THE UNITED COLORS PROJECT : BLENDING DESIGN AND ACTIVISM
In a moment when our nation stood at a crossroads, creativity became my form of civic engagement. When Joe Biden stepped aside in July 2024, and endorsed VP Kamala Harris for the top of the ticket, my lifelong friend Kate Seligson Friedman and I saw an opportunity to transform political angst into something both meaningful and beautiful.
Drawing on my expertise in brand development and product design and Kate's background in activism, we quickly created The United Colors Project and launched Colors For Kamala—a nail polish collection that merged beauty with purpose.
Our goal was simple yet powerful: create something playful and fun, something that was approachable for people not typically engaged in public displays of political affection. We recognized nail art as a form of self-expression that's uniquely personal and public simultaneously. This duality perfectly embodied our mission—allowing supporters to express their values in a way both subtle and obvious, that interestingly became the spark of meaningful conversations. Every "I love that nail color" (which our customers heard a lot) became an opportunity to engage in more civic-minded conversation.
In under a month, we designed and launched three distinct polish sets with culturally relevant names and politically grounded backstories: The Joyful Warrior, America the Beautiful, and Neutralizing Name-Calling. Each set transformed political statements into elegant accessories, with net proceeds supporting the Harris|Walz 2024 Presidential campaign. The design approach was intentionally simple—primary packaging minimized on-bottle labeling to highlight the colors themselves, while secondary packaging took otherwise plain standard boxes and adorned them with rich graphics and messaging relevant to each respective set.
Through a sophisticated approach to design, strategic branding, and purposeful packaging, we created more than just a product—we crafted a line reflective of a movement that invited wearers to polish their politics in style and with substance. Colors For Kamala stands as a compelling example of how thoughtful design and meaningful activism can blend beautifully, creating products that resonate on both aesthetic and value-driven levels.
