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Vancouver 2010 Re-branded


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The original brand was better in my opinion:

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VANOC unveils 2010 sports pictograms

Wednesday, September 17 - 11:41:58 AM

Shane Bigham

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The Vancouver 2010 Olympic 'image' is coming more into focus today. VANOC has unveiled the 2010 Olympics graphic identity, including colour schemes and pictograms associated with each sport and venue.

VANOC also introduced other graphic design elements for venues, merchandise, as well as volunteer and staff uniforms. The grey, green and blue colours of mist, forest and ocean symbolize the 'sea-to-sky' regional aspect of the Games. Those colours and symbols will dominate everything from banners to in-venue signage--even postcards.

The pictograms are sport illustrations that VANOC says will convey the visual personality of the Games to the world. Traditional pictograms rely on a simplified silhouette form to depict each sport. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic pictograms depict each sport while incorporating the added dynamism of the athlete in motion.

VANOC says more focus has been put on the athlete in order to convey the "human and heroic qualities within the silhouette". The addition of the highlighted areas on the athlete’s body and equipment helps to convey the speed and fluidity of each sport.

Beijing used black and white stick-figure like art--relatively simple drawings similar to what's been used at previous Games since they were first introduced unofficially in London in 1948. They became an official Olympic element at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

VANOC says its designs include elements of the region's spectacular natural scenery.

Olympic%20pictogram_alpine%20skiing.jpg

Pictogram for alpine skiing

All images TM/MC VANOC

Olympic%20pictograms1.jpg

All images TM/MC VANOC

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Hmmm, they just seem too complicated and "clip art" like and a bit dated. Don't match the brand very well and lack the boldness we had in Lillehammer, Athens and Torino or the branding excellence of Beijing, Barcelona, or Sydney which went so well with the logo. These don't fit well the Vanoc logo. They neither inspire hatred or love and are just kinda random, cheap and cold looking.

They should have just kept the fun little bid pictograms. It is odd that they chose Xwa lack tun. Back during the bid phase, he was hired and his designs were too complicated and didn't scale well. So they were with drawn and a new designer hired. Vanoc did not retain the rights to those designs.

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Vanoc unveils new graphic illustrations for 2010 Games

Vancouver Sun

Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee unveiled its new graphic illustrations at a Board of Trade luncheon at Canada Place today.

The illustrations -- which the design team said involved enough research to circumnavigate the globe four times -- will be featured on 2010 Olympic banners, signage, venues and merchandise.

The illustrations are primarily blue, green and white in colour, and feature layers of illustrations. The aim was to highlight Vancouver's natural beauty, as well as its modern, urban side.

The sports pictograms are more modern than those of Games past, designers said, reflecting the evolution of the sports.

"We're very proud of them," said Vanoc spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade.

Canadian Olympians Amanda Overland (short track speed skating), Chris Wong (freestyle skiing), Anne-Marie Lefrançois (alpine skiing) and Paralympian Tyler Mosher (cross-country skiing) unveiled the pictograms and the series of sport illustrations.

They were created in collaboration with illustrator Irene Jacobs of I'm JAC Design, and incorporate elements designed by Xwa lack tun, a Vancouver-based Aboriginal artist.

"The pictograms and sport illustrations were inspired by modern sport photography, pop culture, fashion illustration and manga-style comics (a Japanese genre of comic books) to give athletes an heroic feel and a close-up view of their intensity and athleticism, while also serving as an inspiration to youth," Vanoc said in a release.

Tomorrow, Vanoc will launch a refreshed website designed to offer an enhanced, in-depth and interactive experience for virtual visitors worldwide.

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^ well, at least the public loves it:

From the Canada.com online poll, "Do you approve of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's new graphic illustrations for the 2010 Games?"

YES - 99.26%

NO - 0.74%

Well, an online poll of that type isn't scientific. But will have to see that one out.

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It doesn’t quite match the logos like the original branding did, but that's not always the case with Olympic brands. I'm not bothered by that.

What I don't like is how they have animals, foliage, boats, etc. all over the place. It works fine on certain applications, but I think it could turn out to be way too much on others, especially at the venues. We’ll see.

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Well, an online poll of that type isn't scientific. But will have to see that one out.

It's definitely not scientific, but unlike the logo or the mascot polls they had I think this is a very good indicator of the public's opinion - that it is positive.

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It is getting to be too much like the Vancouver Canucks.

That's funny - because I figured the Canucks went back to their original blue and green so that they could be more like 2010.

That way they could get VANOC to pay to decorate GM Place... err, Canada Hockey Place... in those colours.

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That's funny - because I figured the Canucks went back to their original blue and green so that they could be more like 2010.

That way they could get VANOC to pay to decorate GM Place... err, Canada Hockey Place... in those colours.

Maybe it is the sensibilities of the people involved in both. A lot of Canucks staffers moved to VANOC.

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The new 2010 website is up....it's pretty good, easy to navigate, and easy on the eyes. It's a whole lot better than the mess that the Beijing and Torino websites were 16 months out.

It could use more colour though, too much white space.

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I don't know, I think they are fine but they just serve further to highlight the crappiness of the logo and how hard it was for them to make something work with such a blocky and unimaginative design. VANOC would have been better served by using 1 design team from the start of the process to the end with a unified graphic, logo, pictogram, medal and torch design. Instead they have opened some up to contests and others to a design firm. It makes little sense when you are trying to create a unified picture.

Even though Nagano's and Salt Lakes logos were a bit cliched in the snowflake application, they still had a completely unified feel to all of the graphics and design used. Torino was not as successful, but better than what Vancouver is using.

It would be nice for VANOC to wake up and find a new emblem for the games to better reflect the current design theme, but that will not be the case.

Overall the feeling is cold and unwelcoming, unlike Torino's with the rich use of warm oranges, reds, greens and yellows, Vancouver has chosen to use sterile, stark and cold colours that are not inviting at all.

Ascetically they are good, but they are just lacking.

The pictograms are too literal, I prefer more abstract representations of the sports.

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Very true.

The curves of the Nagano snowflower were reflected well in the calligraphic strokes of the look, likewise the rhythm of the land crystal look of Salt lake, going well with the contrast culture contrast logo.

I guess it would have been near on impossible to provide a graphic package complimentary to the Vancouver logo.

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I actually like the pictograms in their large versions as they seem much more "dynamic" à la Torino. Unfortunately, when they are small you can't see the details and they seem rather dull.

As for the look, it's much more sophisticated than I usually thought (maybe even a tat too much) but it's really good. I just wish they had also used warmer colours than just green and blue.

Anyway, the moment of truth will be when we see it on the venues, uniforms, tickets...

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