Along with a new President and a new design, the White House website features a subtly refreshed logo. In contrast to the Trump Administration’s logo, Biden’s depicts the White House facade with architectural details like columns and windows in white on a navy blue background. According to Ben Ostrower, founder and creative director of agency Wide Eye – which designed the logo along with White House creative director Carahna Magwood and illustrator John Mata – it took about 30 revisions to get it right. From there, they designed an entire logo system with each created to meet the needs of different contexts and mediums.
The latest update is meant to reflect the Biden Administration’s goals, according to White House director of digital strategy Rob Flaherty: “There’s a bit more texture than you might have on a flatter logo. It is both forward looking while having its roots in something very traditional. That’s a nice statement about what we’re trying to do here. We are bringing the country together and winning the battle for the soul of the nation, but also trying to do it in a way that makes people’s lives materially better.” The logo also depicts the building’s north facade, where the front door is located, symbolizing that the White House is accessible – the people’s house. The logo also appears with two different typefaces used during Biden’s campaign – Mercury and Decimal – depending on context, with Mercury, a more traditional serif typeface, taking center stage. “The serif felt more august, befitting the office of the President,” says typographer Jonathan Hoefler, who designed the typefaces. Hoefler took inspiration from Kennedy era letterhead that used a sans serif typeface, and suggested that the Biden design team apply Decimal in the same way. They now use it for print applications like stationery and press releases.
