Lost Horizons

Bold and Dynamic? More like street graffitti

So the organisers of the 2012 Olympics have announced their logo for the games, and I hate it - not that my viewpoint really counts. I am not sure whether it resembles a broken down swastika or a window that a football has been kicked through; but, I think this would not disgrace a subway as a piece of aerosol art.
First, of all the Olympic rings are white. OK there is a precedent for this (Sydney olympics), but I thought the rings were all about the colours. Of course, I may be a cynic, but by having the rings in white, the rest of the logo will be easier to change colour for brand products and mobile phones.
Second, London is written "london". Now, again this is probably to appeal to young people in England, where the schools, probably, don't bother to teach that the first letter of a proper noun shall be a capital letter. To me it's just sloppy.
It seems that £400,000 (US$800,000) was spent coming up with this design. I remember reading somewhere that the lady who came up with the Nike swish logo got $35. That figure seems more appropriate to this emblem.
Sitting here, several thousand miles away from this, I am reminded of the last major event in London marked by this sort of great planning - the Millenium and the Dome which Tony Blair claimed would be "a triumph of confidence over cynicism, boldness over blandness, excellence over mediocrity". About the logo he has said, "When people see this new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life." Well all this inspires me to do is throw up.

posted by Luke @ 10:08 AM