The Flip-Flop Games of 2020
On September 13, 2012, the International Olympic Committee will decide which city gets to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games. Although it is over half a year away, many of the bidding cities are already campaigning for a bid. Last week, Madrid revealed its logo for the 2020 Games, but the outcome wasn’t exactly gold-medal worthy. The disappointing logo design has sparked conversations all around the world, which has left the city of Madrid with a lot of flak.
Madrid held a national contest where Spanish citizens could submit ideas for the potential Madrid 2020 Olympics logo. Luis Peiret, a 22 year old student, won the competition with his design that is supposed to read “M20,” with a play on the 5 Olympic rings behind it. Since its release, the logo has faced a swarm of criticism. The lettering on the logo is confusing. The “M20,” (standing for Madrid 2020) is oddly cropped, which gives the impression that the logo reads “20020”. The five oval shapes behind the white writing do not look like the original Olympic rings which are Blue, Yellow, Black, Green, and Red. Instead, all of the colors have been brightened and a purple ring has replaced the original black ring. Many people have also suggested that the colored ovals overlapped by the white text look like a group of flip-flops. The Flip-Flop Games of 20020 anyone?
Take away:
The logo is very important for Madrid, and as the city’s icon it would be included on everything related to the Olympics, including millions of dollars in merchandise. Something of such importance should not be done by a graphic design student. Madrid paid Peiret $7,964.44 for the logo, which is certainly a deal saying that London paid $633,138.94 for their 2012 Olympic logo. Although it can be tempting to choose an inexpensive option, it’s not worth it! A bad logo can ruin a brand. In order to be effective, a logo needs to be legible and understood by many different people, especially an Olympic logo. It needs to be memorable and leave an impression in viewer’s minds. A logo is something that is the face of your brand and represents its values. If a logo is unoriginal, unappealing, or if the logo’s message conflicts with the values or your brand, it is going to reflect poorly on your brand. Customers will not take your brand seriously and may choose a competitor with a more attractive logo (in this case, the International Olympic Committee). Madrid’s logo goes to show that it’s worth spending the extra money to have your brand’s logo professionally designed. Avoid being your industry’s Flip-Flop Games of 20020 representative.
Contributed by: Keena Classen