Att samla en stad : En visuell retorisk analys av Zohran Mamdanis valkampanj 2025

Sammanfattning

Graphic design plays a defining role in the construction of a political campaign. When Zohran Mamdani campaigned for the New York City mayoral election in 2025, the visual language played a political part by itself. This essay explores how the Mamdani campaign utilized urban signs as rhetorical tools. Six elements from the campaign are examined through a semiotic analysis and then linked to theory about visual rhetorics. Two interviews are executed with the aim of complementing the semiotic analysis by including other perspectives on how a city can be employed as a tool in visual communication, as well as acquiring information about the construction of visual identities. This essay further aims to show how graphic design can shift focus from an individual politician to a collective representation of a city. The result demonstrates that by using signs from the city, such as recurrent colors and renowned buildings, Mamdani’s campaign created an imagined community within the city in order to strengthen political commitment among citizens. Additionally, the essay indicates that graphic design can construct politics as a natural part of a everyday life and consequently make complex messages more accessible.