2012 Olympics: Seizures and Broken Swastikas

[3113]

Evidently the 2012 London Olympics committee has not only created a logo that everyone hates (and they insist can't be changed...yeah right!)...but an animated film that causes seizures!

Go Olympics!

Opposition to the controversial £400,000 London 2012 Olympics logo was growing on Wednesday night as tens of thousands of people signed an online petition calling for it to be scrapped. Thousands more criticised the symbol in internet chatrooms and promoted alternative logos for the Games created in minutes by amateurs. But a London 2012 spokesman said ditching the design was "not an option'', whatever the strength of public feeling.

Meanwhile, it emerged that at least 22 people experienced seizures after watching an animated film promoting the 2012 Olympics shown at the launch of the logo on Monday.

Leeds-based Epilepsy Action said one person even vomited after seeing the flashing multi-coloured footage, and another five complained of migraines. A spokeswoman for the charity said a seizure could have a ``major impact'' on epilepsy sufferers' lives, potentially leading to them losing their driving licences. The animated footage - showing a diver plunging into a pool - was removed from the official London 2012 website after the complaints. The London 2012 spokesman said that Olympics organisers were in contact with the company that produced the film. The firm, which was responsible for Monday's launch event but did not design the new logo, told 2012 chiefs it would not cause any problems.

The spokesman added: "There was an announcement made before it was shown saying there were flashing images.'' In a statement, Epilepsy Action said: "The animated footage could affect the 23,000 people in the UK who have photosensitive epilepsy and may also affect other people who do not yet know that they are photosensitive. "We are grateful to the Olympics Committee for withdrawing the animated footage and we hope that this version of the animated footage is not screened further until it is known that it poses no risk to people who are photosensitive.

"The animated footage incorporates both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is ironic as the latter is a showcase for athletes with disabilities. "We are concerned that the animated footage will not just be shown in the UK, where half a million people in the population have epilepsy, but it will also be shown all over the world. "People can strive for years to gain seizure control and it is important that nothing puts this at risk.''

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the company that produced the animated footage which triggered the seizures should not be paid for its "catastrophic mistake''. He told the BBC: "Who would go to a firm like that again to ask them to do that work? I mean, this is a pretty basic thing.''

A year's research, including consumer testing, went into creating the jagged new logo, intended as a modern take on the Olympic colours. Organisers have hailed it as dynamic and vibrant but critics say it resembles a "toileting monkey'' or a "broken swastika''. More than 44,000 people around the world had signed the internet petition against the design by 5.30pm on Wednesday. The petition, created by Jonathan Ellis, calls on the London Olympics committee to ditch the "ridiculous'' logo.

Mr Ellis wrote: "A new logo has been unveiled for the London 2012 Olympics. I feel it is an embarrassment and portrays our country in the worst possible way. "The original London 2012 logo was better by far. We need a new logo now, or at least a return to the old one.

"I should add I am proud and excited about the Olympics coming to London, and the UK, and it is for that very reason we need to get this terrible logo dropped as soon as possible.'' Scores of groups calling for the design to be changed have also been set up on the social networking site Facebook - along with a handful backing it.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, a former Olympic athlete, said the row over the logo should not overshadow the Games or their legacy.

Sir Menzies, who appeared in the promotional video for the 2012 games, said he was amused by media contests inviting people to submit their own versions of the design. "There are some very bright people out there, people who have produced logos for a lot less than £400,000,'' he added.

Bookmaker Paddy Power is offering odds of 11-8 that more than 100,000 people will have signed the petition against the logo by next Monday morning.

The odds of the 2012 Olympic committee reverting to the original logo are 12-1, while it is 100-1 that the new emblem will be entered into the Turner Prize. Michael Wolff, who co-founded brand business Wolff-Olins which designed the logo, although he is no longer with the company, said he liked the design.

"What I like about it is it comes to pieces and can be put together again as all sorts of things,'' he told BBC News 24. "There have been some beautiful Olympic symbols, such as Barcelona, but I don't think there has ever been one you can activate and do things with. Over the years, I think it's not just going to sit there, it's going to be a very lively, active thing. He added: "It's innovative and imaginative expression is typical of London's creativity and I very much hope it survives.''

Asked about the £400,000 price tag of the logo, he said the development of such brands was an intricate process which involved a huge amount of time and input from a number of different people.

The Logo in question-->>

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

Whadda think?

 

[Just-Legal]

I'm just... its HORRID! Ye Gods, I'm almost ashamed to be a Brit.

Almost.

 

[only_more_so]

Evidently the 2012 London Olympics committee has not only created a logo that everyone hates (and they insist can't be changed...yeah right!)...but an animated film that causes seizures!

Go Olympics!



The Logo in question-->>

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

Whadda think?

Wow, that logo really is terrible. That the designers, and other designers, like it is no big surprise. Just like artwork that only other artists like, or movies that bomb in the theaters but are critically acclaimed.

A design for an Olympics logo needs to be creative and accessible to the average joe. Which leads me to wonder where they found the people for the market research part!

 

[damppanties]

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

How is that a toileting monkey?

And, well, it's just too ... Blargh.

 

[Just-Legal]

Wow, that logo really is terrible. That the designers, and other designers, like it is no big surprise. Just like artwork that only other artists like, or movies that bomb in the theaters but are critically acclaimed.

A design for an Olympics logo needs to be creative and accessible to the average joe. Which leads me to wonder where they found the people for the market research part!

They actually involved a lot of younger people (and I mean teens) to keep it "accessible".

Lord. I'm only 23, and I HATE it.

 

[matriarch]

BBC newsonline asked their readers to come up with their own versions of the logo........some of these are great, and way ahead of that crap version the agencies came up with.

bbc newsonline

 

[English Lady]

It's horrid -totally, completely yuck. I agree with the Lord Mayor'o' London -don't pay the buggers who designed it!

 

[only_more_so]

They actually involved a lot of younger people (and I mean teens) to keep it "accessible".

Lord. I'm only 23, and I HATE it.

Ha ha ha... Probably one of those things where the teenagers got together and decided on the absolute worst design, just to fuck with the old folks (read as working age people). Either that, or teenagers in England are more fucked up than teenagers around here (who seem more fucked up than teenagers were when I was one 12 years ago).

 

[Just-Legal]

Ha ha ha... Probably one of those things where the teenagers got together and decided on the absolute worst design, just to fuck with the old folks (read as working age people). Either that, or teenagers in England are more fucked up than teenagers around here (who seem more fucked up than teenagers were when I was one 12 years ago).

*snerk* I agree with sentiment 1 tbh... And because of fucking morons who act like prats, *I* get crap from older people because I happen to be peirced and a bit "different".

Irritates the hell out me.

- A cranky J-L

 

[Grushenka]

I saw it online yesterday and the first thing that came to mind was a swastika. Then it took a few moments to figure out how it read 2012.

Of the samples in Matriarch's link I think no. 6 is brilliant (the tube symbol).

 

[Trombonus]

It makes me want to smash my head against the wall repeatedly. This things 5 years away and they're already screwing it up. Awesome.

 

[3113]

Of the samples in Matriarch's link I think no. 6 is brilliant (the tube symbol).

Enthuiastically agree! It says it all so concisely, like a Hiku: Elegant, simple, understated, and very, unmistakably "London."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43009000/jpg/_43009975_sam_boulton_416.jpg​

 

[rgraham666]

That logo really bites. It manages to be bland and ugly all at the same time.

Which is a good trick when you think about it.

Of the logos in the link mat posted I liked the first one the best.

 

[CharleyH]

That logo really bites. It manages to be bland and ugly all at the same time.

Which is a good trick when you think about it.

Of the logos in the link mat posted I liked the first one the best.

Kiss ass!

I do not have a problem with the logo. I also do not yet know where it will go or what it symbolizes, Olympically. If it symbolically represents the tube? I am all for it, 'cuz it does, at least, do that.

 

[glynndah]

I'm just curious. Does anyone know what that symbol looked like before they broke it?

 

[JamesSD]

Teenagers are known for their subtle, classy taste.

I mean, when I was a young teen, I thought anything neon colored was pretty much automatically awesome. Girls my age were styling their bangs into ginormous poof-balls, and it was almost an arms race to see who could craft the biggest one.

Admittedly, I haven't asked any 12-14 year olds what they think of the logo, but yeah, I hate it passionately.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Someone in another forum called it "Lisa Simpson giving head", which is just wrong on so many l;evels, but also an accurate description of the logo.

Can't change it? They have five years and it's too late to change it? Morons...

 

[3113]

Someone in another forum called it "Lisa Simpson giving head"

I suspect that if this is emphasized enough, and that's how it comes to be seen, they'll have a sudden change of heart about changing it

 

[matriarch]

I'm just curious. Does anyone know what that symbol looked like before they broke it?

It's not even a matter of it being broken, it's that it's almost impossible to realise that those 4 pieces of irregularly shaped nothing, actually say 2012 !!

I didn't work that out for ages, up until that point I had no idea what it was meant to represent.

Personally I'd prefer any of the alternative designs than the pathetic official one.

It's embarrassing!!

 

[Liar]

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

Welcome to 1987

 

[Vermilion]

This is still my favourite logo
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43010000/jpg/_43010067_richard_416.jpg
simple, elegant, to the point.

x
V

ETA - scrap that - number 11 is my favourite by a *loooonnnnnng* chalk
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43010000/jpg/_43010117_andrew_robinson416.jpg

 

[Ness73]

I didn't even realise it said 2012 until they mentioned it on the news - it looks like someone came up with it on the way to the launch. I can't believe they paid that much money for it.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

Whadda think?

I think it's sad that he appears proud of that attrocious blob of ink.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

I have to agree, it's hidious.

I wonder how many million dollars that agency was paid for that crap?

One of the major principles of advertising is that it's supposed to immediatly grab your attention and convey it's message. Rule of thumb for advertising is something like 4 seconds. If a person has to think about it the moment is lost. It just took me over a minute to realize that it's supposed to say '2012'. So much for immediatly getting your point across.

Sorry guys, you blew it.

 

[matriarch]

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/06/330/LordSebCoe2012Olympics_228417.jpg​

I have to agree, it's hidious.

I wonder how many million dollars that agency was paid for that crap?

One of the major principles of advertising is that it's supposed to immediatly grab your attention and convey it's message. Rule of thumb for advertising is something like 4 seconds. If a person has to think about it the moment is lost. It just took me over a minute to realize that it's supposed to say '2012'. So much for immediatly getting your point across.

Sorry guys, you blew it.

They were paid £400,000.........that's $800,000 to you guys....and us, come to think of it.

What a total and utter waste of money.