NY20??

Now that I see all of it, it's not as bad as I first thought - depending on how the flame burns on top, this could make for quite the simple yet stricking image.

Well there's always hope the main cauldron(s) in Vancouver will look different than this one - this was the case with Atlanta, Sydney, Torino, and more or less Athens. All these community cauldrons were very similar to their torches, but different than their main cauldrons. Or maybe they'll all look alike and Vancouver's community cauldron be the only the bad seed in the scope of 2010 flame bearing design.

It is not the core of the brand, but Native influence is there. The basis for the 2010 graphic identity is Vancouver's dichotomy of the natural and the urban, and the Native and the modern. Among other textures and imagery, they juxtapose cobblestone and rain drops, condo glass and foliage, fish netting and snow flakes... and [native] Haida art and graffiti. So I wouldn't be surprised if the medals follow this and have natural and Native influence and allusions but with modern polish.

The Chinese love the Olympics, especially their's. They view the Bird's Nest as much more than a stadium, but a monument (and it was partly designed as one). Selling blades of grass from an Olympic stadium a year later may sound desperate, but not in China I think.

Still rustic 1930's? I think it’s that footwear, brown bag and belt, grey pants, round shades, hat, and maybe even the logo on the right-hand side of the jacket that makes the looks have a rustic 1930’s vibe to them. Not just the ski poles.

Polo Ralph Lauren Signs Agreement to Extend Outfitting of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams Through 2012 "Celebrating the rich history of the Olympic Games with a nod to the Lake Placid Games of 1932, the clothing [for Vancouver] will showcase a classic Americana and patriotic palette of red, white and blue." Link: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/...tfits-2012.html

Well the whole look top designers put together in sketches and runway shows are not really what they expect their clients to look like. They're really just "artistic visions." And it could be these aren't the uniforms for the Ceremonies either. In Beijing, those weren't reveled until just before the OC.

Polo logo means Ralph Lauren. So yeah they’re designing them again.

I like them. Ski instructor chic.

Oh how bad. His work for Vancouver has been superb and it’s a shame he won’t be able to see it ultimately manifested next year like the rest of us.

I think its being a symbol of national pride is what's being left at its legacy, which will in turn bring in money from Chinese tourists who would want to shop, eat, and who knows even spend the night at the stadium. Though it is hosting more events later this year, I do find it surprising that the largest stadium in the capital city of China hasn't hosted more in the past year. A good article on all this: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/sports/o...VENUE.html?_r=1

Oh so that's what they are. I saw a women wearing one of those in Nolita once and though it looked surprisingly good.

Now that I look at it further, it does look like contour lines. '= They do use wood grain in the branding though, among many other things like graffiti, clouds, cobblestones, and Haida art.

I love the wood grain and foliage overlay on the second one. Classy and modern.

Though there were plenty of clear, blue sky days. Still, no surprise here.

One would think the Chinese wouldn't be celebrating 8/8 with that event, but elsewhere in the city.

It's no coincidence that 'artistic designs' rarely fit perfectly with the logos. Things have to be differentiated.

High resolution:

This guy likes to toot his own horn a bit. On Iconologic’s website, he blogged daily from Beijing 2008, describing how he consults with Bocog about how to dress the venues from the day to day. He is quite involved with Olympic branding though, and has been since Atlanta. He regularly consults the IOC; he presented these four quite insightful videos to them - http://www.iconologic.com/client/olympics/

Wow, I had never seen Delta with Atlanta's branding. The logo works very well on the tail; it can pass as an airline's regular livery.

Great job. Vancouver's on a roll as far as anything designed goes.

And now that I do a bit of research, it looks like Athens had more than one poster too. This really boring one on olympic.org, and this one.

Beijing's posters were revealed a couple of weeks before those Games were opened: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/n214461852.shtml I'd be great if they incorporated Vancouver's look into the poster (it's the best one since Athens’ imo), but I hope they also differentiate it from any old banner that will be hung around the city. If you look at Atlanta's and Sydney's posters, they're different from the rest of those Game's graphic identity, but they still manage to have the same feel.

Well, the Water Cube's warm-up pool opened to the public for a fee recently and the main competition pools have been hosting a mix of light / fountain shows and musical concerts since last fall: As posted above a production of "Swan Lake" with synchronized swimmers will reportedly open soon at the Water Cube. And as it's always been planned, there is space for a water park in the venue's future development:

Only the color is different, the torch's shape is still the same. It's nice to have a change, but there was something behind the white of the Olympic torch - the great white expanse of the Canadian winter, of the torch's route, etc. The Paralympic torch looks good too, it's very edgy, but I'd like to hear their explanation for the color change.