Just Bad Design
It’s the only thing we’ve heard for years, and it’s the only thing we will hear for years, but the London 2012 Olympic games are on their way… and with that, the Olympic Committee decided their old logo needed a bit of a face lift as you can see on the right. Yes. That is the new logo.
Now, you may be thinking – what on earth is that to do with? Well, welcome to the club, from what I can gather not too many people are fond of this new ‘design’ either. From something that looks like the guy in charge of the new logo left it to the last minute, then sneezed all over his drawing and decided to just go with it, it doesn’t quiet yell to me “Olympics” or “Future” as it’s mean’t to, but rather a cheesy looking cover from a 1970′s rock band’s album, which no doubtly flopped.
The design company in charge of this logo was Wolff Olins, who among other things have brought us the current Sony Ericsson brand design, which is much, much better that this new creation, I really don’t know quite what they were thinking, let alone spending £400,000 on it.
Now, after looking at it for a few seconds, you work out that the big pink blobs are actually numbers, saying 2012… with a big square bit plonked in the middle for some reason… Then, someone must have remembered they actually forgot to include ‘London’ or the Olympic logo anywhere, so after some rash decision making, decided on randomly placing ‘London’ at the bottom of the 2, and the the Olympic logo in the middle of the 0.
This new pink catastrophe of a logo is meant to be modern, and represent the future. Well if the future of design is going to be that then god help us. The old design prior to now, shown on the left, in my opinion is much better, and if I had decide which one to use, I wouldn’t have to think twice – it would be the old one hands down, with its much more modern look and feel.
No doubt we’ll have to live with this logo cluttering advertisements, billboards and television for the next five years, even with the lack of support it has received, but it really is poor, a pre-school kid could design something better if they were left alone with a tub of paint and their hands. If this is anything to go by, I really am not looking forward to how we will make a mess of the actual games themselves!
22 Responses to Just Bad Design
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Bryan says:
I’ve been reading hate about this logo all day, and I don’t know where to rant so this is as good a place as any…
I’m a designer of minor repute, and my first reaction was shock. It really does look sort of amateurish and unbalanced. But the more and more I look at it, the more I can see how, in context, it’s going to be pretty fantastic.
An Olympic logo is more than just a logo, it is the basis for a graphic system of signage, typography, merchandise, iconography, and even architecture.
If you look at this logo in that way, and see how it could be translated to, say, the olympic sports symbols, or the individual shapes used as the basis for signage, the bold colors and seemingly random shapes will really create a distinctive look. I think by the time the olympics come, it’s going to be clear that this is the best olympic graphic treatment since at least LA84, (which was also a dreadful logo, when you think about it, though it was bland rather than shocking), but turned out to be one of the best-designed and graphically distinctive olympics ever.
Chicago is bidding for the 2016 olympics, and our temporary logo is dismal, for a start it features the Sears Tower, a landmark that will probably be the third-tallest building in Chicago by 2016. The logo has a gradient AND a brushstroke, two elements that are nearly impossible to replicate consistently over a variety of mediums (t-shirts, signage, 4-color printing, web pages) On first view, you think “well that’s boring and safe and nice,” but a deeper inspection proves how bad it is. I think the London logo is the opposite, as time goes by this logo will become a source of pride for England.
And PS, that Sony logo is so generic and bland, the type isn’t balanced with the mark, it reproduces poorly when used on tiny phones… I dunno, I really don’t like it. : )
And PPS, thank God you don’t have the horrible designed-by-committee all-inclusive feel-good piece of crap that is the South African World Cup logo. When you consider that nearly every usage of the olympic logo includes more logos and type (Proudly Sponsored by McDonalds, Coke, UPS, etc) it’s nice to have a simple logo that will work in any context.
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Bryan says:
Also, almost every comment I’ve read today said “I could have done that” or “my kid could have done that” or “it looks like a stain on the ground at the subway station.” People could at least think of a better way of slamming it than saying “it’s simple!” Simplicity is great!
It is shocking, and simple… but it’s solid and well-thought-out, and I think that’s better than being bland and “trendy.” Be glad that in 2012 you aren’t saddled with a typical 3-d glossy logo with a reflection under it and maybe a swoosh or two, that will be sickeningly dated by then. Props to the Olympic Committee for seeing the value of looking forward.
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Edde says:
I actually came back to look at it’s uglyness and now I see it: the pink bits spell “2012″. Squeezing your eyes helps a bit. Closing them probably is the best option.
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Edde says:
@Bryan: even if there are technical reasons why the Chicago logo doesn’t work, to me it looks WAY better then the London blobs. Also, the Sears Tower will remain an important landmark, even if it’s no longer the tallest building in Chicago.
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TAR ART RAT says:
my initial reaction was to re-name their press release as “London Unveils New Logo for 1989 Olympics” the aesthetic is the same thing that Rollerblade was using in the late 80′s,… which might strike a chord deep in some of us, but… seriously, what is the square dot in the middle? It migh’ve been a part of the second 2 if there was another that corresponded to the first 2…
and a little voice in the back of my mind can’t help but wonder: is this cool because it is so uncool? Have they circumvented the issue of being cool by getting all psycho-subversive about it?
I wonder how long it will be before they release an offical explanation… like, a roadmap to the new logo. -
gordon says:
There are always otherways to look at things. Aesthically, it doesn’t look beautiful, freaking ugly. But like Bryan said, we will never know where it will take us from here. I can already see possibilities in this. I not a master logo designer or whatever, just trying to appreciate a logo that the Olympics have been given this time round. Again, yes, its freaking ugly, but loud.
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Rory says:
That is a severe joke. How can they do that.. But what can you expect from a website that has a picture of an eye in the background. But they do actually have a really impressive client list.
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Jake says:
There is a campaign to find a better design. This website is encouraging designers to submit better designs that the current joke of a logo.
Over alternative logos 80 so far. Most are amateur efforts though.
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liam says:
It’s gotta suck to that logo’s designer. I wonder if they told him it was just to get better designers to laugh at it and make a better one. What a cruel joke
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Lisa says:
My main objection to the design of the logo is that it is no way evocative of the Olympic spirit or athleticism in general.
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Kyle says:
The old logo was merely OK, but at the very least aesthetically pleasing. It seems as though the new logo designer has talent (see Sony Ericsson logo), but really, where the hell did that pink preschool “thing” come from? I really hope the committee will *please* reconsider another design…and I’m not even British.
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Andy Rudkin says:
I actually like the logo, I mean nothing else could quite sum up what a mess the whole 2012 thing is becoming. I smell the new Millennium Dome!
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chewy says:
It’s the logo for Flintstones Olympics!
Looks very primitive and clunky, like rocks. The pink & yellow colors are childish and garish.
I agree with Lisa, it does not reflect the Olympic spirit nor athleticism at all.
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chewy says:
Go here to read about the branding and DESIGN YOUR OWN 2012 Logo at http://www.london2012.com/index.html
Most designs look more like posters than actual logos.
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Mark says:
Not only is it crap but it’s not accessible in a number of different ways to disabled users. Ironic, given that it’s also the logo for the paralympics.
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Anand says:
Well, its bad. But on the brighter side- it’s so bad that a whole bunch of people are discussing about it. And any publicity is good publicity!
And, I didn’t realize till earlier today that the logo also depicts the whole world map(sans Australia!)
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bla says:
i see Z O R the two 2,s don’t look the same and the small block next to the last 2 makes it look like a R! BTW don’t like the logo so much I guess people just ripped the goverment!!!
TAR ART RAT says:
so so so bad!!