I, ah…
You know, logo design is deceptively difficult to pull off. You’d think because they’re simple, logos would be the kind of things you could dash off with a marker on a napkin between pints. But in fact whittling down to that kind of simplicity while making it work on everything from T-shirts to gigantic billboards to the web – and satisfying the client and their many internal and external stakeholders – well, it’s enough to drive a company crazy.
I respect that, so I’m not going to succumb to the temptation to say that’s what happened here.
No, I think what happened here is they got to week 51 of the 52-week process and had developed a concept that was so uniquely perfect, so utterly emblematic of London, the UK, the Games and the spirit of friendly competition, a concept that aspired to greatness while remaining accessible to all. They presented it proudly to the client, who frowned and said, “Actually, isn’t Vancouver already using an inukshuk?”
And then they broke out the napkins and markers.
London, don’t worry. It’ll grow on you.
