60 years of flipping the script. 👀🏅 London 2012 remains one of the boldest chapters of our archive – and one of the most talked about Olympic brands of all time. We tore up the rulebook for Olympic branding, trading safe icons for raw energy and urban attitude. The result was a symbol as spirited as London itself. The reaction was immediate. Our website crashed, headlines blazed and the attention was fierce. But as the Games drew closer, the energy shifted. The logo flexed across tickets, venues, and merch, adapting to every sponsor and moment, connecting with the public in a powerful way. What once shocked the world became impossible to ignore, and impossible to forget. Our Design Specialist Director Franc Falco said: “The initial skepticism turned into widespread appreciation, and the creative team’s bold risk ultimately paid off – it was a huge success that redefined Olympic branding. My small contribution to that brand creation will always be a very proud moment in my Wolff Olins career.” 💛 Learn more about our work. 👉 https://wolffolins.com #WolffOlins60 #London2012 #OlympicLegacy #CreativeLegacy #DesignHistory
It was a great brand to define. Leading the workshops with LOCOG to arrive at the brand essence will always be a highlight of my time at WO. The amazing team was shut in a small room and sworn to secrecy - and we were really focused on doing a great job. Launch was more of a challenge. Defending the work in presentations to a sceptical world and being doorstepped by the tabloid press was interesting to say the least. But I still have the logo test print signed by Lord Coe on my wall. In his words "Mark, we got there".
A seismic shift in what was possible. Opened the flood gates for an entirely new approach to brand identity creation. 🙌
I loved this from the moment it was released. It felt fresh, different, daring. And crucially, it felt very ‘London’. No interchangeable Olympic assets, no ambiguity. Those who got all ranty about it just don’t get it because they couldn’t see the bigger picture than just a logo. And that’s proven by how the backlash had subsided by the time the games were live, and even more so over the subsequent years.
Ahead of its time, pure and simple.
Fair play to the Olympic Committee for signing this off at the time. It was such a radical move, and just goes to show the positives which happen when a client either has an aligned vision, or clearly trusts the agency and the direction.
As someone who has worked over a decade in-house and regularly have non design colleagues I pretty much always use 2012 as a go to when talking about brands and how being distinctive allows a brand to be instantly and quickly recognisable, even from just a colour or a typeface. And that's not subjective or open to opinion. I had a slide in a L+L pop quiz for the non designers where I work of Andy Murray playing tennis with not a green or brown background but the magenta background behind him and asked when / where is this and all these years on people get the answer, it's 2012 Olympics. I love it, love it love it because it's not about how pretty or nice it is.
Such a great time to be in the building, if not in the (locked) room! I wonder if that lock would've been enough to keep the work incognito in the age of social media...
fond memories of making the audio for this :)
Creative Director / Co-Founder at lukecharles
5dI have great memories of creating this brand … not such fond ones of the immediate aftermath. Feel very privileged to have been involved!