The London 2012 Logo: worth every penny

I am always one to jump on a bandwagon as it is pulled out of the mud and begins to roll backwards, so here goes.

I like the new Olympic logo.

It is distinctive, modern and clever. The only way of designing a logo that no one attacks is to design a logo that no one notices.

It will grow on people.

Now, there's a question of the money, of course.

Almost every media story about branding makes those who do it sound ridiculous and the amount of money spent on it obscene. In which case, why do so many companies do it? Is there a market failure that leads one company after another to spend unnecessarily on something that doesn't boost their business? I can't think what it would be. Over time, if branding consultancies were a waste of money they would go out of business.

And if very good logos could be done much cheaper then cheap branding businesses would grow up and drive down prices.

Maybe I am missing something, but I think my post yesterday explains why lots of us think that we could have done it ourselves for less money.

UPDATE: It's a zionist conspiracy! Click here to find out why

Comments

[Paul Taylor]

This is very true. While I'm not a fan of the logo myself, I'm even less of a fan of the predictable and wrong-headed complaining about it that's followed. No, you couldn't have done better yourself. Neither could your five-year-old. Yes, it really is necessary to spend a very large amount of money on this kind of thing.

Have you seen the alternative designs that readers have submitted to the BBC's website? They betray an almost total lack of understanding of what makes a good logo.

[Munin]

Like many people, I didn't "get it" at first, and didn't immediately like it when I did. But it grows on you.

First, I saw some pompous Tory grandee declaiming it as ugly graffiti on the news last night. The 2012 committee must have been punching the air - they couldn't have asked for a better endorsement. It's not his games.

Then I saw the promotional video.
http://www.london2012.com/about-newlook-video.html

I'm sure it's not to everyone's taste (what is?), but it made the hairs on my neck stand on end - I think it's brilliant.

By the way, it reminded me a little of the video for A Kind of Magic by Queen, which was a source of unexpected nostalgia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKHnEzAK1Fs

[John Allen]

I agree, particularly the animated versions which are very striking.

I also liked Seb Coe's point that this wasn't another ghastly corporate brand logo. He might have added that tastes change. By 2012, this sort of thing still has to look a bit different, and I think it will.

[Keith]

It's for the same reason that management consultants make a killing. Executives don't trust their own judgment enough, so feel the need for 'experts' to prescribe a solution. The more expensive the better, as clearly this is a signal of expertise,

A case of the Emperor's new clothes once more.

[Mike]

Whilst you are right about there being a bandwagon around this, mostly consisting of people (like myself) who don't trust the government to appropriately administer a whelk-stall let alone the olympics, the fact remains that the logo is bloody awful. It should say something about London, the UK and the olympics, this one looks basically like a stylised version of the word ZION.

[Brendan Halfweeg]

My problem isn't the logo, it is the government funding of the Olympics. Corporations can make their own mistakes with their investors money, but at least their investors have voluntarily put their money in the company, taxpayers have no choice.

[Andy]

The problem is that its not a story that people think that a logo is quite good. It only makes the papers if its reported that everyone hates it, which isn't the case

[Cosmo]

I am afraid that since I saw the following comment from a reader of (sorry) another newspaper: "What IS Lisa Simpson doing to that poor man?" - I've been unable to see anything else ...

[Hugh Newsome]

Tired, dated, difficult to read, doesn't re-size well, basically breaks the rules of logo design in many different ways, and that's breaking the rules in a good way.

Designers up and down the land are laughing into their Mac Keyboards as we speak.

The blame rests with the decision makers, not the designers. I'm sure the designers came up with 100's of great logos, but as soon as the words "edgy", "pro-active", "fresh", "youth" were mentioned, the designers heads went down and they rattled this one off.

[John Tremayne]

£400,000! I wonder what the original estimate was ... 40p?

[Mair McDarren]

This logo is awful. The money is obscene! It is the nation's money and it would be far better if it was put out to competition to school children and a prize given to the winning school. Lord Coe thinks 400,000 pounds is 'cheap' so perhaps he should donate the amount out of his fees. STOP PILFERING THE 'LONDON LOTTERY' FUNDS. The rest of Britain contributes to the lottery!

[James]

I like the London 2012 logo; I think when you compare it to the previous Olympic logos it really stands out! It just looks so dynamic too.

[Hamish Riley]

Total farce...change it now!!....better still...hand back the whole b****y drug-infested project to someone who will appreciate it......Columbian Drug Barons for instance !!

[John W Meadows]

The close resemblance between this crude attempt at a logo and a collapsed or blown up building is noted. We seem to hear so much about what a cockup the management of the Olympics has been so far perhaps it is prescient.

[Philip]

Looks like someones just blown up the Olympics.
p.s. The SS Runes look a bit naff - Are any of the designers of germanic origin.

[Simon Haley]

I believe innovative logo design (and graphic art in general) is akin to buying a pair of shoes. For instance:

You want a pair of new shoes, as your old ones are falling to pieces and are desperately out of touch with modern fashion. Unfortunately, well-fitted new shoes inevitably chafe and scrape against your feet while the crisp leathers begin to soften. It takes a few days - maybe weeks - to break them in, but by heck it feels worth it afterwards.

Then again, you could always struggle along with your old shoes. Sure, there's a hole in the sole, and the seam at the heel is coming apart, but they just about do the job, don't they? You're not kidding anyone.

[Charles]

You may think it is OK now, but I don't think you will be quite so accepting in a year or two. It will be 'forced down our throats' via TV, poster campaigns, press ads, roadshows, etc. etc. We'll be counting down the days until the Olympics for no other reason than we'll know that we will see the back of the thing then.

[David]

Have any of you pro-design people thought that we just might not like it? We don't all complain about anything new. I like the concepts about the new media, about being bold and non-corporate. This is just UGLY and poorly executed.

[Viv from London]

Warts, veruccae and boils also grow on people, Daniel, and they are every bit as nasty. As with the new logo everyone will be happy to see it gone.

[Brett_McS]

I see that you Brits have bowed to the inevitable and put Australia on top.

[PO]

Didn't George Galloway make you his bitch?

[Jo-Ann]

I was shocked yesterday; then I saw the video. ( Didn't like the swimming pool ripples.) This logo is undeniably the most exciting logo the Olympics has ever seen. I don't have the faintest idea what the Bejing logo looks like, or any other logo. This logo has so much potential. It was thrilling watching the little shapes in the scene of the football kids. WOW As for the controversy, you should thank Lord Coe for saving you millions of pounds in advertising. The whole world now knows about London 2012. Anything else wouldn't have made the wire for more than 1 hour. Get behind this logo. It is the most innovative logo ever. Great work on the Special Olympic connection.

[Bob Clarke]

"Worth Every Penny!" -- you must be joking £400 Thousand Pounds for this? Looks like a piece of graffitti on a wall I spotted on my train journey into London. It also may be a pictorial representation of the state of the collective psyche of 'NU Labour' and parts of UK society -- "Cheap, Loud, Chav-like" & disconnected from reality!!

[Anne]

The logo looks to me like a crashed juggernaut; I do hope that is not prophetic!

[Brian]

Hello from Melbourne Australia.

Have you heard that one of the City of Melbourne Councillors is claiming that you people stole the design from Federation Square in Melbourne?

If so, one wonders what all the money was spent on? Perhaps first class tickets to Melbourne and a quality digital camera?

innovative? trendy?

pornographicly suggestive maybe, the crouching lisa simpson stick figure on the right of the excited male stick figure is obviously up to no good.

this logo will make london the laughing stock of the world.

[Paul]

The logo reminds me of a Neo Fascist symbol. If Adolf had won the war he would have been proud of such an angular shape. Reminds me of a swastika with a bad hangover. And unreadable. It is the kind of marketing that fits well with New Labour and all the chums that surround this crap bunch of politicians. Presumably we will see Blair on Celebrity Big Brother soon moaning about why no one understood him. He did it his way - and ONLY his way.

[Crashed]

Your mind crashed!!!!

[Rob West]

Takes a second look , Stick with it , very distinctive and will stand the test of time. Doesn't look like any other corporate logo , and thats what it has to achieve.
Rob

[Anita]

For what it's worth...everyone in Sydney hated the logo for the Sydney games, hated the idea of spending all that money on the Olympics, feared the traffic chaos, the public transport nightmare, the people etc,etc. Those of us who couldn't flee the city were looking forward to it like a toothache. And guess what?? It was amazing to be a part of it. I'm so glad to have been there. The city was jumping with excitement and fun. Most services worked like clockwork, the traffic was fine because so many people had gone away and everyone was being pleasant for a change. Trust me, you won't remember the logo by 2013, but you will remember the feeling of the world coming over for a party. Try and enjoy it.

[Hermann Burchard]

I sense that the logo is meant to be a happy symbol, add-ons could help to bring this out:
FUN AT THE 2012 GAMES
2012, THE HAPPY LOGO
IT'S 2012!
YEAR OF SMILES 2012
THE 2012 EVENT
WHERE TO BE IN 2012

There could be dozens of these to use in adverts.

[Humphrey Clarke]

Much like the infamous 2012 logo this article is neither distinctive modern or clever. It’s a simple case of the author being contrary for the sake of it, based on a rather patronizing and elitist belief that the rest of the country is of sub-par intelligence and simply doesn’t get it. Just because a logo is widely reviled upon its initial appearance doesn’t automatically mean that it will later be accepted. You will remember that the same agency designed BT’s trumpeter logo, which was derided throughout its lifecycle and regarded as a costly failure. I could also point to British Airway’s costly rebranding which was a similar disaster. Addressing the logo itself, it’s about 20 years out of date, barely comprehensible and doesn’t appeal to anyone other than the odd branding consultant; yet another case of spin over substance.

The powers that be will have us believe that this is our Olympics. The people have spoken and to ignore them would be yet another nail in the Olympic movements’s coffin.

[Simon Hocking]

I've got no gripe about investment in something as important as a logo, so long as the end justifies the means.

When I first saw this logo, my immediate impression was that I couldnt work out what it was saying. After a second or so, it became clear but I think that expereince is not something any logo should generate.

My second though was that someone had rehashed some bad, eighties font. I then thought, no - maybe its actually v clever and I'm just not getting it. Then I saw the video... It was like a cross between 'Going Live' and 'Tiswas'.

Yes, I get it, bureaucrats would like all the lovely kiddie winks, who clog up my way to work of a morning, getting unecessarily chaeuffered to school, to 'get active' and 'get involved' but that does not justify the logo that has been produced.

[Anne Parkinson]

Why didn't they ask Blue Peter to run a competition for viewers to design the logo? They'd have had some fantastic entries to choose from and the money saved could have gone to a worthwhile cause!

[Corin Keiler-Lloyd]

Pornographic; Neo-fascist; migraine inducing; epileptic fit inducing, have to agree with Ken Livingstone (tell it not in Gath"!)...
It's the first logo I've come across that does all of the above. That's certainly a record, but I think it will have to go. Once that Lisa Simpson thing gets out it will have to be pulled.

[Guy Padfield]

Daniel Finkelstein wonders if he is missing something. He is, and it is this: a great many people, including myself, actively reject the message of this 'brand' and are ashamed it is being rolled out as representing their country. Yes, it is modern - exclusively and painfully so. The Olympics are not, and nor is London. Both are evolving entities, with distinguished pasts and, we hope, futures. A logo with an attention deficit disorder, brought up on graffiti-ridden streets, entirely unconnected with, and even contemptuous of, its past, is an offence, intellectually and aesthetically. Perhaps it will grow on people. So does cancer. Perhaps it will help make these the most successful games ever - it will still be bad. Bland and inoffensive would be infinitely better. Foisting something this crass on a people who clearly recognise it as such is sheer, unadulterated arrogance. It makes me very sad.

I may be wrong in my judgment, but I have still been alienated, along with many thousands of others. Commercial success will not justify this unnecessary offence.

[Chris Ottewell]

The problem is the whole Olympic hype, not just the wretched logo. If it is such a great opportunity to make money, then it shouldn't be taxpayer funded. Any taxpayer money put into sport should be at the grass roots level, encouraging ordinary people to take up sport not wasted on professionals who will rob us blind.
Why can't it be run as a lower profile non professional fun event? After all, most people outside London are not interested!

[steve butterworth]

Obvious..?
It's a map of Europe , France/Germany with the rings,Italy the boot,Spain/Portugal on the end, and the name London exactly where it should be......!
It is a European Olympics,is'nt it..!

[Jason White]

I've just looked at Olympic logos going back to 1948 and they are all pants. This is the best logo by a mile, the fact that so many people object proves it's original. Stop moaning you pathetic navel gazers.

[K John]

I'm sure the logo will be fine in the end - but they obviously haven't assembled all the bits yet.

[Hamish Riley]

Rarely have I seen such snivelling drivel from those contributors who allegedly "like" this fiasco. I suspect more than a degree of public manipulation here with a certain firm of graphic designers, aided by a very smug Seb Coe, tapping their keyboards well into the night in order to persuade us that somehow "they" know better than us.
It's AWFUL....face up to it....do something about it.......NOW!!

[Chris Dancer]

So the 2012 "brand" is a jagged icon that "takes our values to the world beyond our shores". Hang on, wasn't that the 1936 Olympics??

[JOHN CHUCKMAN]

The logo is a zionist conspiracy?

Well, in another newspaper someone remarked that he couldn't help thinking it suggested the German SS symbol.

All this kind of stuff only points out is what an ineffective logo it is.

It is a parting gift from Tony, the logo-equivalent of his horrid millenium Dome and the ugly Princess Diana memorial.

The logo is a designer-gaffito, a 1970s-looking splotch, something from the era when Tony was trying to become a rock musician in a shaggy fur coat and long underwear.

[elizabeth schumann]

All SORTS of things can grow on people, warts, unsightly moles etc... It doesn't lower the "yeccchhh!!!" factor one little bit.

[Mr Steve]

Looks like it spells out 'Zion' to me. Is there some hidden subtext?

[Tony Remmer]

Oh lord that's it ! .. all I can see is Lisa Simpson now as well .. brilliant lol.

[family guy]

Finklestein's argument: Logos exist, therefore they must work, therefore this one is worth 400,000 pounds.
And it you think otherwise that's because you're not as clever or good-looking as people like me who are paid to like the logo.

I feel so sorry for the British taxpayers. First they have to fund the Olympic rorts whether they like it or not, then they are subject to these insultingly vapid attempts to justify said rorts.

[Bernard Parke]

The fact that this is subliminal advertising does not matter I suppose.
Surely these people must know of the untold illness and subsequent misery that this kind of presentation can cause.