Melania Trump Designs Her Own Logo. It’s Just As Bad As You Think

First Lady Melania Trump has tried her hand at logo design. Let that sink in for a moment.

New York Times reporter Julie Davis reports that the FLOTUS designed the wordmark for her new initiative “Be Best” herself, and that she wanted something that would appeal to children. That’s certainly reflective in the all-cap red and blue logo, which looks like a toddler scrawled it in Paint. Davis also says that an official told her the First Lady prefers “clean lines.”

The design community is, predictably, having fun with this one. Pentagram partner Michael Bierut–who designed Hillary Clinton’s logo in the 2016 presidential campaign–finds the logo a real headscratcher:

The initiative, which the White House announced on Monday, is targeted at helping children be their best selves by promoting well-being, fighting the opioid crisis, and encouraging kids to “choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion” on social media (LOL).

Incredibly, the logo isn’t the only design crime here. Melania also allegedly ripped off the exact design from a 2014 FTC report on cyberbullying in Be Best’s brochure. The typeface, layout, and graphics are close to identical–as is the vast majority of the content.

Sigh. Of course, the Trump administration has shown that sometimes bad graphic design is exactly what works. Here at Co.Design, we’ll console ourselves with the hope that someone creates a Be Best typeface.

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