The Logo I'd Forgotten About

With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, I had completely forgotten that it was just a little over a year ago that the London Olympic Organizing Committee publicly unveiled their logo for the 2012 Games.

However, my memory was refreshed this afternoon when I saw a taxi drive by bearing the London logo on one of its door panels (I'm in London).

Seeing the logo made me smile. That's because when it was publicly announced, public criticism was almost universal, with such comments as:

• "It looks like a broken swastika."
• "Origami meets high explosives."
• "Surveillance video of Hugh Grant and Divine Brown."
• "Naughty Lisa Simpson logo."
• "Man bent over with back pain."
• "Car skidding out of control."

But if the logo is appearing on public transportation, I guess they're keeping it. (They paid $800,000 for it.)

I still think it's ugly. I liked these renderings better:

Comments

[L.Vazquez]

Yeah, ouch. You'd expect something better from the center of the design world.

I still think the Chicago 2016 logo is one of the best... both it's old and new incarnation.

A quick google image search for Chicago 2016 should show you both instantly.

[Roger von Oech]

I checked out the Chicago logo. I guess people's tastes differ. To me it looks like a button on my telephone.

[Chris Tregenza]

Just be glad you don't live in the UK, its appearing everywhere.

I do like the money down the drain image. I live in the Midlands and I'm seeing public money meant for the whole country being spent on London.

My own take on the logo is here (NSFW).

[Randy Bosch]

$800,000. I'll do a better one for 1/2 price - and the animated version of it will not cause some people to suffer epileptic seizures, as London's reportedly did. I wonder if the designer paid for the trauma.

[Paul Lloyd]

I love how in the UK, every new logo, sooner or later is referred to as a stylised swastika. The same was true of the innovative BBC Nine O'Clock News titles in the late 1980's. The British have an uncanny knack of never being able to constructively critique design – especially when it breaks the mold, and when it is new or different – and thus prove Godwin's Law many times over.

Here was my take on it (and the media frenzy that surrounded the launch): http://lloydyweb.com/blog/2007/06/2012_and_all_that.php

Whilst I'm not a massive fan of the icon, I'm absolutely in love with it's bravery, and how it has finally breathed new life into the otherwise tired and predictable brand that is an Olympic Games.

[Logo Design]

i can better do than this logo in $45.

[company logo design]

Well don't know whats going on but its not a Good way to do this. in my opinion we have to look again about this issue

[Designer Diamond Jewelry]

Nice blog thank you for sharing i really get what i was looking for. Keeps up the good work going.