Get our free newsletter

DO IT DO IT DO IT

I already get the newsletter

Candidate: At-large Councilmember David Catania, seeking re-election

Colors: Hunter green, baby blue, white

Graphic elements: Three stars, a lot of borders

Slogan: No real slogan

Spotted: Arkansas Avenue NW and Taylor Street NW

Signspotter says: Catania gets the award for stateliness. “An elegant green, an elegant Caslon, an elegant Copperplate, some elegant, border-crossing stars,” marvels Steve Lekowicz, who works in a semi-design capacity at Walt Disney and launched the long-lost website LogoHell. It’s the majesty of a man who wants you to know he holds office, and is not merely a member of the crowd seeking it. Why else, in a throw-the-bums out year when an incumbent mayor seems close to losing his job, would anyone put the unnecessary word “Re-Elect” on his signs?

Indeed, when it comes to design, the proud officeholder can assert his dignity too much. One border suggests an elegant frame, while two begins to evoke a house of mirrors. Catania has created “a sign within a sign within a sign,” Lekowicz points out.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery