Olympic Bid Logo Design
Corporate ID. — Spring 2021
Project 2: Olympic Bid
The objective of this project is to design a logo for a candidate host city for The Olympics in the future. This logo should be original, make a statement, create excitement, and accurately represent the city. My delegated candidate city is:
Brussels, Belgium
Winter Olympics 2042
Research
The Olympic Games
- inspired by ancient Olympic games that happened in Greece from the 8th century BC-4th century AD
- International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the governing body. They decide who the host cities are, what sports will be competed in, the organization and funding of the games.
- Motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger”)
- 205 countries compete
- Olympic Rings: 5 rings represent unity of the 5 inhabited continents. The colors of the rings were chosen because every nation uses at least one of the 5 colors in its national flag.
Winter Olympics
- Created as a result of the Olympic Movement (decided in 1921)
- First Winter Olympic games held in Chamonix, France in 1924
Belgium at the Olympics
- First competed in the 1900 games
- Belgian athletes have won 148 medals at summer Olympics and 6 at winter Olympics
- Hosted at Antwerp, Belgium in 1920
Belgian Culture and Geography
- Belgium is bordered by 4 countries and the North Ssea
- Belgium consists of 3 states, each with their own language and culture: Flanders (Flemish speaking), Wallonia (French Speaking), and Brussels (officially bilingual — mostly French with some Flemish Dutch and German)
- German and English are also commonly spoken
- Government: constitutional monarchy with a prime minister
- Current prime minister:
- Currency: Euro
- Size: approximately the size of the state of Maryland
- Famous artists from Belgium: Jan van Eyck, Pieter Brueghel, and Pieter Paul Rubens
- Major industries and products of Belgium: services, agriculture, chemical production, lace, chocolate, beer, waffles, french fries, brussel sprouts
- Belgian design and decorating is described as “restrained elegance” (merge rustic and modern aesthetics, using soft and neutral color palette)
Brussels, Belgium
- The official symbol: yellow iris
- The yellow iris appears on the flag of Brussels Capital Region. The City of Brussels flag uses an image of the patron saint of Brussels, St. Michael, slaying the devil.
- Brussels is the host city for NATO and the European Union
- 27% of Brussels residents are not citizens of Brussels, they work at the major political and governmental establishments in Brussels.
- Average temperature: 10.3 degrees Celcius (50.54 degrees Fahrenheit), average rainfall: 132 days a year
- Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels
Popular Brussels Architecture
Brainstorming
Type Exploration
Logo Drafts
Final Olympic Bid Logo
Rationale
The objective of this project was to design an Olympic Bid logo for a given candidate city that successfully represents both the city, Brussels, and the Olympic Games. This project required extensive research about the Olympics, the winter games, and Brussels, Belgium. From the research came brainstorming concept and logo designs. The inspiration for this logo specifically came from the architectural monument called the Atomium in Brussels. The shape consists of varying sized circles with connecting lines. Looking at the logo abstractly, the form of a capital B may be interpreted representing Brussels or Belgium. The colors chosen within the logo’s form consist of the green and blue from the famous Olympic rings. These colors were chosen because the colors of the Belgium flag consist of the other three ring’s colors, so in the spirit of unity and inclusivity at the root of the Olympics, the logo utilizes the missing colors. The font used here is Gotham with the two weights being Black and Light. Gotham is a grid based font that was designed to be very strong and sturdy in appearance which represents the discipline and strength of the Olympic athletes. Finally, the color of the font is a blue that matches the capitol flag of Brussels. The use of cool colors also emphasizes the time of year for these games, winter.
