We’re two months into 2020 and you might not have noticed that the AMS elections are happening right now.
Unlike previous years, there is now a ban on postering. So people are just expected to know when the elections are and go searching for the candidates themselves I guess? Well seeing as we don’t have physical campaign posters to review this year, we’re instead going to review the banners from their Facebook campaign events page. I’ll still call them posters, because ‘Facebook event banner’ is way too many words.
Instead of rating these posters on how good the designs are, I’ll instead be giving these posters a vibe-check. Because that’s what the cool kids do right? I went hunting down for every single campaign’s Facebook events page and checked their vibes so you don’t have to.
President
Cole Evans
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/cole_president.original.png)
Clean design, good contrast and a well picked colour palette. A well-lit standard headshot of Cole Evans. The ‘Cole 2020’ design evokes the aesthetic of US presidential races, which has a very ambitious energy for what is just a student government election. This poster is very professional, almost too professional.
Vibe: A liberal’s dream of a US president.
Ian Stone
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/ian_president.original.png)
Also professional but in a different way. This one is bright and white, kinda like a dentist’s office. The text boxes are pretty funky with the use of two colours for the 3D effect. The blur fade in the middle between the portrait and the rest of the poster gives off soft approachable vibes. Ian Stone looks very comfortable sitting on that couch, although he does look like he knows he had to do it to ‘em.
![['medium']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/do_it_to_em.original.png)
Vibe: He had to do it.
Harresh Thayakaanthan
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/harresh_president_.original.png)
This poster evokes the pumpkin spice latte season with soft oak after tones. The font is fairly solid. You can see Harresh sitting at a picnic table, his hands clasped, his sensitive scarf knotted only once. Be prepared to be listened to.
Vibe: An eco-friendly craft beer brewery.
VP Admin
Aidan Wilson
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/aiden_wilson_poster.original.png)
This poster looks like it was made on Canva. The contrast of colours doesn’t pop and instead is flat like a 1st year student laying on their dorm room floor. The waves look like something from a kid’s beach-themed birthday party or like snakes sneaking into frame up to no good.
Vibe: A high school marketing project.
Sylvester Mensah Jr
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/sly_poster.original.png)
The text is very action and in your face, although the yellow text underneath is getting crushed by the strong font above. What do the symbols mean? All I can see is a story of a bunch of people going to the temple. They gave a single leaf as an offering to all the powers that be. But all they got was a nest with three eggs.
I spent so long looking at this poster thinking that there’s no picture of Sylvester here until just now when I finally noticed that he’s actually a really tiny person sitting on top of the Nest. I was mad at first but now I’m slowly endeared the longer I look at that tiny Sly.
Vibe: Where’s Waldo?
VP External
Andy Wu
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/andy_wu_poster.original.png)
What’s with the white border around the graphic? There is way too much empty space around the poster. Very liberal use of the italics, which is certainly a way to say that you wanna shake things up by having the letters L E A N. Also the green colour scheme paired with the business suit reminds me of Sauder and that might be a bit much.
Vibe: LinkedIn but make it green.
Kalith Nanayakkara
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/kalith_poster.original.png)
Very clean, although clean to the point of looking like a toothpaste ad. The font for Kalith’s name also reminds me of the Gillette logo. Which gives me the impression that this candidate has very good hygiene.
Vibe: Mr. Clean.
VP Finance
Lucia Liang
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/lucia_poster.original.png)
Very brightly lit. This looks like one of those portraits my successful cousins would take for their professional headshots. This poster also looks like an alumni’s testimony you’ll see in a brochure for a liberal arts college. The background does look a bit clinical, like one of those dystopian movie settings where society is perfect, but too perfect?
Vibe: Your ambitious cousin who’s studying in London.
Board of Governors
Brandon Connor
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/brandon_poster.original.png)
Good choice of colours, the blue and yellow contrast well. Nice elegant font. Although the poster does look like those realtor ads you see posted around Vancouver, you know in front of the houses that you’ll never realistically afford in your lifetime?
Vibe: That house from Parasite.
Jeanie Malone
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/jeanie_poster.original.png)
This poster exudes great energy. We’re in a magical mossy forest, courtesy of the UBC endowment lands. Jeanie Malone is standing next to a rugged tree stump staring off longingly into the distance. I love that this poster can also double as a cover for a folk album.
Vibe: Get me tickets to see her concert.
Senate
Mahmoud Borno
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/mahmoud_poster.original.png)
Fairly clean design. The speech bubbles are fun, although it reminds me of those PSA posters you would see around your high school. Kinda like a drugs PSA telling you not to do drugs, but the design inadvertently makes it look like fun anyway?
Vibe: How do you do fellow kids?
Eshana Bhangu
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/eshana_poster.original.jpg)
Good contrast of text against background. Somehow the photo looks like an upgraded version of all of our terrible government ID photos. Also I like how the red dots look like they escaped from Eshana's red jacket and are now forming a conga line.
Vibe: A business card.
Chris Hakim
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/chris_poster.original.png)
Pretty bog standard design. Good contrast of colours, good choice of fonts. Although the diagonal yellow stripe in the middle is like those comic book pages. And it helps that Chris Hakim is posing with his arms crossed like Superman.
Vibe: Cool reliable dad.
Julia Burnham
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/julia_poster.original.png)
It’s all very wholesome. We’re outside a building, it’s a beautiful day on campus. Lovely font.
Vibe: Friendly.
Max Holmes
![['auto']](https://storage.googleapis.com/ubyssey/media/renditions/max_poster.original.png)
There are no words. Literally. There are no words at all on this poster except for the AMS elections logo. But I also have no words as I stare directly at Max Holmes’ beard.
Vibe: Uhhhhhhh.
A previous version mentioned the appearance of a candidate. It has been updated to remove this.