Posts in Politics

The Greatest Story Ever Told

August 24, 2024  •  3 min readPhoto of Kamala Harris

Under immense pressure, under the highest of expectations, Kamala Harris outperformed in her acceptance speech at the DNC, delivering way beyond what anyone anticipated. Her biography is what makes her relatable. It illustrates her values. And her story is the American story.

Trump: False God

August 8, 2022  •  7 min readPoster of Donald Trump as a false god with the phrase FALSE GOD

Donald Trump's rallies draw thousands of devoted followers who wait hours to see him speak, creating an almost religious fervor among his base. This cult-like devotion inspired me to design a poster depicting him as a false idol.

Putin: False

June 12, 2022  •  4 min readPoster of Putin as a false idol with the word FALSE

My poster depicting Vladimir Putin as a false idol won a Gold Award in the Graphis Poster 2024 Awards. Created in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the design features a golden bust of Putin against a red backdrop with "FALSE" written in both Russian and English. The poster was printed and displayed in Kyiv, and a limited-edition screen print raised funds for Ukrainian humanitarian aid.

Visualizing Minority Rule in the United States

May 7, 2022  •  4 min readChart showing the nine current Supreme Court justices, with column graphs displaying the popular vote for each nominating president and the population represented by their senate confirmation votes

After NPR's Mara Liasson commented on minority rule in the United States, I wanted to investigate the numbers behind Supreme Court appointments. What I found about presidential popular votes and Senate confirmations was striking enough that I needed to visualize it.

The Continuing Death Spiral of American Democracy

January 6, 2022  •  3 min readPhoto of insurrectionists at the Capitol

I was feeling emotionally off today and I wasn’t quite sure until I realized that the events of January 6, 2021 deeply affected me as a patriotic American. At the time, I thought it was the culmination—the last act of a power-hungry, extremist wing of our country. Donald Trump and his deliberate peddlers of lies and misinformation had incubated and unleashed this insurrectionist mob against the Capitol, against the United States. But I was wrong.

Art for Biden

November 16, 2020  •  2 min readVote for Joe

When Christopher Simmons called for artwork supporting the Biden-Harris campaign, what started as a single contribution evolved into an obsessive creative series. Through 3D typography and animated loops, I channeled my hopes for democracy into Instagram-ready animations designed to catch eyes and change minds.

Agitprop in Times of Uncertainty

June 20, 2020  •  2 min readGraphic of a T shaped like a swastika

In times of political and social upheaval, protest art emerges as a powerful voice of resistance. From Design Is Play's anti-Trump posters to Hong Kong's protest art and Shepard Fairey's "We the People" series, I explore how modern agitprop channels frustration into compelling visual statements against authoritarianism and injustice.

Why Bulletproof Backpacks Are a Good Idea

November 9, 2017  •  5 min readA powerful black-and-white image depicts a young boy looking upwards with a solemn, contemplative expression. On the left, the barrel of an assault rifle held by a gloved hand is pointed, symbolizing the grim reality of gun violence and its impact on children. The dark background heightens the emotional tension, underscoring the unsettling juxtaposition of innocence and the threat of violence in modern society.

We’ve reached the point where schools are selling bulletproof backpack panels to protect kids from mass shootings. This is the NRA’s endgame: guns everywhere, from classrooms to churches to bars, with no meaningful gun control. Meanwhile, gun ownership is declining, but 69% of us live in fear of gun violence, thanks to a vocal minority holding our politics hostage. Bulletproof gear shouldn’t be a back-to-school essential, yet here we are.

We’re Not There Yet

October 17, 2017  •  8 min readSilhouette of human evolution stages over a background of red blood splatters, symbolizing violence and primal instincts.

Yesterday, my Facebook filled with “Me too” posts—stark reminders of pervasive harassment. Later, I heard the harrowing story of a Rohingya survivor, exposing humanity’s capacity for cruelty. Despite millennia of evolution, our primal instincts—aggression, territorialism, tribalism—still pull us back. But progress depends on resisting them and building a future of empathy and cooperation. We must do better. Together.

Losing Our Democracy

September 27, 2017  •  2 min readSenator John McCain standing in the center of the U.S. Senate floor, surrounded by colleagues, casting his decisive vote against the Obamacare repeal, while others observe and react.

We are losing something precious: the ability to compromise. With every election of an ideologue and every retirement of a statesman like John McCain, we edge closer to the collapse of a democratic system that depends on listening and collaboration. Democracy isn’t about winning every fight; it’s about finding common ground. When we lose sight of that, we lose ourselves.