Take the Step: A nonpartisan poster promoting midterm voting
The Project
Midterm elections see lower voter turnout, but they are just as important as presidential elections. According to Ballotpedia, the 2022 midterm elections saw a 20.4% decrease in eligible voter turnout rates compared to the 2020 presidential election.
In my Design of Visual Images course at Elon University, I was assigned to design a nonpartisan poster promoting voting in the upcoming 2026 midterm election. Some guidelines for the poster were that it needed to be 11×17 inches in portrait orientation, use a provided AIGA GOTV template at the bottom, and promote a nonpartisan message.
The Process
Before I began designing, I identified my target audience. My poster's target audience is college students and young adults ages 18 to 24, especially first-time or infrequent voters, known to not show up in midterm elections. According to The USAFacts Viz Lab, 18- to 24-year-olds are the least likely voting-eligible age range to vote in midterm elections.
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To start brainstorming, I wrote down many possible messages for the poster and proceeded to sketch visuals for each concept. I asked my peers and professor for input on my sketches, and from there, I chose a direction. I decided to work with the message of “too many steps?” using imagery of a staircase and an open door.
I created multiple drafts of this concept and asked for constructive criticism from my peers and professor to fine-tune the most effective solution.
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“TAKE THE STEP” is large, uses a heavier stroke, and is emphasized through a subtle drop shadow effect. It intentionally has no period at the end because the punctuation can feel too demanding, evoking an unnecessary sense of finality and making the design unbalanced. “TAKE THE STEP” has a commanding tone, speaking directly to first-time voters who may still be deciding whether to participate in the midterm elections.
The door opens inward to reveal a blue background and white stars, serving to invite the viewer inside to participate in democracy. The open door with stars behind it also symbolizes a meaningful threshold for the viewer, where they are gaining a voice in decisions that will affect their future.
The radial light burst and the glow effect in the background behind the door and steps evoke a secondary, more subtle stars-and-stripes imagery. I didn't want the design to be on a pure black background because it felt intimidating, like a void. Instead, the shadowy blue and the light effects I added make the background feel more welcoming and inspiring.
The text “VOTE” is intentionally filled with a gold gradient as a neutral color choice so it does not reference a specific party or political issue through color and, instead, encourages nonpartisan voting. Through its accentuated placement at the bottom of the stairs, “VOTE” is emphasised as the action my poster encourages.
The Product
The overall brief message of the poster is easy to understand at a glance, and a closer look reveals a multilayered call to action. This makes the poster effective in busy settings, especially college campuses. All of these design elements, which I created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator, make voting in the midterm elections feel like an active choice and a meaningful step forward for young potential voters.
