Erin Hottenstein approached me in January 2021 with an urgent need for branding and materials as she was running for city council.
Working with her team, we decided to focus on her history as a small business owner, long-time resident of Fort Collins, former journalist, and founder of Colorado 50/50, a nonprofit working to encourage women to enter politics in Colorado.
Subsequently, over the course of the 12-week campaign, I created additional materials for her team to use as their messaging evolved and donations came in. We created a variety of materials, including a yard sign, five different postcards and mailers, a digital advertising campaign, and social media graphics.
"Elizabeth was an indispensable part of our team. She was knowledgeable, professional, efficient, and a great communicator. Most importantly, her designs were beautiful and impactful - far better than anything our competition was producing."
– Erin Hottenstein
Brand Design
Our target audience was Democratic voters in District 4 who were looking for someone to build bridges and heal political division. This tactic deeply influenced the visuals for Erin's campaign.
With Erin being a small business owner, we opted to focus her campaign on economic recovery from Covid-19, as well as affordable housing, diversity equity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Fonts and colors were chosen to present Erin as someone who, while running as a Democrat, was somewhat moderate and would be comfortable working with others across the aisle. We wanted to present her as friendly and approachable, yet professional and capable of handling complex issues as a council member.
The Erin Hottenstien for City Council logo and the main variations provided for Erin Hottenstein's logo mark
(Versions of the icon without text were also provided)
(Versions of the icon without text were also provided)
Printed Marketing Materials
Erin's campaign staff provided a wide variety of draft copy for mailers and other materials. I sorted through everything they provided, and edited it down to content that would be easy to read at a glance on various mailers and postcards.
And of course, what is a political campaign without a yard sign?!
And of course, what is a political campaign without a yard sign?!
Erin holding the yard sign
5"x7" Mailer focused on Covid-19 recovery in the city
5"x7" Mailer focused on the city's housing crisis
Left: Front of 4"x6.5" postcard for volunteers to write on and mail, or leave on doorsteps.
Flyer to leave on doorsteps
Digital Advertising Campaign
After some of the initial postcards were mailed and donations started rolling in, I created a digital advertising campaign for Erin, leaning into the red-to-blue gradient featured in her logo.
Digital ad campaign
