AlinaWheeler-DesigningBrandIdentity

Process and strategy: Olympic Games help hostcountries boost tourism, build new infrastructure,and display their brand globally. The host countrygets special rights to use the Olympic logo ownedby the International Olympic Committee.Traditionally each country designs its own proprietarytrademark and mascot to garner greaterattention and marketability, helping sell productsand attract corporate sponsors. Some countries,such as China and Greece, held global competitionsthat drew thousands of entries. Experiencedworld-class design firms are needed to ensurethat the identities are graphically powerful andcan be reproduced across thousands of applications.Designers are also needed to envision thelook and feel of the Games, the environmentalgraphics, and everything from the medal designto the sports icons to the interactive multimediadisplays.and combine it with the distinctive culture. Likeother icons, the best ones have a strong centralidea. The Athens 2004 emblem is an olive branchwreath, designed to express the heritage andlegacy of the ancient Games in a color inspired bythe Aegean sea and Greek sky. The Beijing 2008script is inspired by bamboo carvings from theancient Han Dynasty.Results: The increasing breadth and reach of theOlympic Games have made them a powerfulplatform for building brands for the cities andcountries that host them, the corporations thatfund them, and the athletes who aspire tocelebrity status. The symbols of the Games arereproduced hundreds of millions of times across awide range of media and engender pride andownership. The identities are traditionallylaunched in a large multimedia event.Creative solution: The best Olympic trademarksengender pride, express a cultural difference, andlook great on television and mobile phones. Thechallenge is to capture the spirit of the OlympicsThe ever-existing challengefor each Olympics is not onlyto re-emphasize the originalideals, but also to be part of aprocess of moving them intothe future.Wolff OlinsTM257