Yeah or neh?

Over the years the various Olympic logos have been cheered as successes – like the stylish ’68 Mexico Summer Olympics and booed as failures – come on London 2012, what were you thinking? There’s a great post on WebDesignerDepot.com that showcases the various marks beginning with the Paris Summer games in 1924. You can really get a sense for how, over the years, the marks started fairly classical and transformed into streamline more marketable icons.
Creating the Olympic logo has to be one of the greatest honors for a designer. How do you communicate the Olympic mission while at the same time reference and embody the spirit of the the host city? Knowing that it will be viewed and criticized by practically every nation across the globe. Whoa…talk about pressure.
In our agency’s most recent Spotlight, Brad Lutrell shared a video on the thought behind  and eventual creation of Rio’s 2016 Summer Olympic logo. The piece does a wonder job giving insight to what goes on behind the scenes during the creative process. What started out as a creative brief, evolved into an extensive process of countless sketches and executions, until the final mark was created.
The final outcome, in my opinion is simply beautiful. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m so tired of swooshy figures used in logos. It’s become so overdone. Theirs, however, has elevated and transformed that genre into something completely different, a three dimensional mark. It is literally a physical and sculptural logo. When looked at from different angles it reveals something different to the viewer.
Straight on it represents the Olympic idea of togetherness and team, yet imbues the Cariocan (what the Rio natives call themselves)  spirit – happiness, hospitality and excitement. Hidden with in the shape is the word “Rio”. At other angles it reveals iconic natural landmarks along the Brazilian coast. Brilliant.
The bright colors are a twist on the national colors of Brazil and are referential to the energy and excitement of Carnival but still manage to complement the Olympic rings.
As a summer Olympic junkie, I can’t wait to see how the 2016 is executed throughout the games. Only 1394 more days….