We the Texans

ART DIRECTION | BRANDING | DESIGN RESEARCH

We the Texans was a year-long initiative by The Texas Tribune focused on examining the health of democracy in Texas. Through live events and public discussions, the initiative explored civic disengagement, political distrust, and polarization across the state.

DESIGNING THE EXPERIENCE
Develop a distinct visual identity system for We the Texans — an initiative spotlighting the civic and political issues affecting everyday Texans. The design needed to strike a balance between accessibility and gravity, engaging politically hesitant audiences without overwhelming them.

WHO WE’RE SPEAKING TO
Texans who feel disconnected from the political process or skeptical of institutions, especially those unfamiliar with The Texas Tribune and less likely to attend traditional civic events.

ART DIRECTION
Alfredo Palacios

BRAND POSITIONING
Alfredo Palacios

TRUST THE PROCESS

To kick off finding the visual identity to this initiative, I first needed to understand the intention and goal of every event under We the Texans:

  • What should a We the Texans event feel like?

  • What information are audiences taking away from these experiences?

  • Who is our target audience? How do they relate to politics?

I pulled key information from the initiative’s brief that aligned with these guiding questions, and created a wordlist to better facilitate a human-centered approach to the overall brand.

With these leading words in mind, visual exploration consisted of mood boarding, then formalizing guidelines on elements used for creative production:

  • High-contrast, black and white images at different angles

  • Scans of the Texas Constitution and other documents
 throughout early time periods

  • Incorporating details like textures, shadows and scribbles 
to push the human-centered theme of the initiative

These elements convey the concept of the symposium: our democracy and the way in which people interact
 and influence it.

CREATIVITY IN ACTION

The end result led to a unique and playful direction that piqued audience’s attention, effectively communicated the topic of each event, and helped convey the state of our democracy: a process that can be messy, but ultimately comes together to form something greater that effects each of us.