A round of applause for the Beijing logo!

Well, as the Olympics are upon us and the excitement is buzzing around the studio, it is only natural that the Olympics would be entering our blog too.
So, the Beijing logo; what do we all think? Politics aside, it's a refreshing logo, well designed and thought out. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem's official statement on the logo:

"Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing" is filled with Beijing's hospitality and hopes, and carries the city's commitment to the world."

If we break down the logo, one of the most striking parts is the bright red, which obviously has strong links with China and it symbolism for prosperity, good luck and happiness.
The actual logo (which at first glance I thought was a running man!) is the Chinese symbol for "jing" beautifully created in calligraphy/style strokes, which are followed through to the "Beijing 2008" writing below. The simplicity of the red background with the connotations of stone brings notions of history, which obviously is inherent to the Olympics.
Overall the logo unifies the Olympics with Chinese culture beautifully, it says a lot, without saying too much. It's simple, but has a certain depth. Very well constructed, and a thumbs up from the Imprenta Pronto team!

I can't leave the blog without mentioning one of the most long/lasting logos of all time...

The Olympic Rings
The results of a survey carried out in six countries (Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Great Britain and the USA) in 1995 showed that 92% of those questioned correctly identified the Olympic rings, which made them the most-recognised symbol. They were followed by the McDonald's and Shell emblems (88%), Mercedes (74%) and the United Nations (36%). (SRI Sponsorship Research International).

The logo was designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Movement) in 1913 after he saw a similar design on an artifact from ancient Greece. These five rings -- blue, yellow, black, green and red -- represent the five parts of the world now encompassed by Olympism and ready to compete against each other. Moreover, the six colours (including the white background) thus combined represent those of all nations, without exception. The blue and yellow of Sweden, the blue and white of Greece, the French, English, American, German, Belgian, Italian and Hungarian tricolors, the yellow and red of Spain are side by side with the new Brazilian and Australian flags, the old Japan and the new China. It is a true international emblem."

As an image of Olympism, Coubertin thought the rings had deep significance: that of the union between men. He multiplied the image to create a total of five rings and designed and commissioned the Olympic flag to mark the 20th anniversary of the IOC's founding, on 23rd June 1914 in Paris. Coubertin never said nor wrote that he saw a link between the colours of the rings and the continents. For him, the five rings represented the union of the five continents but the colours were merely those that appeared in all the different national flags at the time.

Thanks to IOC for the info!

Good luck to your countries
and Keep Creative!

James