2012 pictograms

The proposed pictograms for the 2012 Olympics have just been released, and seems to have raised quite a few opinions, if the number of comments on Creative Review's blog is any kind of guide. There are two versions, a silhouette and a 'dynamic' version, apparently inspired by the London Underground map though to me, the more than generous nod is towards the identity itself. Of course it's easy to knock, and many, many people have criticised the Olympic brand identity, but, to add to the noise, I wrote the following on CR;

'The dynamic versions are interesting and could be quite memorable but the 'plain' version just smacks of compromise. Too much detail and manner, combining to create an overly stylised infographic. At a guess, the dynamic version came first. Too many stakeholders, but it goes with the territory.'

The old ones always seem to look better, see Munich 1972. Call it nostalgia if you will, but there's just more soul.

Popeye

What with the Brooke Shields furore at the Tate and Jeff Koons recent show at the Serpentine, Pop Art has hit London. The Koons show (sadly now finished) was hugely intriguing, his trademark juxtaposition of the banal and everyday, the crafted and the manufactured. Children's inflatable toys float, captured and entwined with metal and plastics, the nearby sign being the only suggestion that everything is not as it initially seems - the toys are actually anodised aluminium. You don't believe it - every crease, fold, valve and type is faultless, so the urge to reach out and touch, to be sure, is contained only by the hovering gallery staff standing next to each piece. As such, the experience becomes frustrating yet remains fascinating, as smiley rubber rings, try to escape rusty 8ft industrial fences they connect with. A typically shallow Koons experience that sits with you for a long time.

Somtimes true...

For all my clients out there, don't be insulted, this isn't about you. For all those pitchers out there who have used the phrase 'foot in the door', this is for you. Hilarious.