The Moving Parliament: Design Takes a Stand for Democracy

Nov. 12, 2018

In 2018 democracy is under pressure. Also in Germany. Where if the democratic parties do not push things forward, the radical parties will. In order to prevent the radicals from rising even more, the liberal Free Democratic Party need to use their time in opposition well.

Therefore, to remind every Member of Parliament of the Free Democrats to set things in motion, creative agency Heimat Berlin and creative studio Field.io Berlin have developed ‘The Moving Parliament. The human fuelled brand design.’ A dynamic new brand identity for the Free Democrats. With a life of its own – quite literally.

The new algorithm powered visual identity is made up of a swarm of 80 shapes - each one representing and standing for a Free Democratic Member of Parliament. Each shape is a moving form of a yellow triangle. Yellow is the traditional colour of the Free Democrats, and the triangular shape is based on their percentage of seats in parliament.

Each of these shapes is charged and set in motion by the activities and ideas of each MP taken from their policies, news and social media feeds. How? An algorithm tracks every idea that’s published online. Whenever new content is released, the swarm of shapes start moving faster. The more ideas and policies are published, the faster the motion becomes.

A tool allows party members to customize and design their own individual stationery, business cards, brochures, posters, light installations and information booths. Each is a unique snapshot of the swarm.

Reminding Free Democrats to keep moving things forward.

Matthias Storath, Chief Creative Officer, Heimat, said:

“Any kind of communication has to take a stand for democracy nowadays. This is also true for design.”

The Moving Parliament is conceived by Heimat and implemented by London-based creative studio field.io. Heimat is a Berlin based agency, working on the intersection of digital communication, design and advertising, and is one of Germany’s leading creative agencies, currently agency of the year according to leading marketing titles including Horizont and W&V. Heimat started working for the Free Democrats in 2014 and has since entirely re-launched the communication of the party.