By Sonal Nain
Newsletter Reporter/Producer
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Bright blue and mustard yellow clashed like neon against the city’s brick and asphalt. The “ZOHRAN” wordmark stretched boldly across campaign posters, its wide, bracketed serifs and forward-leaning “Z” echoing the energy of New York. Alongside, vibrant panels spelled out promises—“Freeze the Rent,” “Fast & Free Buses”—speaking directly to New Yorkers’ everyday struggles.
Shadows fell across the letters, adding depth and drama to colors drawn from the city itself: the yellows of taxi cabs, reds and oranges of bodega awnings, blues of subway tiles, and the golden yellow of MetroCards.
Behind this striking visual identity was Aneesh Bhoopathy, the Philadelphia-based designer whose work has pulsed through New York’s democratic socialist campaigns for years. Having provided design support for leaders like Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport, and Phara Souffrant Forrest, Bhoopathy's creative vision helped turn Zohran Mamdani’s campaign into a movement—one that felt unmistakably New York, and ultimately, one that won.
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His path to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign began naturally, rooted in shared politics and community. “I was living in Zohran’s district during his 2020 Assembly race...” Bhoopathy recalls. The pandemic had paused traditional canvassing, and design carried the message directly into voters’ homes. “Working with him, I admired his eye for strong visual communication,” Bhoopathy says. When Mamdani arrived in the State Assembly, Bhoopathy continued supporting the visual side of his initiatives, creating logos and materials for campaigns including Stop the Plant, Fix the MTA, Not on Our Dime, and the REPAIR Act.
By the time Mamdani launched his mayoral run in 2024, Bhoopathy—now living in Philadelphia—was called back to craft a visual that felt both unmistakably New York and globally resonant. Bodega awnings, taxi cabs and MetroCards shaped the colors, shadows and type styles, grounding the campaign in the rhythm of New York. Bhoopathy also drew from a wider world of hand-painted signage: the expressive brush scripts of Mexico City’s taquerias and the opulent “HORN PLEASE” lettering on Indian trucks. “If it reads as Bollywood to some, I think that’s because bodega signage and Bollywood posters have a common ancestor—hand-painted signage, an international discipline with a long tradition,” he says. The variation in type styles, sizes, and shadows creates hierarchy and emphasis—perfect for political slogans.
The opening page of the Mamdani brand guide reads, “The campaign’s identity reflects the vibrant primary colors that help bodega signage and cab livery stand out in busy New York streets.” The palette—bold yellows, reds, and blues—jumped off the screen, allowing illustrations and iconography to convey energy and personality through a limited set of colors.
After initial drafts, Mamdani challenged Bhoopathy to make the wordmark more expressive, pointing to typographical references. Bhoopathy tried several off-the-shelf fonts before landing on one with bold, bracketed serifs, where the letter “Z” became the anchor. “The initial, less expressive sans-serif mark looked plain by comparison,” Bhoopathy recalls. “I redrew it a number of times, giving it thicker, more unified strokes and increasing the letter width to give it some sturdiness.”
Even the digital spaces carried hidden stories. In a quiet corner of the campaign website developed by Forge's Phil Ditzler, they tucked a small easter egg—the original bodega awning graphic, embedded in the mobile navigation.
Music, too, played its part. The campaign’s soundscape pulled from the same cultural well: during the victory speech, the crowd erupted as the Bollywood anthem "Dhoom Machale" blared in the background, a nod to Mamdani's South Asian heritage. For Bhoopathy, whose studio was outside New York, music was a tether back to the city. “I hadn’t lived in NYC in four years,” he says. “The only consistently effective way to tap into the mindset from 100 miles away was ‘Time’s Up’ by Jadakiss. I was so fired up when I saw a video of Zohran meeting him backstage at MSG.”
For Bhoopathy, the project shifted his understanding of political design. “I began to see it like designing for a hockey team,” he says. “The colors, logo and merch create community—but only when the team has great players and wins games. Zohran’s energy, love for people, and NYC organizers’ hard work made the visuals meaningful.”
Full Interview with Aneesh Bhoopathy
How did the collaboration with Mamdani begin, and at what moment did design shift from being a campaign necessity to a political statement in itself?
I was an active member of NYC-DSA and provided design work for several candidates endorsed by the organization, including Julia Salazar, Jabari Brisport, and Phara Souffrant Forrest, among others. I was living in Zohran's district during his initial 2020 Assembly race, and his campaign resonated with me as a fellow leftist, South Asian New Yorker. The pandemic limited field operations and in-person events, so Zohran saw a need to invest in well-designed mailers that could reach people stuck at home. Working with him on the campaign, I admired his eye for strong visual communication. When Zohran arrived in the State Assembly, I continued to help support the visual side of his initiatives - creating logos and materials for campaigns including Stop the Plant, Fix the MTA, Not on Our Dime, and the REPAIR act.
In the summer of 2024, Zohran reached out about his Mayoral race and asked me to submit a portfolio and proposal for branding his campaign, though I had moved to Philly in the intervening years. I'm not sure what the decision process was like on his end - but I believe the trust I built with him during his earlier campaign and time in office was a large reason he selected me for this project.
The “ZOHRAN” wordmark feels rooted in both New York’s street lettering and South-Asian poster typography. Can you walk me through how you arrived at that typographic voice—and what it says about the campaign’s identity?
One central inspiration was bodega awnings, which (along with taxi cabs and metro cards) provided inspiration for the colors, shadow treatment, and varied type styles. After some initial revisions, Zohran challenged me to turn up the expressiveness of the "ZOHRAN" piece, and provided a few typographical references. I tried typesetting his name in several expressive off-the-shelf typefaces, and found one with these big bracketed serifs. The character of the whole mark pivoted on the expressiveness of the letter "Z", because it's a unique letter and the beginning of his name. But the "Z" glyph in one particular option really stood out. At first, I thought it looked a bit too outré for the main mark, and suggested we could use it for merch or a secondary poster. We thought about it for a few days, and Zohran decided he preferred it. The initial, less expressive sans-serif mark looked plain by comparison. I redrew it a number of times, giving it thicker, more unified strokes and increasing the letter width to give it some sturdiness. The resulting voice is one that is both “of New York” and “of The World”. The hand painted signage is expressive, but also grounded and democratic.
The palette is bold—yellows, blues, reds that feel familiar yet fresh. What theories or cultural cues shaped that palette, and how did you ensure it worked across mediums and moods?
The opening page of the Zohran brand guide reads "The campaign’s identity reflects the vibrant primary colors that help bodega signage and cab livery stand out in busy New York streets".
The three colors had a boldness that jumped off the screen and looked great next to Zohran. While making accompanying illustrations and iconography, I was really thrilled with how much could be expressed through that limited palette.
Your design pulls from bodegas, the MTA and Bollywood posters—visual languages that don’t often coexist. How did you weave those worlds together without it feeling like a collage of clichés?
Bodegas were definitely the core piece of inspiration. If it reads as Bollywood to some, I think that’s because bodega signage and Bollywood posters have a common ancestor - hand painted signage, an international discipline with a long tradition (and in a bit of a resurgence!). I am not an expert, but I spent some time learning about the many techniques and styles of sign painters: from the expressive brush scripts of Mexico City’s taquerias to the opulent “HORN PLEASE” lettering on Indian trucks. The variation in type styles, sizes, and shadows creates hierarchy and emphasis, which is perfect for political slogans.
Looking back, what did this project teach you about the role of design in shaping political imagination—not just how a campaign looks, but how it feels to belong to it?
Before this project, I conceived of my role in political design as helping communicate our ideas with visual clarity and impact. I did not think as much about how design could engender emotion, imagination or belonging. As the campaign wore on, I sometimes thought about it a bit like designing for a hockey team. The colors, logo, and merch, can create a community, but that connection is only formed and deepened when the team wearing those colors has great players and wins games. Zohran is a very talented communicator, connector, and image maker, and he made us believe working people can win. None of the visuals work without his energy, genuine love for people, and of course, the relentless efforts of NYC’s organizers.
Was there a specific song, movie, or mood board that inspired the campaign aesthetic?
I hadn’t lived in NYC in four years and the only consistently effective way to tap into the mindset from 100 miles away is Time’s Up by Jadakiss. I was so fired up when I saw a video of Zohran meeting him backstage at MSG.
Were there any hidden details or easter eggs in the campaign materials that most people wouldn’t notice?
We included the original bodega awning graphic in the mobile navigation of the website. Shoutout to my colleague Phil Ditzler for his incredibly diligent work on the Zohran website.
What's something about Zohran’s personality that you think people wouldn’t guess from his public image?
I think Zohran has been able to surround himself with great creative talent (see his outstanding video, social media, and communications teams) because he is a great collaborator. He has a terrific creative vision, but is always receptive to new ideas or feedback. When you know your client values your time, opinion, and output, you do your best work.
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