia Senate runoff. Instagram: @cteohphoto https://www.instagram.com/cteohphoto LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carina-t-850b096a Key Takeaways ● The Pete for America video team treated the campaign like a reality show, shooting everything constantly, which only worked because Pete trusted his team and was the same person on and off camera. ● Most of the team had no political background before Pete. They came from crooked Media, local news, PBS kids TV, New York commercials, and fashion, and got hired through cold emails and Facebook group postings. ● Campaigns are startups you build in a year and tear down in a week. Expect imposter syndrome, no infrastructure, six or seven day weeks, and professional development you cannot replicate anywhere else. ● The video team pitched their own ideas instead of waiting for orders, and the scrappy fundraising videos built in the office often outperformed the polished stuff. ● The jellyfish, a giant physical server tethering every editor to the office, defined their lives and blocked every attempted office move until the pandemic finally forced cloud access. ● Keegan-Michael Key was lined up to endorse Pete before a staffer got cold feet, and the team had a full endorsement video cut and ready to go. ● The Iowa caucus delay cost Pete the momentum the team believed would catapult him to the nomination. To this day they think the outcome would have been very different if the win had been called on the night. ● Lessons from Pete shaped every campaign that followed, from Mark Kelly in Arizona to Ossoff in Georgia to Josh Shapiro's VP stakes run to Biden's monthly White House recap videos. ● Video on campaigns evolves every two seconds. What worked in 2020 will not work in 2028, and the next generation of 24 year olds will be the ones pulling 40,000 step days on no water. Connect ● Host Garret Brubaker, Studio Brubaker, https://www.studiobrubaker.com #CreativeCaucusPodcast #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCreatives #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalMarketing #CreativeStrategy #PeteForAmerica #PresidentialCampaign #VideoProduction #PoliticalVideo #CampaignLife

Kate Conway: The Harris/Walz Creative Director Takes Us Inside the Presidential Campaign

In this episode of the Creative Caucus podcast, Garret Brubaker sits down with Kate Conway, former creative director of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run creative on one of the most unconventional campaigns in modern history. From building a 75-person team in months to executing a full rebrand in under two weeks, Kate reveals the rapid decisions, scrappy problem-solving, and strategic thinking that powered the campaign's creative engine. Listen as Garret and Kate break down the viral camo hat moment, the debate-night strategy designed to get under Trump's skin, and why the Freedom launch video, never intended as an ad, became one of the campaign's most persuasive pieces of creative. #CreativeCaucusPodcast #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCreatives #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalMarketing #HarrisWalz #CampaignCreative #BrandStrategy #DigitalAdvertising #PoliticalDesign Featured Ads Harris-Walz Branding Case Study -https://www.wideeye.co/case-study/harris-for-president-2024 [https://www.wideeye.co/case-study/harris-for-president-2024] Safety and Security Ad - https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/9a79bed3-5da4-4ce0-b206-321e2ecb7651/ [ https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/9a79bed3-5da4-4ce0-b206-321e2ecb7651/] Debate Design - https://www.laurahardwick.com/harris-for-president [https://www.laurahardwick.com/harris-for-president] "Think" Spot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TNgcGhDVA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TNgcGhDVA] "Like Detroit" Spot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPgQp2VuZwQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPgQp2VuZwQ] Resources DCCC Rebrand - https://dccc.org/ [https://dccc.org/] Wide Eye Creative - https://www.wideeye.co/case-study/harris-for-president-2024 [https://www.wideeye.co/case-study/harris-for-president-2024] Connect Kate Conway [https://www.bykateconway.com/] Studio Brubaker [https://www.studiobrubaker.com/]