Artist behind Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster endorses Harris with her own graphic

The artist behind the iconic “Hope” graphic for former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign has given Kamala Harris the same treatment for her presidential run.

Shepard Fairey — the well-known street artist, advocate, and founder of OBEY Clothing — endorsed Harris on Thursday, revealing a new graphic for the vice president and Democratic candidate.

“We have a very real opportunity to move forward,” Fairey wrote in a statement. “I believe VP Kamala Harris and her VP pick Tim Walz are our best chance to move forward … Politics is messy … but messy is no excuse for checking out.”

The graphic, in Fairey’s signature high-contrast contemporary pop art style, features Harris in hues of blue with pops of red details. It has the text “Forward” at the bottom and her initials in the corner. Fairey shared that the graphic was based on a reference photo taken by White House photographer Lawrence Jackson.

He said “Forward” references Harris’ famous rally quote: “We are not going back.”

The graphic is available for free download and noncommercial re-use on Fairey’s website. The artist added that he was not paid for the design and won’t receive any financial benefit from it.

“I created this work purely in pursuit of a better future,” he wrote, also encouraging viewers to make sure they’re registered to vote.

Fairey’s hand-finished collage version of his “Hope” poster for Obama was added to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery collection in 2009. For his 2008 campaign, Obama’s team adopted the logo with Fairey producing additional versions with phrases including “Change” and “Yes We Did.” Fairey also created a similar graphic for Time Magazine’s 2008 Person of the Year cover.