to have the logo changed. The 450,000GBP worth of graffiti-styled 2012 caused massive migraines and epileptic attacks (for photosensitive cases) and the logo has been described by some like a girl giving a blowjob (or worse, a blogger described it as "Lisa Simpson sucking off an elephant") .
The logo was created by Wolff Olins, an international design agency.
According to the Sun, "Olympics bosses were left squirming with embarrassment after an epilepsy group reported 12 cases of people collapsing through looking at it.
Epilepsy Action warned that 23,000 mainly young people in the UK were at risk from the TV and internet version.
They suffer from the photosensitive form of epilepsy and flickering images can trigger fits.
It is estimated there are 2.5million people worldwide with the condition — which could have left the Olympic Organising Committee facing massive injury lawsuits.
Epilepsy Action spokeswoman Ingrid Burns said: “The logo was not safe for people with photosensitive epilepsy.
“Within hours of it being launched we received 12 reports of people suffering seizures.
“This is extremely serious. Young people up to the age of about 19 are most at risk — and they are the logo’s main target group.” Leading epilepsy expert Professor Graham Harding said: “I can’t imagine how this slipped through.
“Thousands of people could have been affected. It’s serious and has to be corrected.”
The aesthetic values of the logo for sure leaves much to be desired, it felt haphazard, unimaginative, and a little stilted. It almost reminds me of the dreaded neons of the '80s, the kind of London kitsch fashion that everyone who has lived through that era of enormous hairsprayed hairs, studded belts, and neon faux leather jackets shudders of reliving again. I think the Olympics symbolize more than that childish piece of non-art, the logo should embody the true spirit of the host nation, the host city, its international uniqueness amidst the diversity of the Games.
London Olympics 1948
Moscow 1980. The year I was born. United States boycotted the Games.
The Olympics return to Asia after 24 Years. Japan has hosted the quadriennial event in 1964. Japan would have hosted the 1940 Olympics but Tokyo renounced the organization of he Games due to the prevailing war with China, and thus it was reassigned to Helsinki.
The Catalan City of Barcelona hosts one of the most memorable torch lighting ceremony
with an archer shooting an arrow into the Olympic Cauldron.
Sydney hosts one of the most spectacular Opening Ceremonies ever. Australia hosts the Olympics for the 2nd Time since Melbourne in 1956.
China will be the third Asian country to ever host the Olympics. But the Games is being hounded by China's human rights records and support of the Sudanese dictatorship of Omar Bashir and the ongoing genocide in Darfur.
interesting read, the new London Logo reminds me of the Pet Shop Boys "Very" era...
ReplyDeleteWTF!
ReplyDeleteHi Vinty, well, yeah, either that or a very bad acid trip. :P
ReplyDeleteExactly my first reaction. ;)
ReplyDeleteTrue nga. Ang pangit niya!!! Parang pink swastika nga eh.
ReplyDeleteGay Nazis. OMG. How apropos.
ReplyDeleteI like the Athinai, the Bei Jing and the Moskva designs.The LA and the Seoul designs look a throwback to the Atari, Pong, PacMan, Super Mario and Tetris pixelated videogame days.
ReplyDeletei know that you should let your imagination run wild when it comes to art...but this is psychotic!
ReplyDeleteAbout 450000 Pounds for this thing that even a grade schooler can make?
ReplyDeletewell, it has brought a sense of unity to all Londoners. All of them think this logo totally and utterly sucks. LOL, The design bureau behind this travesty, Wolff Olins beautiful website, by the way! supposedly received a whopping £ 400,000+++ for the London 2012 Olympics branding. I guess once you've made sufficient name in the market you can get away with anything these days. For this staggering amount of money for which you can buy a pretty damn nice apartment in London they managed to come up with a logo that:
ReplyDeletea.has absolutely NOTHING to do with sports
b. has absolutely NO Olympic feel except for the Olympic rings in it which seem to have been added last-
minute
c. has absolutely NO 'London' feel
d. has absolutely NO British feel
e. hurts to even look at because of the appaling choice of colours
f. looks like a random set of shapes thrown together, yea, i know it stands for 2012 but, I'm not sure what the
rhombus between the1 and 2 stands for
Just to show some contrast, take a look at the Beijing 2008 logo you posted. It has a sports feel, it has a Chinese feel. It basically has what everyone would expect from an Olympics logo. Nice, classy and in style. All very much unlike the London 2012 logo.
Now I'm not a 'branding expert' myself. I'm not even the greatest logo designer. When it comes to this however I feel pretty safe when saying "I can do better than that". Heck, my 3 year old niece Adisyn can most likely do better than this. When it smells like shit, it probably is shit. And that my friends I think this new 'brand' is.
I agree wholeheartedly. The Beijing Logo actually made me wanna get those kitschy keychains and teeshirts that these sporting events sells. I want to have that Beijing 2008 shirt because it looks so damn cool. With London 2012 logo, I'd be scared for my dear life walking in a shirt with that horrid, horrid piece of junk pasted all over me!
ReplyDeleteBeing a Marketing guy myself, that logo now just makes Britannia Olympics so difficult to sell, no wonder the French could be snickering over at the other end of the English Channel. Such cluelessness bigtime!
they probably wanted it to have a cutting-edge design. unfortunately, it turned out to be appalling.
ReplyDeletemuch as i like the color pink, i can't even bear to look at the logo for long. hurts the eyes.
Sadly, the only thing that every oneeds cutting would be the heads of the design team!
ReplyDeletebata ata ang artist nito.. hahaha
ReplyDeleteor isip bata? it's really ugly and doesnt deserve the 450,000 GBP price tag. Malamang yung Beijing logo, "Thank You" lang ang ibinayad ng BOCOG nun.
ReplyDeleteRight.. but the 2012 has this version with the union jack on it.. hehehe.. parang 80's the color and the style.. hehehe.. well it's something new... hehehe... i jus cant believe they would pay someone that amount jus for a logo, i mean i could do that. hehehehehe
ReplyDeleteyep. its more like Lisa Simpson giving a blowjob to an elephant. its really uhly. I was soooo disgusted to see it. Not to mention the British presentation at the Closing Ceremonies was a big yuck.
ReplyDeletehahahahaha! jus let it go riain. with beckham and leona lewis? i liked it hehehehehe
ReplyDeleteso becks kicked a soccer ball. hehehe.. big deal. ;) sige na nga. :D
ReplyDeletehahahaha! good!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to see volley and soccer balls with that awful design on them.
ReplyDelete