Stylizing Government

If you are following Obama, and his Economic Stimulus Package, then you might have noticed a new emblem on Recovery.gov. I am really loving how he is incorporating technology and design into our government, and I hope that after his term, some of these innovations stick.

If you know me, you know that I am a huge design buff, and also quite the nerd, too (although I prefer the term Stealth Geek, but that is another story), because I feel like both technology and design will change the world. So now you know how excited I am to see these tools used together in a context to, well, change the way we view government.

If you haven't already checked out Recovery.gov, do it now. This is our government's attempt to be honest, and a way for us to hold our leaders accountable. Compare this to the (lack of) information we received from the Bush administration over the last eight years, and you will see the incredible differences. And what better way to make this information available than through the internet? Unfiltered by the media, straight from the source.

Technology makes this information accessible, but design makes all of this information, which would otherwise be dry and boring, inviting and easier to interpret. I especially like the nice infographics on Recovery.gov that do a great job at illustrating these gigantic numbers and amounts of money that, to me, are very difficult to comprehend.

I am loving the design of this new emblem representing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will ultimately help people identify the projects where billions and billions of our tax dollars are being spent. Of course it includes the symbolic colors red, white, and blue. But the emblem also includes another important color to the agenda: green, addressing the administration's commitment to the environment. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I like how the blue field unites the bottom two quadrants together as a type of umbrella, which to me, means we're all going to have to work together to fix this problem. I also just love the simplicity of the cross symbol, which is universally known for first aid.

I also just wanted to quickly mention the other logo that was announced today, TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery), not just because it's a cute acronym, but it's an even cuter logo. It manages to remind me of a tiger, as well as a construction zone sign. Nice. (I tried looking for a better version of this logo, and just couldn't find one, sorry!)

And just as a side note, just imagine how scary/fun it would be to design something so historic, symbolic, and in the public eye!