When I was studying at Chapman University in 2009, I had an amazing opportunity to take a graphic design course headed by Ron Leland which traveled to London to study the branding of the 2012 Olympics games. During our course we met with Wolff Olins and their creatives. Luke Gifford, one of the key designers responsible for developing the 2012 Olympic logo and  brand, presented to us their goals and challenges that were given to them by the I.O.C. There was much controversy surrounding this logo, but after hearing the the concerns of the I.O.C. that influenced the design, I thought it was a perfect execution. The I.O.C. wanted the London games to be different. These Olympics are branded as “Everyone’s Olympics” and integrate London’s modern and urban style. They also pushed to brand the games as “London 2012,” thus emphasizing the year of the games to its viewers. This was also beautifully executed in their logo icon. In the future, when people think of the 2012 Olympics, they will think of “London 2012.” This is also the first Olympic logo which which can be customized by designing the window within the icon, thus allows anyone to create their 2012 Olympic mark. For all of you who think “this logo sucks,” I urge you to think outside the box and to not be afraid of something new. Once I learned the intensions behind this logo and removed my preconceived notions about the design, I discovered they have created a truly amazing brand.

Now back to my story… When we met with Wolff Olins, we were given a concept project to execute and present within a week. We had to choose a company that would ideally sponsor the Olympics then create their special London 2012 logo and advertising campaign. The ultimate goal of this exercise was to encourage everyone to get involved with the games. Athletes are naturally drawn to the games, but they wanted to encourage people from all walks of life to get involved and excited about the Olympic Games.

To complete this task, my teammate and I selected Gatorade as our ideal Olympic sponsor. Gatorade is a brand that is recognized worldwide and thier existing relationship with all forms of athletics gave us a variety of unique angles to approach this task. We created an Olympic partner logo by placing the Gatorade lightening bolt within the London 2012 logo window. This would be a simple and recognizable mark combining the two identities. We also came up with a new campaign, “Go Bold.” This was the main focus of our designs. The slogan “Go Bold” encourages people to do something new in their every day life. It also subtly hints towards “Go for the gold” which was a playful element used to integrate the interactive advertisements associated with 2012 games. By encouraging people to do something new, such as “cross your boundaries – Go Bold,” it subconsciously gets the audience involved with the Olympic Games on a personal level. In addition to designing a logo and advertisements, we created a concept for a limited release bottle design.

With all of these concepts created years ago, it’s been an exciting journey watching the London 2012 brand flourish and the excitement that comes with it. Good luck and “Go Bold!”