Published in the Toronto Standard. October 5, 2011.
Elections Ontario pamphlet, 2011(Click for a close-up)
It’s not everyday that you receive a government pamphlet in the mail that has hearts, smiley faces and balloons decorating the page. But this year you probably did. Elections Ontario has been doing things a little bit differently and is hoping their correspondence will catch your attention before it ends up in the recycling bin. Embedded in the pamphlet’s lighthearted icons are important messages: ‘X’, vote, ballot, October 6.
“Generally speaking, the administration agencies centre their campaigns on the action required by the viewer or reader: ‘Speak up! Exercise your right! Go vote!’ Air space is cluttered, so we wanted to be distinct. ‘Here’s how voting is going to be easy for you,’” said Elizabeth Armstrong, the communications manager for Elections Ontario.
The illustration on the pamphlet mailed to every household in Ontario is a whimsical combination of cityscape and country; mixing highrises, bales of hay, tents, waterfalls, tractors, a moose and giant doughnut. It’s got a bit of a Where’s Waldo feel to it. “It’s supposed to be an amalgamation of the entire province: if Ontario were a village,” said Armstrong. There are a few blurbs of text explaining how to vote (by mail, advance polls), where you can vote (on campus, at hospitals), and that there are jobs available. The sans serif font is bubbly and clearly legible. It’s a stark contrast from previous election material. For example the pamphlet from 2007 had a giant yelling mouth replacing the ‘O’ in ‘Vote’ and a full-page spread of text. Even the Elections Ontario logo was small and difficult to read.
This year the colour palette revolves around a saturated yellow, nicknamed “democratic mango.” The training manual for election officials is a highlighter purple (no catchy nickname).
None of the people in this pamphlet are models. Design by Leo Burnett.
“Choosing a colour is major because we’re representing a non-partisan government agency. We had to be really careful not to go with a colour that was too red, too blue or too orange because that would look like we were favouring a certain party,” said David Buckspan, the group account manager at Leo Burnett, the advertising agency that created this year’s promotional material.
“One thing I like about it is that it looks citizen friendly. You don’t need a university degree to understand it. It’s casual, friendly and approachable,” said Tom Vassos, a business instructor at the University of Toronto. Despite the catchy design he doubts that it will increase the number of voters at the polls. “A re-brand will not have as much of an effect as technology and visibility on social media platforms where you can increase your reach and sometimes get a viral effect. The Town of Markham allowed online voting and it increased voter turnout by 20 to 30 per cent.”
But Armstrong says that the mail-outs are crucial in getting the message across, especially in rural areas with zero access to the Internet. “We’ve been receiving a lot of feedback,” said Armstrong, “but my favourite call was from a person who said, ‘This is the first piece of government information I’ve actually read. I have it up on my wall.’” Now that might be a first.
Elections Ontario vote card, 2011.
