Leo Obstbaum, Design Director for VANOC 2010 Olympics

My friend and colleague Leo Obstbaum, the creative mastermind behind the designs of the Vancouver Olympic Games, died suddenly in his home of natural causes in the early hours of Friday, August 21st. He left behind his beautiful wife Monice and young daughter Dakota. He was just 40 years old—the same age as I am.

Leo and I spoken numerous times that week and even had plans to meet that day after work to catch up over drinks and discuss a presentation he’d been preparing about his work on the Olympics. It was a talk he hoped to refine and present during Icograda Design Week Vancouver 2010 next spring. I’ll never forget hearing the tragic news and trying to come to terms with the fact that my friend was suddenly gone. It really shook me up. As devastated as I felt, I couldn’t imagine the feeling of loss his family was enduring.

Click here to read the entire article on GDC/BC’s blog.

There’s an old saying about 15 minutes of fame—that “all publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right.” Well maybe my appearance this week on ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning was the closest thing to my 15 minutes, but they mispronounced my first name (Mike?) and got my title wrong, listing me as an “industrial designer” as opposed to a designer from Industrial Brand. Oh well, at least I looked like a badass in my photo with flames in the background (flames to light my spliff with perhaps?). I hope fame doesn’t change me.

After months of work in secrecy, the design team at VANOC has revealed the new graphic identity system and sport pictograms for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. VANOC’s Design Director, Leo Obstbaum, said “The sport illustrations bring the athletes to life in a way that’s never been done before.”

Right on cue, the design community began buzzing with opinions about the work. Some raved about how fresh, friendly and fun it was. Others moaned that it seemed too much like stock illustration or too busy. Many seem to appreciate the new sports pictograms while others miss the simpler abstract quality of previous games’ icons. I don’t disagree with any of these assessments, yet find myself attracted to the new identity system.

Long ago I learned that it’s hard enough to please a client, let alone a large group of opinionated graphic designers who probably all think they could do better (yeah, right). But whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, you have to respect the hard work that went into the process of creating an arguably beautiful and expressive graphic identity system. And what a treat to see VANOC’s research process and inspirations revealed in their “Transmoflection” video.

June 4th marked the launch of the new London 2012 Olympic logo and it didn’t take long for the controversy to begin. I’d already fielded a number calls and emails before lunch from friends, designers and even the media. My inbox is filled with emails about the subject from various GDC designers across the country—some even wondering if the whole thing isn’t a hoax. Most hate the logo, claiming it’s too silly, trendy and irrelevant. Others argue that it’s edgy and fresh – sort of a new friendly punk-graffiti take on London’s identity—and will appeal to a more youthful audience. I say we’ll need some time to see how this unusual logo is actually used before history judges it fairly. I’ll certainly be watching with a keen designer’s eye.

I’ll admit that like many of my colleagues, my first impression of the London 2012 logo wasn’t particularly positive. I think I understand what the designers were going for, but the combination of ultra simplified forms, typography and psychedelic colour choices seem less like a “design for the Internet generation” and more of a graphic heavily influenced by recent graphic design trends such as eighties fashion. And if the logo is supposed to represent a stylized character as some have suggested, it’s a bit too obscure for most.

Hating this logo seems a very popular bandwagon to jump onto—some even claiming it could cause epileptic seizures, but I tried to reserve judgment until after doing some reading and watching the videos on their website and after some consideration of how this brand could be applied I started to see some potential in it. Sure, the graphic looks like an eighties videogame icon, but as some have observed, it’s certainly not boring, is very flexible as a solution and contains some interesting dynamism, portraying a brave visual expression of the unique attitude of a vibrant new London. It’s a bold departure from what one would expect of an Olympic logo: a reflection of that city’s cultural heritage or most well-known landmarks combined with the primary colour pallet of the official Olympic logo. But is it an appropriate logo for a city such as London and an event as serious as the Olympics?

I’m uncertain what the contents of the Creative Brief included in terms of strategy, audience and messaging, but I have heard that the design firm of Wolff Olins were hired after a careful selection process—not an open speculative contest—and paid handsomely for their expertise, so one has to assume they were given clear direction from the planning committee. I’m sure many would considered this logo a success if the primary goal was to create an abstract expression of the diversity and individuality of Londoners, unlike some Olympic logos that focus too narrowly on visual language representing a fraction of a city’s population. Is it actually better than the controversial Vancouver 2010 logo? I think so actually. It’s certainly not worse. And it may just grow on all the nay-sayers over time.

In our business you’ll never produce a graphic design solution that everyone will universally approve of, but is the London 2012 logo “good design”? Well, that has yet to be seen perhaps. As with anything executed to be immediately fashionable, it’s questionable whether it will stand the test of time or become a classic. It most certainly won’t be universally hailed as brilliant, but I doubt it will be judged as bollocks in due time. Congratulations Wollf Olins for being so brave.

For more information on the new Lodon 2010 brand, check out their main website, though for a more unbiased look at the reaction to the launch, check out BBC coverage and the reaction on the BBC Sport blog.