From the Freelance Files: Bobble Rep!

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I did the art for this smartphone app that caused a bit of a fuss when it was released.

The app was called “Bobble Rep”, and it was a simple non-partisan database that allowed you to identify your U.S. Government Representatives and Senators either via lists by state, a search by zip code or other criteria, or using your phone’s location. The app had an entry for each member of the 111th congress, complete with contact information:

Each entry also featured a caricature of the politician by yours truly as “bobblehead” doll, so if you shook your phone the head would bounce around with a springy “boinnnnngggg” sound effect. Yes, I did all 540 members of congress (senators and representatives from all 50 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico). The app was produced by Ray Griggs and RG Entertainment and programmed by Stevo Brock.

The flap about the app was because Apple initially rejected it. They claimed it “ridiculed public figures” and was in violation of a rule that applied mainly to pornography and . After a bit of an internet firestorm, they reversed their decision and the app when on to make tens of dollars on the App Store. It did get some nice press though, and was featured as one of the top educational apps in the book Incredible iPhone Apps for Dummies, 2010 edition.

Bobble Rep did get updated for the 112th Congress, for which I did 140 new caricatures, but then went the way of the dinosaurs.