2012 London Olympics Identity
Friday, August 29th, 2008The new identity for the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London, England has been released and I’ve posted it above. Unfortunately for the IOC, the $800,000 logo has not been met with much acclaim since its reveal. In fact, as ABC News reports, the criticism has been downright rabid. Here’s an excerpt from that story:
An online petition posted by Jonathan Ellis Monday has generated more than 28,000 electronic signatures from around the world, many complete with scathing commentary, including repeated “Rubbish!” calls.
The criticism ranged wide. Many called the expensive price tag a waste of money, claiming that a national competition would have been more appropriate than using an expensive professional agency. Others balked at the design because it failed to capture the British spirit, saying the design was a source of collective embarrassment rather than pride. Still others complained that the “abstract” attempt was too much like a “1980s hangover.”
I was reading a post on Thought Gadgets this morning about this, and Ben points out that many blogs and Web sites are having official contests to see if ordinary people can come up with something better. One of the more notable contests can be found HERE. Ben makes the point that this is a slippery slope because it really serves to devalue the work done by design + branding firms.
While I can’t argue that $800,000 is excessive for a logo design, the world has to have a better understanding of the work and process that goes into a design like this. It’s not simply a few clicks of the computer mouse and voila! It’s research, it’s brainstorming, it’s concept development, it’s design, it’s revisions, it’s production. It’s a whole team of designers working together to achieve a solution. It’s concept after concept, direction after direction, revision after revision until it’s just right.
I personally don’t mind the logo. To have tried to develop a logo that suits everyone everywhere would have been a nearly impossible exercise that would have resulted in a safe and generic solution. And don’t discount the importance of this word-of-mouth marketing for the event, still four long years away. Sometimes controversy is key!
Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com










