I’ve been thinking about the 2012 logo. It’s pretty simple: you are all wrong (obviously I mean those of you who disagree with me). People have actually been phoning me up (well, Paul phoned me up and put his graphic designer wife on the phone) to tell me how wrong I was to defend it. Still, you are all wrong. To summarise: yes: it’s not an old-fashioned brand-as-unity. It’s not a condensed and perfected less-is-more logotype. It’s definitely not a jewel-like Paul Rand. It’s not a monolithic, multi-decade High Street fixture either.
What it is is a soft, rather provisional, half-finished identity. It’s an open and accepting form: designed to accept modification, addition, overlay, adjustment. It’s a kind of container (and, think about it, isn’t that what brands are turning into these days?). Your classical logo aims to refine and exclude – to perfect. The 2012 logo aims to accept and include. It’s a radical thing: a half-brand, an unfinished logo, an imperfect identity: something to play with. Get used to it you old-timers!
But it’s really ugly! And nothing anyone can say – even you 🙂 – will make me think any differently about it. So there.
Ugly or not (totally subjective) it’s very very hard to read.
Its for the kids. Kids love anti establishment tonality and this has got the back up of everyone over 10 ish. Brilliantly executed brief really. Design something that pisses off all the people who will be vocal about it thus attracting the kids.
I’m still in two minds about the simpsons similarity. But not losing any sleep about it.
30,000 people have voted for whether or not this should be the London 2012 logo. 94% of people said no. That’s one heck of a majority! On these figures, the logo has to be considered a failure.
However, Seb Coe’s head is almost as big as Tony Blair’s so the chance of this logo being changed it slim. We’ll have to wait and see what the public think of it in 5 years time…