The new OFFICIAL Sochi 2014 Logo
 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/12/01/sports/olympics/01sochi/blogSpan.jpg

Logo for Sochi Games Encourages Pointing and Clicking
By JEFFREY MARCUS

In the coming months, you’ll be seeing the Vancouver 2010 logo on TV, on the Web and in print as athletes and organizers make their final push for the Winter Games. Looking ahead another four years, organizers of the 2014 Games in Sochi unveiled their latest branding campaign in Russia on Tuesday.

“It’s very appealing. It’s very creative, innovative,” the International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, said at the unveiling. “I think it will appeal especially to the young population.”

The logo, which is more text than image, incorporates for the first time the Games’ Internet domain, sochi.ru.

The design was created by the firm Interbrand at a cost less than the $650,000 spent on London’s logo for the 2012 Summer Games, said Dmitry Chernyshenko, the C.E.O. of the Sochi organizing committee. Interbrand does design work for international companies like AT&T, Dunkin Donuts and Stolichnaya vodka.

Brand Republic, a U.K. media and marketing site, asked design mavens to critique the Sochi logo. The response is mixed.

“My first reaction was thank goodness it’s not trying to be desperately hip,” said Richard Morris, the design director for Identica. “I think it’s just a good, commonsense idea. And at least everyone will know Sochi is in Russia. Job done.”

David Harris, the creative director for Wunderman, is not a fan. “What has been heralded as a ‘ground breaking logo’ for the Sochi Winter Games looks to me disappointingly, not very ‘ground breaking’,” he said. “On a positive note it looks infinitely more stylish than the controversial London 2012 jigsaw logo but nowhere near as memorable.”

http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2...-games-encourages-pointing-and-clicking/

I fail to see how it is appealing, creative, or innovative.

And I should *hope* it cost less than $650,000 to make. That's not something to brag about, when the guy went online, downloaded a font pack, and slapped the Olympic logo on it.

Cue 'vomit emoticon'.

:tup: Mmm, to find common ground finally! :haha:

Puke face.


Congratulations London, someone beat you in having the worst logo ever!

Boooooriiiiiing.

http://simpsons.ugo.com/images/homers-buddies/barney.jpg I LIKE it!

They especially needed a logo due to most non-young people in Russia only being able to read the Cyrillic alphabet.
A number of Russian people will think that says:
<unreadable>os<unreadable>.g<unreadable>
<unreadable>oich

Or at least something like that.

“It’s very appealing. It’s very creative, innovative,” the International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, said at the unveiling. “I think it will appeal especially to the young population.”

When you hear these words, run. Some of the biggest marketing fiascoes in history were launched with these same words.

Yes, one *could* argue a 66 year old man isn't "in tune" with the young folks.

Most marketing, I have to say, is pretty clueless. Especially when targeting the "young population".

There are some genius marketing schemes, but this, is not one of them :P

Why are they targeting young people who have the least amount of disposable income among all age groups ?

i quite like it - perhaps the graphic designer in me but its very appealing

While it might not be great it is better then London 2012. It's like the designer was anti-olympics and was using Lisa Simpson as imagery of the bad taste about to be left in their mouths.

and here's their "look of the games". they call it ice crystals.
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/sochi_2014_video_frames.jpg
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cold_with_a_chance_of_snow_crystals.php

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/sochi_2014_helmet_shoes.jpg
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cold_with_a_chance_of_snow_crystals.php

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/sochi_2014_jersey_01.jpg
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cold_with_a_chance_of_snow_crystals.php

get him a glass of cristal champagne now! :D
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/sochi_2014_skier.jpg
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cold_with_a_chance_of_snow_crystals.php

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/sochi_2014_stadium.jpghttp://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cold_with_a_chance_of_snow_crystals.php

^ the brand is tons better than London's, while the Sochi logo...well, I've changed my mind - can't decide which one is crappier: the one with Lisa Simpson or the one that uses 1970's fonts.

The Vancouver 2010 is hands down the best Olympic brand/look of the games yet. And I've gotta say that I've really warmed up to the logo.

I like the ice crystals, though that blue is certainly familiar ;). But it seems really one dimensional as a theme. It's just hard for me to picture what else you do with it except repeat it over and over.

One thing that has really grown on me about the Vancouver "look of the Games" is how the "interwoven" lines have all sorts of subtle details "emerge" from them. So when you study the poster or any of the banners, you notice plants or birds or objects, all with connections and connotations to the Vancouver / Whistler region. It's a neat way of maintaining a consistent look, yet providing a backdrop story as well.

I suppose you could do something like that with the "crystals" theme as well, but it seems more limiting. As the interwoven lines in the Vancouver look creates "waves," you can imagine it as an actual wave. So, emotionally, it is like the subtle images are hidden by a wave, and you get to see the image exposed as it bobs along of when the wave recedes.

Unless the crystals "melt" to reveal something more ;), they remain simply ice crystals.

I know I'm speaking literally about something that's symbolic, but that's my initial thought.

The whole idea of the "look" is to evoke an emotional response. I really like how Vancouver does that, but manages to do it in a way that telegraphs a lot of tiny details. I just don't see how you do that with "crystals," at least at first glance.

What is our official logo, the one with the Inukshuk?

Yes, at least I think. There is the little colorful inikshuk with vancouver 2010 centered underneath, and the Olympic rings beneath that. This guy:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/vi...ha3&sigb=130sse49m#FCar=e427a67f9eb37bf6

But we are talking about two things within this topic. The actual logo for the games as well as the look of the games (70's font and ice crystals for sochi / inikshuk emblem and "waves" - is there an actual term vanoc uses to describe it? - for vancouver).

Edit: I found this cool video I've never seen before . . . the look of the Vancouver games is called "Transmoflection" ;).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MsATxMHnO8

Even the one used during the bidding process looked great!

http://www.idsgn.org/images/and-the-gold-goes-to/2010.png

I could have sworn there was a Vancouver logo thread but I can't find it.

I'm trying to find all the unauthorized versions of the inukshuk logo.

Of course there is the famous PETA parody.

And this Taser-inspired one.

And this cartoon.

And this take on illegal drugs.

I'm pretty sure a couple of forumers here have used parodies as avatars. Any more?

I like it, it's very web 2.0

What if we're in web 3.0 by 2014? :P

No no no... we'll be closer to Web 2.5 RC1. Of course Internet Explorer will still be Web 1.8.

I like the subtle symmetry between the top and the bottom of the logo.

Their paralympic logo is a lot better, imo:
http://sochi2014.com/bitrix/templates/main/i/paralympic-logo.png

Remember, the biggest brands in the world aren't logos, but rather, stylized text: Coca-Cola, Ford, GE, Sony, Nintendo, Intel, IBM, Fedex.


Anyone know what company this logo is from?
http://vigilantcitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/geuu_03_img0618.jpg

How about this one:
http://www.cinch.tv/images/20061130_Procter_g_logo_drk_blu_300.jpg

Chances are you know the second logo. The logos are actually for the same company. Old and new logo.

It's difficult for a company to have a symbol represent a company. A few successful ones could be Apple, Pepsi's blue-red swirl, McDonald's golden arches( it's still a letter, mind you ), the UN and the Olympic Rings themselves.

Without the words, which of these do you think people would recognize?
http://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/olympic-logos.gif
http://elleeseymour.com/wp-content/uploa...inner_1067F/OlympicLogosES_468x54062.jpg

Rest assured, most people will forget the Inukshuk in a few years.

The Nike logo is also extremely successful and recognizable, but you've made a good point regardless.

In all seriousness, there are some 'logos' and symbols that are more effective than words, as they are independent of language. The swastika comes to mind, even though it means several different things.

the Inukshuk works well on TV shots along the course of events its simple and shows up well

I seem to like the simplier logos better. Then Sochi is just too simple, need an actual image besides the olympic rings

Apple comes to mind as well. There are also universal symbols/icons which transcend words. Handicapped signs, washrooms, etc. I remember someone also telling me that in Mexico, the subway system used a lot of symbols at stations, due to illiteracy. I thought it was a different symbol for each station, but after looking it up, I think it's for major institutions located at each station:
Mexico City Subway signs

It works well on TV, yes. But it's not memorable.

Very true! Adidas three stripes is another one that comes to mind. These two brands also combine strong textual logos as well:
http://printablecouponspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/adidas-Logo.pnghttp://www.showstudio.com/2008/09/02/nike_logo.jpg

Isn't the main reason Nike and Adidas are so memorable because we've been exposed to them our entire lives?

If the inikshuk was plastered across hundreds of millions in dollars of advertisements and products for the next 4 or 5 decades, it would probably be considered rather "memorable" as well ;).

The P&G symbols don't really apply well to this discussion because Proctor and Gamble doesn't advertise or promote their logo (which I did reccognize, the first image more than the second). P&G would rather consumers recognize their brand names (crest, etc). In fact, P&G often sells "competing" products with different brand names so they wouldn't necessarily want to promote a unifying image that links the products in the mind of the consumer.

Overall, I think the Vancouver 2010 emblem logo will be more memorable than most simply because the inikshuk is an image that already exists in other forms. So in that regard, I think it was an excellent logo selection to help a new audience think of Vancouver.

The inikshuk is similar to the kokopelli figure, which was rather faddish for a while (at least in the US). People who've traveled often to Arizona and other parts of the US southwest will probably find the image at least vaguely familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokopelli

i've been doing a little research about this place to see if it's somewhere i'd like to go and i thought this was rather interesting.

sochi gets on average 300mm MORE rain every year than Vancouver. Hard to believe but they do. Vancouver records 1,200mm a year in precipitation. Sochi is 1,500mm. Not that big of a deal i guess but consider that our stadium was covered. Sochi is open air as is their medal plaza (near the sea). not sure how that's going to work given the very high probability that it will rain a lot. their average rainfall is just slightly above ours for the month of february.

they even show rain on their flag LOL http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Flag_of_Sochi_%28Krasnodar_krai%29.png
i've never come across a destination that actually received more rain than us. now we know ;)

oh, and they're building the most expensive highway in the world - costing $170million a KM. this highway (connecting Sochi to the mountains) will cost 7.5BILLION dollars and is exclusively for use by the Olympic family (seriously). corruption is obviously a major major problem is this area. they are also building a high-speed rail line connecting the two. seems like a mega waste of money. sochi doesn't even have 1 ice rink today...

It's also the only part of Russia where the average temperatures in winter are above freezing. (The Wikipedia page has a nice chart.)

sounds a lot like vancouver, with the exception of their beaches. oddly, they are all rock and not sand. i have no idea how people can stand it.
looks awful. and this is considered the "Riviera"... i dunno...
I think i'll stick to Cabo thanks.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3139/2777967997_6664442ae1_o.jpg
photo by Enceladusj on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/enceladusj/2777967997/

i also read that their new Oval (not built yet) will be converted to a "marketplace" after the games. doesn't say what kind of course but given it's isolated location,
you can bet this will become another http://www.gifandgif.eu/animated_gif/Elephants/Animated%20Gif%20Elephants%20%281%29.gif

^ However, I understand that the mountains are beautiful and have quite a lot of winter activities in them.

That said, the mountain resort that will host the snow/slide/jump competitions had weather similar to Cypress in the past two weeks... but even more rain and less sun than Cypress had. :)