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Harris’s comment is:
It's very Canadian. But I'm not really a fan of a lowercase v for vancouver, or the lack of color in the Olympic rings.
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:17 AM
stefano picco’s comment is:
I like it, looks very good!
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:25 AM
ArnoldP’s comment is:
Kinda expected and a little too trendy, but not bad
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:26 AM
A’s comment is:
I won't be satisfied until I see a hockey stick in a rounded green and blue rectangle.
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:27 AM
marnie’s comment is:
They can throw all the green and blue they want at it, nothing is going to make up for that hideous logo.
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:58 AM
Josh’s comment is:
I think it's overwrought, I think it'll look old by 2010, and the color palette is pretty blah.
It's just too much, too complicated.
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:59 AM
Oliver’s comment is:
Trend Porn...
On Oct.06.2008 at 12:10 PM
DrewDraws2’s comment is:
I think that the individual elements are well done, but combining them creates something that is too busy and overwhelming.
I quite like the realistic pictograms, but find the "sport illustrations" to be overly literal and more than a little creepy.
All in all, not bad, but I think somebody should've stopped it before it got out of hand. Just the shapes, textures and pictograms would have been a complete visual identity to me, without the weird tree-traffic lights/dragonfly airplanes, sport illustrations and radiused trapezoids.
On Oct.06.2008 at 12:19 PM
Darrel’s comment is:
I'm going to sound cynical, and, well, I guess I am: I liked the visuals better before i watched the video.
Honestly, I don't think I would have done anything different in the video than they did. It's just that, after watching it, it feels like they to over-justified what they did.
Sometimes graphic design is just something that 'looks cool'. This 'looks cool'. It may be trendy. It may not be very deep. But it seems to accomplish the goal while looking good. The video, IMHO, wasn't needed.
On Oct.06.2008 at 01:39 PM
Samuel’s comment is:
Reminds me of Starbucks. Good job nevertheless.
On Oct.06.2008 at 01:43 PM
Nathan Derksen’s comment is:
As a Vancouverite, I think that the identity does a pretty good job at reflecting who we are. The water and trees are a strong part of what defines Vancouver, and I think the colours, shapes, and textures capture it well.
I think some of the background illustrations are a bit weird, but when I heard in the video the explanation about the tree with the traffic light, I thought the combination was actually pretty cool.
I have no problems with seeing this imagery pop up around the roads and venues throughout Vancouver, I think it will blend in quite nicely. The traffic issues, now that's another story. I think I will work from home for those two weeks.
On Oct.06.2008 at 01:46 PM
Corey Buckner’s comment is:
With the exception of London I love Olympics graphic design. This looks to be another great identity developing.
On Oct.06.2008 at 01:58 PM
Corey Buckner’s comment is:
On another note; the 2010 Olympic logo looks far more Paralympic than the actual Paralympic logo which looks like it belongs with this identity.
On Oct.06.2008 at 02:00 PM
GSK’s comment is:
I think the branding colours are going to look stale in 2010. Especially that bright shade of green that is so ubiquitous and popular right now. The official merchandise is mostly that colour. Certainly Vancouverites like me will be sick of it by then.
On Oct.06.2008 at 02:52 PM
danny’s comment is:
these graphics look like generic stock illustration. royalty free generic stock illustration.
for all the research about representing the soul of vancouver.
on the upside the icons are really nice, and feel far more humanist than abstract and poppy, which they may have hit on inadvertently, but i think we will be seeing a movement toward less abstract icon design by 2010...
all in all though, bleh.
On Oct.06.2008 at 03:37 PM
Kristin’s comment is:
I'm with Nathan--I think it's very West Coast. And yeah, all the Olympics stuff around town is made up of the same colour combos, but I think it creates a strong brand for the Games.
Maybe I will be sick of it by the time 2010 rolls around, but overall, I like it.
I'd give it a B or a B+.
Ray’s comment is:
Wow. I guess I'm the only one who likes this.
I think it's thoughtful and beautiful. The bellowing and active forms coupled with the natural texture and monochromatic illustrations are exciting and compelling. I think the sparse use of color is very appropriate for the season.
Most of all, i really like the heart that the design team had in creating this. In the video they all seemed to have an equal airplay, it was really nice to see that it was (seemingly) an egoless design process.
On Oct.06.2008 at 06:38 PM
watcha_watcha’s comment is:
seriously, there is nothing distinctly yelling "canada" here. you could easily throw this identity set into the alps and it would fit.
anyone else notice the images look like a set of stock clipart from some cd collection? nothing imaginative, even they admit it.
1. use colors
2. go out take pictures
3. come home with pics of textures
4. mash textures with color backgrounds
5. vectorized athletes
6. ?????
7. no profit?
even their approach of forcing the complete identity to be based on a pre-draw vector collection of waves and swooshes is weaksauce.
On Oct.06.2008 at 09:36 PM
Matheus’s comment is:
someone learned to use Illustrator swirls and smooth skills just yet.
Is that really branding?
On Oct.06.2008 at 09:50 PM
dg3’s comment is:
Looks like bad clip art.
On Oct.06.2008 at 09:58 PM
Paul Ducco’s comment is:
once again the crew here inspire no confidence.
I like it. They've done a great job.
Brand New comments however are stale, uninspiring and whiny, at times showing a vibrant colour of envy of any and all work and concepts presented.
On Oct.06.2008 at 11:23 PM
Nathan Derksen’s comment is:
I agree with Paul. I've followed this site for a long time. I used to find much of the discourse intelligent and thought provoking, but especially in branding posts, many critiques are now just vague arrogant insults. If you don't have something constructive to contribute, think about whether you should actually press that post button. I have also noticed that when the designer joins the thread, people become more tactful and generous. If you were talking face-to-face with the designer, would you say the same thing as what you are about to post?
On Oct.07.2008 at 12:31 AM
mingshi’s comment is:
Looks like a crafted version of these
...Or the wall murals at the local gyms.
Are they say more this being THE Olympics or are they just showing people general sports in Canada?
On Oct.07.2008 at 02:04 AM
dg3’s comment is:
Nathan and Paul, there are plenty of times when we all come together and give an overall positive review of a submitted logo.
Unfortunately, there are more lousy logos than good ones. That's a fact, not an opinion.
Lighten up.
On Oct.07.2008 at 04:09 AM
Anonymous’s comment is:
I agree, dg3. Also:
"these graphics look like generic stock illustration. royalty free generic stock illustration."
Thank you! I swear, they look like something straight from iStockphoto. I see someone already posted an example above, but here's yet another.
Or even this:
I remember being in school three years ago and even then I was thinking how swirls and flourishes were a thing of the past. I also don't understand how it looks "Canadian" at all. Boo.
On Oct.07.2008 at 08:31 AM
rickyaustin’s comment is:
I would agree that sometimes it's unnecessarily harsh around here.
I can't imagine what kind of committee you have to make happy to do an Olympics' identity system.
This system is nice. It may look dated in 10 years, but who cares? It's for a 2010 event and never again. Timelessness isn't as big of a concern with this sort of project in my opinion. It's almost nice to see how the Olympic branding has evolved throughout the years to reflect the culture and 'look' of the times that it was in.
Look back at ALL the Olympic branding since the early 1900s. None of them are timeless. Only a few come close.
and p.s. I like London 2012 :p
On Oct.07.2008 at 11:12 AM
max’s comment is:
any-hoo..
I don't get all the green. Isn't it for Winter? The ice-blue and white colors I get, but not the green. If it's just for the sake of adding color, well, pick another one. Green=me no likey.
The block-man logo for 2010 had to have been done by a 4th grader. Maybe some contest at the local grammar school. There's no way that a professional graphic artist did that.
I do like the "picto-icons" that they will have for each event. They're more detailed than an average icon but remain simple for easy identification.
(Did I mention I hate the green?)
Goffredo Puccetti’s comment is:
I like it. It reminds me of certain swilrly graphics Coca Cola used in the past which I loved. I cannot say if it does represent well Canada because I know nothing about it unfortunately; but it seems to me that it is a very well implemented system with two nice logos on top of it. I loved the atmosphere of the design studio in the video.
G.
On Oct.07.2008 at 11:56 AM
Darrel’s comment is:
"Brand New comments however are stale, uninspiring and whiny"
And in your case, ironic. ;o)
Just remember this is a blog for, by, and of graphic designers. Consider it the local bar at 5 after the shift whistle blows.
On Oct.07.2008 at 12:14 PM
Nathan Derksen’s comment is:
> Nathan and Paul, there are plenty of times when we all come
> together and give an overall positive review of a submitted logo.
>
> Unfortunately, there are more lousy logos than good ones. That's
> a fact, not an opinion.
I agree, there have been some nice logos that have gotten widespread praise, and I totally agree that the number of good logos is significantly outnumbered by the number of questionable or outright bad logos. Nor do I have problems with people criticizing the work, that's what this is all about after all. My issue is around the insults and ad hominem attacks that are made against the designers of the logos. That is hardly constructive. Think about the kind of critique you would like to see of your own work. Would it be helpful to you to have people say that it looks like clip art, or that it's the work of a fourth grader? Giving explanations of how or why something doesn't work, that's how we all learn. Insults and ad hominem attacks just bring the level of discussion down and make it less likely that the actual logo designers will come and participate in the discussion.
> Lighten up.
I provided constructive feedback. Take it or leave it.
On Oct.07.2008 at 12:24 PM
marnie’s comment is:
@max: The green makes sense, because even in the depths of winter, Vancouver is pretty damn green. Not just the evergreen-covered mountains and bright green lawns, but also much of the skyline is clad in green class.
(Now, why the only city in Canada that doesn't regularly get snow in winter was chosen to host the winter Olympics, well, that's another question altogether...)
Watching the video, I liked the individual layers--particularly that first layer that shows the landscape, and all the textures--but once they are all combined, I find it a bit overwhelming.
Having lived in Vancouver for 15 years, I would say it does a better job of reflecting the city than it does of reflecting Canada. I think that's probably just fine.
And I do still think it's a shame they have to incorporate the hideous logo.
On Oct.07.2008 at 12:45 PM
Tom Hackett’s comment is:
Bancoober!
On Oct.07.2008 at 12:51 PM
Nathan Derksen’s comment is:
@max: Vancouver has a reputation where in winter you can go skiing in the mountains in the morning, then go golfing on the mainland in the afternoon. We love our green city! In fact, rarely does the colour white last long here. It either gets washed away right away by the rain, or it quickly turns an ugly gray.
On Oct.07.2008 at 01:11 PM
Patrick’s comment is:
"We asked canadians what they wanted and everyone opinion was unanimous: "cliparts".
So, we did some extensive research and went to the drawing board and came up with swirls with meaningless color palettes with fancy names. Oh, we also fused trees with interesection lights. We're really proud of that one as we feel it really represents Canada."
On Oct.07.2008 at 02:19 PM
Chris Mills’s comment is:
Liked the process more than the result. Disappointing.
On Oct.07.2008 at 03:36 PM
OB’s comment is:
Looks to me as though 10 people with absolutely no discernible creative skills sat together talking bullshit for a month or two whilst one of them opened illustrator and drew out some nice looking visuals.
A "great" video?? are you seriously joking me? It makes me want to leave the industry!
Design education in canada is clearly very lacking if all these people think they did a good job. Any half decent Graphic Design student could have produced this lame "graphic identity", it didn't need a bunch of tossers to dress it up like some kind of creative epiphany
So they spoke to canadians to find out what they wanted to say about what was unique about their culture? and their research was indescribably in depth. So why have they come up with something an amateur could have produced in 20 mins!
Talentless
Deluded
Pathetic
"Taludetic"!
On Oct.07.2008 at 04:14 PM
Kevan’s comment is:
One of the best, most vibrant, most refreshing Olympic branding exercises in a long, long time. As a resident of Vancouver, these graphics make me proud to be part of the city. I love the energy, personality and overall flavour of fun these graphics convey. A job very, very well done.
On Oct.07.2008 at 04:35 PM
Myles’s comment is:
Def feels way too stocky. Chasing trends is not the best, 2010 is a ways away. Was a big fan of the Beijing games identity, this not so much.
On Oct.07.2008 at 08:56 PM
illusio’s comment is:
Considering Nathan's comment about the rain in Canada, this is a refreshing brand. The colors will pop like mad against the gray sky. The swirly shapes convey movement and energy, so it was an understandable choice.
The good: while I agree with the "stock-ness" in the imagery, the athlete illustrations and pictograms appear reminiscent of Franz Lenhart's work. The bad: The combination of patterns are visually overwhelming. These could be more effective with some restraint: two or three patterns together, instead of ten. And the emblems do have a generic quality.
Overall, the brand has potential but certainly not as compelling as the Beijing '08 Olympics, which rocked. Now can someone tell me how to get a client like this?!
On Oct.08.2008 at 01:23 AM
YRXTVCmHBMncuUNEuOA’s comment is:
HnEEoI
On Oct.08.2008 at 05:17 AM
john’s comment is:
Great process. Would that we might all have the opportunity to engage a project so in depth. The final result, though, feels indulgent and overwrought. They're channeling Iconologic while adding dopey elements like the "intersection tree." Good grief.
On Oct.08.2008 at 08:39 AM
Design’s comment is:
This makes the 2010 id system look good.
Reminds me of that horrible Jet Blue campaign from a year or two ago.
There's no point of view. Nothing unique to the region. It all looks like clipart—down to the pictograms.
On Oct.08.2008 at 02:19 PM
Design’s comment is:
"This makes the 2010 id system look good."
I was caught up in the 2010 afterglow.
I meant 2012 id for the UK.
On Oct.08.2008 at 02:31 PM
Chris’s comment is:
If you look at all the inspiration, I do think they had a good process. I get the colors. Problem I have is Vancouver has such a distinct attitude to it and I don't see it. The "stop light on a tree" kind of stuff if you will. I does seem like they got tons of great inspiration and merged it with iStock.
Frown. Especially since it's stuck in between 2 of my favorite Olympic designs of recent (Beijing and yes, I love the London ID).
On Oct.09.2008 at 12:44 PM
Dale’s comment is:
Well, the graphic designers featured in the video are certainly extremely Canadian...especially the one who mentions how "sad" it is that they don't get to do ambitious graphic design that often.
Re: the actual work. I echo the "overwrought" comment someone made above, but think it's quite nice.
There's one unavoidable problem however: It has no relationship with the official primary-colors logo. The two look horrible together. It seems odd that they completely ignored the logo when expanding the visual identity.
On Oct.10.2008 at 01:32 AM
momo’s comment is:
@max: the "block man" in the logo is an inuksuk, basically a pile of rocks used for landmarks/way-finding by First Nations people in the Arctic.
Char’s comment is:
Nathan Derksen said:
"I agree, there have been some nice logos that have gotten widespread praise, and I totally agree that the number of good logos is significantly outnumbered by the number of questionable or outright bad logos. Nor do I have problems with people criticizing the work, that's what this is all about after all. My issue is around the insults and ad hominem attacks that are made against the designers of the logos. That is hardly constructive. Think about the kind of critique you would like to see of your own work. Would it be helpful to you to have people say that it looks like clip art, or that it's the work of a fourth grader? Giving explanations of how or why something doesn't work, that's how we all learn. Insults and ad hominem attacks just bring the level of discussion down and make it less likely that the actual logo designers will come and participate in the discussion."
RE: Since when are we allowing adults in here? Hahaha. Mr. Derksen, my respect to you. This is such a great place to express opinions and ideas... it's become a place to express hate and career frustrations. An insult isn't a reason nor a valid argument.
I look at branding for Olympic Games and I think... holy sh%t, dealing with a Committee full of back-and-forths. It must be a VERY DIFFICULT job. I actually like the Vancouver logo and I am not too crazy about how they expanded the identity... it looks foreign to the simplicity of the logo. The primal arts inspiration could've been used in so many ways.
On Oct.15.2008 at 01:36 AM
Char’s comment is:
Oh, by the way!
For us Americans... if we're going to talk about bad Olympic design, lets remember the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The mascot was so culturally detached I can't even put it in words, hahaha. The logo, lets not even go there.
Alice Baldwin’s comment is:
I see the clip art connection that everyone is referring to, but the strokes of texture are representative of land, mountains, water. They are representing the landscape. Clip art and stock illustration generally don't represent anything but pretty swirls. I think the pictograms are very well done. They feel very western and representative.
As far as relating to the original brand, meaning the block man logo, I think it's a miss. It does not look like a well unified system to me.
On Oct.19.2008 at 05:48 PM
Paddy C’s comment is:
Little late in here...
I liked the video. Thought it gave a good sample of the process and that was interesting to hear.
I'm on the fence about the final product. Both sides have valid points here. So I'll get directly to what kills me about the entire visual aspect of the 2010 games—no one bothered to look at west coast aboriginal art!
You've got an amazing graphic resource that happens to be geographically and historically relevant. Get some first nation's artists in on this project and you would have had something incredible. Instead you have wonder bread.
This will go down, in my mind, as an unbelievable opportunity that was lost.
On Oct.20.2008 at 12:41 PM
keith’s comment is:
whatever it is or isn't, it certainly kicks the pants off the london 2012 crap...
On Oct.22.2008 at 02:03 AM
T Minus Five’s comment is:
Funny... it definitely has a familiar look. But it is effective.
On Nov.05.2008 at 02:43 AM
Kevin Zwirble’s comment is:
I feel that the logo and the overall identity do not mesh whatsoever.
I believe they designed the logo 4-5 (?) years ago. It feels like they became inspired by the Torino, Italy Olympics identity which was executed extremely well and just bastardized that and added the logo.
I think the blue/green color scheme works well for winter sports, but they should've pushed the overall native northwest look.
The event illustrations are well-crafted, but again feel out-of-place and are too overdone for reproduction purposes. Look at the illustrations throughout the olympics history, very simple, clean.
On Dec.01.2008 at 02:59 PM
