Campaign Logos Hit The Lawns

Ponytails and pairs of glasses have been popping up all over parts of Dixwell and Newhallville, in a show of support for candidates in a race not many might typically pay close attention to — a summer primary for state representative.

Those illustrated images represent the candidates behind them, and two notable visual characteristics — in Steve Winter’s case, his long ponytail. In Abdul Osmanu’s, his glasses.

The two candidates have joined New Haven Public Schools Family Resource Coordinator Tarolyn Moore in running for the Democratic nomination to represent the 94th General Assembly District at the state Capitol, after State Rep. Robyn Porter decided not to run for re-election. The district includes Newhallville and parts of Hamden. 

The polls are open on Tuesday until 8 p.m. Click here, here, here, and here to read more about the candidates. 

“ ​‘You’re the glasses guy!’ ” Osmanu recalled people saying to him at the polls back in 2021. That’s when he was still 19 and running for a seat on Hamden’s legislative town council to represent the third district. He was happy that people recognized him and his notable accessory — that’s what he was hoping for when he designed his own campaign logo for that year’s race.

Osmanu was working at Planet Fitness at the time, and as he stood at the front desk, playing with pen and paper, he realized that the ​“b” and the ​“d” in his name connected in an interesting way — if he drew a line through them, they looked a lot like a pair of glasses. 

Inspired by the campaign logo of his mentor and former Hamden local legislative colleague Justin Farmer — whose logo pays homage to the signature headphones Farmer can be seen wearing around town — Osmanu knew he had his sign. With the help of easily-accessible graphic design platform Canva, Osmanu brought his sketch to life.

Osmanu is still using the graphic today, repurposing it for the race for state representative. ​“It’s the same logo a lot of my constituents have always known and seen and come to recognize,” he said, embracing the continuity. 

The image is straightforward but fun — two vivid shades of blue, one a richer royal and the other a lighter azure. The glasses are the lighter shade, sticking out between ​“A” and ​“ul.” Under his name: ​“Abdul Osmanu For State Representative” — helpful for those who might think his name is ​“Aul.” Below that: ​“A Clear Vision for the 94th District.” At the bottom of his lawn signs are two photos of him, one of him in a suit, the other of him bearing a megaphone, demonstrating his record as both an activist and a politician.

“Growing up, I was horrible at art,” Osmanu laughed, saying that he’s not an artistic person at all. It took time — built through working on campaigns and looking to others for inspiration. 

“I like the simplicity,” he said of his logo. ​“When there’s too much going on, it distracts from the point. So you want something memorable but not over-the-top.”

Winter, a former five-term alder from Newhallville and the city’s current climate czar, meanwhile, solicited for his campaign art the work of Joe Baez. The two are friends — Winter first met Baez years ago, and Baez helped with the graphics for Winter’s 2017 campaign for alder. Winter was also inspired by Baez’s work designing the graphics for his wife Dominique Baez in her race for Hamden’s legislative council in 2019. Baez had turned Dominique’s hair into a tree, and her body into its roots. 

Winter and his wife Emily spent a train ride sketching an idea for Baez, who took the loose idea of turning Winter’s signature ponytail into an ​“S” and using an acronym with Winter’s ethos for public service and created an arched graphic with a warm western color palette — soft blue, orange, brown. 

“What he came up with was so much cooler than I could have imagined,” Winter said, laughing as he recalled the original sketch. ​“It’s so bad.”

The almost Obama-esque half circle (which Winter said reminded him of a rising sun) is filled with Winter’s profile — his own glasses included as well — and his curved ponytail giving way to a large ​“S” for ​“STEVE.” Then below, growing in size, ​“For STATE REP,” all atop an acronym bed: ​“Responsive. Effective. Progressive.” 

Baez made the image by playing around in Adobe Illustrator by using shapes and building blocks, and by using actual pen and paper to perfect the shape of the ​“S.” Then, he digitized the image. 

According to Winter, who was enthusiastic to talk about the story behind the art, the image is ​“universally beloved.” People stop him to say, ​“You’re the guy from the lawn signs!”

The signs have marked lawns all over Newhallville and Hamden. Both candidates said they liked the other’s signs, and agreed that their images owed something to Farmer’s iconic headphones logo. 

Moore does not appear to have lawn signs out. She did not respond to a request for comment for this story.