Tokyo 2020 Unveils Official Logos

Here they are!

I kinda like it. In my book... it's not as big of a misstep as London 2012, but not as big of a home run as Vancouver 2010.

What do you think?

Abandoned Olympic Venues

An abandoned bobsled track in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) used in the 1984 Olympics. 

Over on the Huffington Post there is an incredible collection of photographs of abandon Olympic venues.

You can find the original article and more photographs here:
http://goo.gl/jrd5ZI

The images are haunting. Some of the venues pictured were used as recently as the summer games in 2008. It's disappointing that these venues are built and just abandoned. I really do hope the IOC does more to ensure that host countries don't over build in the future.

Is this the final Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games boxart?

It's a small pic, but it looks like it could be legit. I'm sure we'll find out soon!

Logo, Artwork, and Details on the Sochi 2014 Mario & Sonic Game for the Wii U from E3 2013!

The image above contains what looks like the official logo for the game.

Here are some details directly from Nintendo & Sega out of E3 today:

Mario and Sonic go for the gold!Join Mario and Sonic and the rest of your favorite characters as they team up and compete in events at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.FEATURES:• Experience realistic events from the Winter Games, including curling, skiing, figure skating pairs and snowboard slopestyle, which will make its Olympic Games debut inSochi, Russia.• In addition to these realistic events, the game also includes Dream Events set in the worlds of Sonic and Mario that let players perform dynamic moves not possible in real life. For example, experience the adrenaline rush of Winter Sports Champion Race, a mixed event that combines skiing, snowboarding, skating and bobsleigh in a single race.• The Wii U GamePad controller and the first use of Wii Remote Plus functionality in the series offers greater depth of control and intuitive game play that immerses players in each event.Platform: Wii UGenre: SportsPlayers: 1 – 4Rating: RP (Rating Pending)Launch Date: November 2013Developer: SEGASuggested Retail Price: TBA

Below is even more artwork and screenshots of the game in action. I'm really looking forward to this one!

Gremlins Olympics Poster?

I spotted this online and had to share. It seems WB tried to ride the wave of publicity surrounding the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 1984 to promote their film Gremlins. How is this possible you ask?! It says "Summer Games" on the poster not Olympic Games. That torch he is holding though is pretty spot on to the official one used. Seems like a rare find indeed!
via.

PyeongChang 2018 Debuts Official Logo

I'm a little late on this one, but PyeongChang recently debuted their final official logo for the Winter 2018 Olympic Games. I have to be honest, I'm not crazy about it. I'm sure it will grow on me as I see it more and more, but it seems like a misstep similar to the London 2012 logo.

Here are some official details released regarding the logo:

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic emblem is an abstract motif inspired by Hangul, the alphabet of the phonetic Korean language.
It is composed of the first consonants of the name of the host city, PyeongChang.


The 'ㅍ'(P) is the first consonant of the first syllable, Pyeong. It also symbolises the open square where the celebration of athletes and winter sports will take place.

The 'ㅊ'(Ch) is the first consonant of the second syllable, Chang. It symbolises the natural environment of snow and ice, and the stellar achievements of the athletes - the stars of the Games.



The colours reflect the Olympic Flag, and they also represent the five traditional colours of Korea.

Taken together, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic emblem embodies the harmonious synergy between the sky, land and people. Set in a majestic setting of snow and ice, athletes and people from around the world come together in an open square in PyeongChang to celebrate the finest winter sport athletes and the greatest winter sport festival.

"TEAM GOLD" Artwork by MichaelO

"TEAM GOLD" Artwork by MichaelO

KEEP CALM AND GO FOR GOLD

Google Doodle for London 2012 - Day 1

London 2012 Unveils Olympic Medal Designs

In addition to all the other festivities celebrating one year to go until next year's summer games, London 2012 also officially unveiled their medal designs. I personally really like them. I'm not sure what I expected but I was surprised that I liked them so much when I saw them. Well done London 20122! Here are some details that were outlined in their official press release regarding the unveiling...

To mark one year to go to the London 2012 Olympic Games, the London 2012 Olympic medals have been unveiled to the world tonight by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, and London 2012 Organizing Committee Chair Seb Coe, in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald at a special ceremony in Trafalgar Square, London.

The Olympic medals, which are presented in recognition of the incredible achievement of outstanding athletes, will be made in Britain and have been designed by British artist David Watkins who is an established artist in the field of decorative art.

The Press Release went on to describe the medals further...

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: 'Highlighting the effort and achievement of the athletes, as well as the city where the Games are held, these beautiful medals will be a fitting reward for the Olympic medallists of 2012. It is the pinnacle of a sporting career to become an Olympic champion but I am confident that receiving one of these medals will make it all the more special in London next year. Congratulations to LOCOG for creating a design that will inspire the Olympians of 2012.'

The Olympic medals' circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the Parthenon to arrive in the Host City.

The design for the reverse of the London 2012 Olympic medals contains five main symbolic elements:

• The dished background suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre.
• The core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern City, or as a geological metaphor as a tough crystalline growth which is deliberately jewel like. 
• The grid brings both a pulling together and sense of outreach on the design – an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ achievements and effort.
• The River Thames is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon and adds a sense of celebration. 
• The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design and emphasising its focus on the centre and reinforcing the sense of ‘place’ as in a map inset.

The sport and discipline of the medal-winning athletes will be engraved on the rim of every medal.

I do find the line about the "circular form as a metaphor for the world" pretentious though. Of course it's round! All the summer Olympic medals are. But I digress...

You can read more details here: http://goo.gl/2nrpx

More High Resolution Art from Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

I've got two more high res character images for you (Amy and Tails) along with super high resolution logo art for the game. Click here to view my original post with artwork for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Sonic. Enjoy!

"Sport" by Andrey Gordeev

Sport by Andrey Gordeev

Nike Los Angeles 1984 poster by Signalnoise

I ran across this art today and want to share. It's a nice looking poster by the artist known as Signalnoise. Here is some more info he posted about the creation of it:
A while back I was commissioned by the mighty Nike Running to develop some t-shirt designs for their 2011 line. I enjoy working with the folks at Nike as they always send over fully realized briefs on what they are looking for while leaving the execution quite open for me to experiment and have fun. Perfect freelance situation to be in.

You can find out more info here:
http://blog.signalnoise.com/2011/04/13/nike-los-angeles-1984-poster/

Beautifully imagined Fortaleza 2020 bid materials

From artist Guilherme Villar;

A fictional 2020 Olympic Games project for the city of Fortaleza in northern Brazil. An identity system was created around the primary and secondary logos which emerged from the concept of unity and the environment. The diagonal rectangles can be seen as fanning out from its center to take the circular shape of the sun, or windmill. They can also be seen as coming together, overlapping, and uniting. My goal was to combine both the philosophy of the Olympics games and the qualities, traits, and characteristics particular of Fortaleza

Via.

Watch the How to Train Your Dragon Olympic Spots online!!

After airing durring the Olympics on NBC DreamWorks has posted the "Dragon-Viking Games Vignettes" online for everyone to enjoy! You can find them at the official website for the film by click on the "Dragon-Viking 1010" shield when you first enter the site.

You can also view them on the films official Facebook page by clicking on the corresponding images below.

I hope you enjoy them!

How to Train Your Dragon Olympic Spots!!!

DreamWorks Animation and NBC have teamed up for a promotional effort that will run during the upcoming Winter Olympics and spotlight the upcoming film How to Train Your Dragon.

The animation studio has produced seven winter-sports themed custom vignettes. The spots debuted Feb. 9 and are directed by Dragon executive producer Tim Johnson and narrated by Craig Ferguson.

The clips, which feature humorous variations on winter sports set during the Viking-Dragon games of 1010, will appear across all NBC platforms. Sports highlighted in the clips include snowboarding, bobsledding, ski jumping and speed skating.

How to Train Your Dragon is DreamWorks’ next theatrical release and will will be released in stereoscopic 3D and 2D versions on March 26. 


Via.

*Previously: Development artwork for the animated BBC Olympics promo

Arbie the Torchbearer

This little guy caught my eye in an ad on the official Vancouver 2010 website. I'm not sure if he is representative of the RBC or the Torchbearer program in general, but I love the design! Well done! When I saved the image off the website it is labeled "Arbie_w_Torch" so I figure that's his name.

Munich 2018 artwork

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

Munich is one of the three cities bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Graphic designer Kevin Wilson has posted some beautiful artwork on his website related to Munich 2018. It is unclear whether or not this is official artwork that has been commissioned or if this is just an artistic exercise. Either way it's some great graphic design. It seems somewhat inspire by the London 2012 design philosophy, especially if you look at the sport pictograms, but in my opinion the execution overall is much better. Bravo!

The winning city will be chosen at the IOC Session in Durban on July 6, 2011.

*Previously: My feelings on the London 2012 logo...