We’re all pretty familiar with the origin of the Olympics. But if you’re not, here’s a quick summary – In ancient Greece, games would be held every four years in the city of Olympia, and despite wars and political problems, every city state would compete in these games. It was a time of peace and general sportsmanship.
Since the Olympic revival in 1896, we have continued these games with gusto. Each opening ceremony becoming bigger and each commercial block selling for more. And while sportsmanship and passion continues with blood, sweat and tears through every event, advertisers now view the Olympics as a gold mine.
The Olympics is a brand and, therefore, has a logo.
A part of every Olympic logo is the standard five rings intertwined, symbolizing the five parts of the world involved in the Olympics. But through the years, the rings became more of an afterthought. In this past logo, London’s 2012 Olympics, we even lose the colors of the rings like the Atlanta logo from 1996.
It holds a bold edgy design with hard shapes and bright colors, which doesn’t seem to fit London at all. Designers and media across the globe gave the logo a gigantic thumbs down. Some were outraged that this mess cost approximately $610,000. Was it worth it? Here at Gatorworks, we said no, not at all.
This new logo, designed by the Brazilian company, Tatil Design, was the winning design in a competition of 139 agencies. Before designing the logo, Tatil Design went through a massive survey and case study to create a logo that “expresses unity and inspires achievement and optimism.” According to Tatil Design, it represents three figures joined at the arms in a triple embrace with the shape meticulously created to reflect that of Sugarloaf Mountain. The colors were derived from the yellow, green and blue of the Brazilian flag. Evoking Henri Matisse’s painting, Dance, this logo was based on four concepts: contagious energy, harmonious diversity, exuberant nature and Olympic spirit.
While the concepts seem great in theory, does the design hold up?
Well, it’s completely different from the London logo. In fact, this one did an about face and walked the other way. It’s happy, fun and light, which is vastly different from this year’s cartoon graffiti sign.
True, the logo isn’t groundbreaking. We’ve seen it before in the past. But it accomplishes its goals. When we see it, we think unity and sports. And that’s simply what the Olympics is – a unified sporting event. Why harp on something that holds true to the brand? It’s a good logo and people will see that when the next one comes out.
For interesting comparisons and a more thorough analysis of the case study made by Tatil Design, check out this other blog post about the new logo.