Oct 3, 2023
The olympic games have a history of a decade. The design of logos evolved in this time. Let's take a look at the evolution and what can we learn from it.
1896 - 1924
Hand-painted style
This included classic Greek elements and Greek lettering.
The paintings depicted human in arena and a lot of detailing.
1924 - 1948
Hand-painted style with fewer details
These were still painting style but with fewer details
They focussed on 1-2 elements like man, flag, or mountain.
Line illustration style
Line illustrations of entities like boat, leaves, bell, or places were made.
No background color was used for clarity because the space between lines was less.
1952 - 1968
Illustrated elements style with plain background
Fewer elements ethos were continued with these designs.
There were elements in the logo like building, mountains, and fire which was illustrated with plain background.
Emergence of abstract shape style
Basic shapes like circles, ellipses, and some abstract shapes were used.
Maximum 2 colors were used.
This simplicity emerged because there was a need for scalability due to commercialization.
Also in 1973, first digital design tool was launched
1972 - 1988
Geometric style
These logos were made with shapes that were symmetric and geometrical.
The synergy between multiple curved lines and straight lines can be seen.
Some logos even follow the golden ratio.
1992 - 2010
Dynamic abstract shape style of elements
Elements like fire and leaves were now used in abstract style but with dynamic effect.
This was a push for room for creativity but maintaining scale (commercialization)
Abstract human shape style with multiple colors
Some focus was also given to the player rather than the event in some logos.
Multiple colors in these abstract logos also represent vibrancy and richness due to the participation of different types of countries
2012 - 2022
Dynamic logo with gradient style
The gradient approach in design was used to show light and shadows on the shapes used.
During the broadcasting of the events, the dynamic logos can be animated.
Typography centric style
Some logos have placed a strong emphasis on typography, using bold and custom fonts as the central design element.
These often combine typography with subtle visual elements to create a distinctive identity.
Miscellaneous
Key Takeaways
With the requirement of commercialization, the complexity and detailing of art decreased. We moved to more simple shape which conveys the meaning as well as can be used in other branding avenues (scalable)
Brand and design guidelines or systems also come with the purpose of scalability.
Improvement of design tools also helped to create these faster with the ability to create more detail.
There is always a push for creativity with the challenge of maintaining scalability. It is able to achieve it with the improvement of technology and tools.
