For many of us, we have been blasted by political ads the last month or so, especially the last week. Well, with many US senators and congressman up for reelection, they need to get their names out there and collect those swing votes so they can keep their jobs.
The main two political parties that we see in the ads are Republicans and Democrats. Whether we pay attention to politics or not, we likely know the symbols of each party, the donkey for Democrats and the Elephant for the Republicans.
But how did they come to have these symbols? As a logo design agency, we love knowing the history of all logos and symbols, including these,
Democrats and the donkey. The Democrats were the first US political party to adopt the donkey as its symbol back in the great year of 1828. The President at the time was Andrew Jackson, who was considered to be a “jackass” due to his stubborn mentality. At the start, the animal was meant to mock Jackson and the party but was adopted as its symbol in 1837.
Republicans and the elephant. The Republicans had a bit more of an interesting time discovering this symbol than the Democrats and the donkey. The Herald and The Harper’s Weekly were two popular New York magazines that had several events that led to the party adopting the elephant. The Herald ran a story on zoo animals getting loose and one of their cartoonists drew a cartoon that had a donkey disguised as a lion. This was a metaphor for President Grant seeking his 3rd term. In the cartoon, an elephant was supposed to represent the Republican vote. It is not as exciting or funny as the Democrat story but that is the leading story for why they chose the elephant.
Since these times, both parties have officially replaced these symbols with new ones, designed by A+ graphic design firms; however, they still unofficially represent each party.
Your business deserves to have a logo design that is as unique and iconic as these two parties. Explore logo design ideas with Integraphix and see how we can design a logo for you that stands the test of time.
Tags: democrat donkey, democrats, government logo, logos, republican elephant, republicans