Nov 18, 2011read the 36 comments
London 2012 alternative
“I know I’m too late but I’ve designed a logo for London 2012. Because the other one is shit.”
— STUART WATSON
Crafted from venturethree’s response to Boris Johnson’s London brief.
http://madeinlondon.co.uk/
http://www.venturethree.com/#/work/london/london/01
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Update: 21 November 2011
I was unsure if the Olympic logo could contain the Olympic rings, but as Lee rightly points out, look at the actual London 2012 logo. It shows the rings as part of the design. Seemingly, bid logos can’t show the rings. Only the official design can.
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36 appreciated comments, click here to add one
xozan
Looks Great, but i think London type is too abstract to read.
Nov 18th, 2011
VDM
A bit abstract but definitely classier than the real thing.
Nov 18th, 2011
Jeff Kahn
The primary shapes don’t suggest anything that relates to London or the Olympics. Looks cool but cool is not enough. Yes, the other is weak.
Nov 18th, 2011
kevin
I like it as a piece of artwork that could be printed on canvas and displayed on a wall, but im not sure if it works as a logo although it is miles better than the one currently being used lol.
Nov 18th, 2011
Jr. R.
I agree with all of you guys, and its not a polite way to propose a work (even if its just a concept) by criticizing the previous one like that.
Ok the other is weak, but so it is this new one, at first sight this means nothing at all.But with a second read it starts to be interesting, doesn`t work either.
Nov 18th, 2011
gariphic
Agreed the current logo is shit. Thought it might have grown on me over time, but alas not. This logo doesn’t really do anything for me either, unless you have a fetish for children’s play building blocks. I’ve seen better concepts. Like Jeff said, has no connection to personality of London whatsoever. Stuart, nice execution on the virtual comps.
Nov 18th, 2011
Max
It’s certainly an interesting approach.
As for the rings, the IOC says that no olympic imagery (medals, rings, torches) can be directly involved in logos. Which is why the Chicago 2016 logo went from the torch to the Chicago Star. I may be a little biased but that Chicago identity was my favorite Olympic campaign.
Nov 18th, 2011
David Airey
Thanks, Max. I thought I read that somewhere.
My favourite alternative is still this one.
Nov 19th, 2011
Timothy Brown
If unreadability is a criteria, this succeeds exceedingly!
Nov 19th, 2011
Justin Ellis
Pretty neat concept presented here. I’m wondering if it might read better if the “n”s were formed by triangles flipped over like so….
http://d.pr/UXQO
Nov 19th, 2011
Mike Richards
This is pants. Literally.
The overlapping Olympic rings look like a giant pair of y fronts.
Not really the message that London wants to send out. As weak at the official logo in my opinion.
Nov 19th, 2011
Laurel
I’m a fan of the London logo, simple and versatile.
Nov 19th, 2011
Steve
I beg to differ with other who have put in their comments. I believe that LONDON is not very much abstract to read. Once it is coupled with the olympic logo it is pretty easy to understand what it signifies.
And a logo is not successful if it is not thought provoking. Great work I would say.
Nov 20th, 2011
Sunilk
Looks cool, but for this big event not enough. There is almost the same icons used in TATA DOCOMO.
Nov 20th, 2011
Christina
I’m not a huge fan of the original logo, but I think the ‘improved’ version is even more confusing in some ways. It’s even harder to tell what it’s trying to say. And like Max said, the logos aren’t actually supposed to include the rings.
So though I do think the London logo could maybe be a little more unique, that’s not exactly what was done here.
Nov 20th, 2011
Stuart
The idea behind this is simple. London is so iconic it can be abstracted and, with the unofficial London stuff we’re doing we wanted a logo so simple that anyone can use it. You can stencil it, draw it on a napkin, you can even design it in Powerpoint.
This may not be the perfect solution but it’s a fightback against what London has been lumbered with, in terms of 2012 and a brand for London. Which both should be world class, and both aren’t.
See the “droopy testicle” London logo here: http://www.visitlondon.com/
See our version here: http://venturethree.com/#/work/london/london/01
Nov 20th, 2011
Scott Neilson
I dont think the readability is an issue at all here, great work but I do agree it doesn’t relate as much to london or britain as the current logo.
Nov 21st, 2011
Steve Perry
I think I’m possibly the only one who still likes Wolff Olins’ design above all others. Certainly better thought-out than the above ‘Y-Fronts’ logo. In my opinion, of course.
On another note, I do think it’s fantastic that other versions do keep on appearing. Everyone’s getting creative.
Nov 21st, 2011
Rune Breinholt Andersen
I do not agree. The font is not too abstract to read… i really love it!
Nov 21st, 2011
Lee
Re: the rings comments. Have you seen the London 2012 logo? The ’0′ contains rings. Therefore rings being included is fine, they make it Olympic. Bid logo cannot contain the rings, but actual Games logos can. So in a way I guess this should contain the rings!
It’s the triangles, circles and squares that fall down for me. Glad this isn’t plastered over the underground. At least the London 2012 logo has some clever thinking behind it. This lacks all originality. A bad idea rehashed over and over, a shame because I like V3′s work they get paid for.
Nov 21st, 2011
Jon Clark
I’m pretty sure that I recall someone at Wolff Olins saying that their logo was ahead of its time in terms of styling when it was launched and that as we got closer to the games the public would warm to it.
Time’s running out, guys….
Nov 22nd, 2011
Steve McGowan
I like it..Maybe a colour scheme matching those of the london underground would improve its links with london?
Nov 22nd, 2011
Simon
It doesn’t include the year.
Nov 22nd, 2011
andrew
Have no problems with the WO logo.
I think they are answering the brief for the contemporary spirit and forward movement. A bit weird at first time, but in a good way, then starts to feel good… just like listening to a good record… the previous logo kinda boring, too formal. That’s why i like the current logo.
About the alternative… I think it’s lack of the integrity… simply trying to be eye candy… I might be wrong.
Nov 23rd, 2011
Greg Madison
I love it when a designer thinks he can deliver a better solution to a certain problem but fails miserably all in an attempt to win brownie points. Most uninspiring olympic logo concept I’ve seen. Says nothing about the great city of London. Belongs on a dance/hipster cd.
Arrogance and Ignorance at it’s finest.
Nov 25th, 2011
Jon
Wow, Stuart is the man. The alternative definitely trumps the one we have now. Great find!
Nov 25th, 2011
Ralf
well, just like “crap” is an alternative for “shit”.
Nov 25th, 2011
Ralf
to clarify, i usually don’t like this kind of commenting, but in this case i thought it would fit stuart watsons “shit” statement.
Nov 25th, 2011
nathan
As far as I’m concerned, you are hired.
Nov 29th, 2011
trurep
You would have been famous in the 50′s. If Saul Bass hadn’t already exhausted this look…
Nov 30th, 2011
Flavio
My congratulations Stuart: your logo for London 2012 is much better than the original one.
Nov 30th, 2011
Kally
YES!!! I think that its a great proposal and 105% agree with Jon…Stuart IS the man.
The suggestion for the flipped triangle takes it that one step further as far as Gestalt is concerned especially!
Good to know there are designers out there willing to still share ideas and add to others ..unlike some here who just put their -ve 2 cents in and logout.
Much better version than the official selection.
Dec 2nd, 2011
David Airey
“Good to know there are designers out there willing to still share ideas and add to others…”
Well said, Kally.
Dec 2nd, 2011
Justin FYI
Very nice stuff. No problem relating it to London even if I hadn’t seen the post’s title. Much simpler and more refined than anything I’ve seen to date.
Dec 7th, 2011
Bryan Roach
holy. moly. i don’t know that I’m a huge fan of this alt logo…at the very least I think the rings need to be separate. but I followed the link to the actually logo, which, to me, is astonishingly bad. from where I sit – it looks like something from a high school yearbook circa 1990s.
Dec 12th, 2011
D'milo Mellard
I’m 15, I think that this logo is great. I love the clean lines and how the rings have been incorperated into the design.
Apr 14th, 2012
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