Mustard yellow, sepia, or crimson... why do political parties change colors?

BarcelonaFrom yellow to sepia, from lilac to maroon, from turquoise to blue, and from light yellow to mustard yellow. The graphic designs of many political parties have been on fire over the last year: four parties (ERC, Comuns, Junts, and the CUP) have reworked their graphic identity. In the case of the junteros, the changes were limited to the color and the election campaign, as well as some specific events afterward, but the three left-wing parties have also redesigned their logo and typography, establishing them as the new party brand. These modifications respond to the political context and, above all, to organic movements within the parties.

The most recent change is that of ERC. After many years of opting for yellow and white, this year's Diada festival The Republicans abandoned that color to switch to sepia and tile orange.In June The CUP also left aside the historic red of the Estelada, although the flag remained in the logo, overshadowing the striking yellow that has characterized the anti-capitalists until now. Both groups opted for more rounded fonts.

Recently, both parties have undergone internal changes: ERC following the primaries and the resulting internal divisions, and the CUP following the Garbí Process, which sought to refound and renew leadership and organizational structure. Internal changes are the reason that typically justifies a political party's image renewal, according to Carles Pont, a professor at the UPF Faculty of Communication. In fact, this is how the parties themselves explained it. From ERC, Elisenda Alamany attributed the change to a decision by the new leadership to foster more accessible communication, and from CUP, co-spokesperson Su Moreno boasted about the "updated CUP" and the new phase of the party's journey, reflected in the new logo.

In the case of the anti-capitalists, political communications consultant Xavier Tomàs believes that, in addition to internal changes, the renewal also responds to a technical issue, since the old logo "didn't work well in some areas," especially digitally. As for ERC, Tomàs sees a political motive. The color most identified with the Proceso party is yellow, and now that this political cycle is over, he suggests that the party wants to make it clear that it has also entered a new era. In fact, when they announced the image change, Alamany explained that the changes were taking place because ERC had to "adapt to the new context." However, Tomàs also points to a technical reason: yellow "is quite tiring on the eyes." That's why he sees it as logical that the Republicans have now opted for softer tones, specifically orange because technically it represents a softening of yellow and because, with the disappearance of Ciudadanos from the institutions, "it's a free color."

Alternative colors to capture the border vote

Using colors that deviate from those used up until now is a common trend in politics. Pont points out that several political parties, especially in election campaigns, have used blue, either as a main color or, more importantly, as a secondary or support color, as it is perceived as fairly neutral and, unlike red, is not usually identified with a specific ideology. This is a move Junts made in the 2024 Parliamentary and European elections and, while it may recall the color of the former Convergència, Tomàs sees it as part of a strategy to capture the border vote they are competing for with other parties, as the turquoise color used by Junts members is often strongly identified with the party.

In this regard, Tomàs recalls the actions of the PSC alternative government during the last term, in which the Socialists used the color white to appeal to all those dissatisfied with the work of the ERC executive but for whom the characteristic red of this party would have made them less willing to listen to Salvador Illa's proposals. Vox also uses a similar strategy on its secondary social media channel, Bipartidismo Stream, which features leaders of the party and people close to the party and far-right ideology, but which uses yellow instead of green as its corporate color.

The change of Comunes

Another reason that may justify a change in a party's graphic image could be the desire to distance itself from a similar party. This is a factor that could have influenced ERC's decision to abandon yellow to distance itself from the CUP, Pont points out, but both he and Tomàs consider the paradigmatic example of such a movement to be the change of image of Comuns. They went from lilac to maroon, and the change occurred before the last elections to the Parliament, in which for the first time in many years, Jéssica Albiach's party ran alone, without forming a coalition with Podemos, in a move that both experts agree was intended to distance itself from Ione Belarra's party. In fact, the resulting color is a mixture of the previous lilac and the pink of Sumar.