Buescher unveils student-designed, TRACER system logo

Students from CCD submit mock-up logos for new online campaign finance system

Denver, July 14, 2009 – Today, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher unveiled the state’s new online campaign finance filing system’s new name and logo. Through a partnership with the Community College of Denver, students were asked to design a logo for the new filing system called TRACER, short for TRAnsparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting.

The Secretary of State’s office approached Professor John Kjos about helping to design a logo for the state’s new online campaign finance filing system, which is currently in development. In all, seven students submitted 16 logos for Buescher’s consideration to brand the state’s online filing and searchable database.

“This wasn’t an easy decision,” Buescher said. “These students showed incredible creativity and provided a wide range of choices that balanced the need for an innovative campaign finance system with traditional Colorado appeal.”

Proposed logos varied through the use of shadowing, altering colors and even symbols to capture the goals of the new system. Ultimately, Buescher chose the logo designed by Stacy Kadota, a student in the school’s program. The design is similar to Colorado’s state flag.

“The CCD graphic design program is proud to have been selected by Secretary Buescher for this important project,” Kjos said. “The students worked hard to develop a broad range of concepts for the Secretary to select from, and learned a great deal about the design process ‘in the real world.’”

Though the name and logo are complete, Buescher says the TRACER system remains in the programming stage with user testing slated for this fall. The searchable database and campaign finance filing system will be available starting this winter.

“The new TRACER system is focused largely on making campaign finance more userfriendly for the public,” Buescher said. “This cutting-edge system will position Colorado as a leader in transparency.”

The selected logo and details about the state’s system are available on the Secretary of State’s web site.