typestorming
London 2012 logo
2007June 08
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog) has unveiled its branding for the 2012 Games, based around the concept of “Everyone’s Games”. The logo, devised by Wolff Olins, will be available in four colours pink, blue, green and orange.
It starts to earn a lot of critizism, more than 80 per cent of the respondents to a BBC online poll disapproved of the logo. Also animated footage promoting the logo for the 2012 London Olympic Games was removed from the organisers’ Web site amid concern it could trigger epileptic fits.
It looks pretty random and it takes a while to discover the number 2012 in the logo but on the other hand I don’t think that a poll has any significance (also you should watch the videos not only take a look at the logo). You shouldn’t ask everybody because this is a reduction to “taste”, and it’s not about taste. Aren’t you lucky that there’s no crown or a big ben metaphor in the logo?
And at the end it’s better to get extreme reactions than no reaction although the “extremly brilliant” reaction is still missing.
by Samo on 09 Jun 18:10
I’m not sure about whether the “a logo for everybody” reasoning (excuse?) was thought of before or after the logo was made.
Personally, I think it’s as ugly as the 80ies possibly could have been. It’s really something one could expect from a civil servant working at the chamber of commerce and not a graphic designer.
However, I don’t blame the designer. It’s probably just a very good example of too many cooks (in this case probably “London 2012” officials) spoiling the soup. Things like sporting event logos or city logos often go trough several comitees adding “ideas”, giving “directions” and what not.
by Rick Curran on 18 Jun 12:26
I really don’t like it. I don’t really care to have any kind of 80’s revival, especially not for an event like this! Past logos may be a bit more formulaic than this but I think they are much more in keeping with the themes of the hosting country than this design is.
by Patrick Krecker on 30 Jun 01:59
I like how you have not dismissed it as a useless waste of time. The brand expert in the clip has also missed this crucial element. They’re making every attempt at being bold here, and in doing so have generated an enourmous amount of buzz. I think that all PR is good PR and here’re they’re accomplishing one of their self-stated goals: “Reaching out to everyone on the planet.” Surely it seems like everyhone on the planet is talking about this logo.
by peter purgathofer on 18 Jul 12:47
I’m not sure about whether the “a logo for everybody” reasoning (excuse?) was thought of before or after the logo was made.
if this was a quote of my statement, then you misquoted me. what they say it that the want to make the olympics an olympics for everybody.
olympic games often have the harshest, most reckless enforcements of branding that one can think of. normally, you can only use the brand if you pay obscene sums of moneys. obviously, this is planned to be different in london. if it is, then the logo is well done, since it communicates the “bastardness”, the openness to participation and change by the public.
Comments closed
by peter purgathofer on 08 Jun 12:14
i like the ideas that are transported with the logo. there is a certain inconsistency in the logo as it has a flair of not being designed but obviously a lot of money went into this.
if they follow through with the idea of an “olympics for everybody”, and if anybody can use the logo as she wishes, then the logo is extremely brilliant. otherwise, if we get to see the same trademark and IP quarreling as always, it sucks.