'People are hungry for authenticity,' says Catherine Connolly's head of campaign art on the key ingredient to connecting with voters

"I wanted to draw inspiration from kind of traditional Irish shopfronts, those kind of hand-painted signs that are such a big part of the visual heritage of Ireland," she said of the font design that became deeply synonymous with the Irish heritage messaging of the Connolly campaign. Vowing to prove that "heritage and modernity can co-exist", Ms Cassidy confessed she was eager to avoid the "polished and corporate" designs of every other election poster she had seen before."

"Another simple but effective artistic feature was the motif of gaeilgeoir Ms Connolly's initials - CC - often printed as pin badges worn by those canvassing for her nationwide which, Ms Cassidy said, really represented the "spirit of the campaign". Precious few designers around the world can say they directly helped to shape the outcome of a presidential election using art alone, but she is under no illusion that her work carries weight."

"Behind the mud-slinging and often colourless back-and-forths on issues of government policy and the skeletons in the other candidates' closets, each campaign has a passionate team of volunteers working day and night on every detail. From hair and make-up to debate preparation, each person plays a role, none less than Anna Cassidy (26) from Meath, who led the multifaceted art design of successful Independent candidate Catherine Connolly's campaign."

Catherine Connolly won a landslide victory with just over 63pc of the vote. Volunteers managed every detail of the campaign, including hair, make-up and debate preparation. Anna Cassidy (26) from Meath led the multifaceted art design and created a visual identity inspired by traditional Irish shopfronts and hand-painted signs. The design aimed to show that heritage and modernity can co-exist and deliberately avoided polished, corporate aesthetics. A motif using Connolly's initials, CC, featured on pin badges worn by canvassers and became a recognizable, unifying symbol that energized supporters and defined the campaign's branding.

Read at Irish Independent