Double Take! Romika vs. Mitt Romney

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted a story in this series, but with the upcoming election this particular matchup has been floating around the blogosphere quite a bit. On the top is German shoe manufacturer Romika; on the bottom is the campaign logo for Mitt Romney. Although we have to assume Romika’s logo was designed prior to Romney’s (the company has been around since 1922), there is not much information available online to confirm this is the case.

Whichever came first, the two identities share undeniable similarities. Both Romney and Romika both start with “Rom” and have the same character count, which makes for an immediate connection visually between the two. On the design side, beginning with the color selection, both share the same deep blue and red palette.

Although the letterforms and style of the logos are very different, the similar concept and format of the mark is what seems to be the most striking. Mitt Romney’s campaign logo mark is comprised of staggered shapes the resemble both a capital “R” and people’s silhouettes; Romika’s mark shares the same general concept and technique, although it is unclear if their mark is meant to resemble people as well (conceptually, Romney may have been a little more unique here).

With all the political dialogue floating around before the election, it remains to be seen whether this will be picked up and investigated as a larger story. But for now, it’s pretty clear that whether intentionally or not, we definitely have a case of mistaken identity here!