Chicago’s Olympic Logo, extinguished! |
Categories: Logo Design News
Written By: Nora Reed
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked Chicago to re-design its 2016 Olympic logo.
Last October, Chicago officials unveiled a logo as the visual element of their 2016 Olympic bid. The logo featured a torch with a flame that resembled the city’s skyline. It was designed to commemorate Chicago’s architectural style, while focusing on the idea of “a city that rose from the ashes” during the 1871. The orange flame looked a lot like the famous Sears Tower, whereas, the colored blue and green torch’s body represented Lake Michigan and the city’s park system including Millennium Park, respectively.
Created by Chicago-based VSA Partners Inc., the 2016 Chicago Olympic logo was featured on billboards and various merchandises including T-shirts, before it was finally turned down by the IOC earlier this week.
According to the officials of IOC, Chicago’s logo was rejected because the IOC rules stated that the candidate city logos should not “contain the Olympic symbol, the Olympic motto, the Olympic flag, and/or any other Olympic-related imagery, such as flame, torch, medal, etc.” This is in accordance to protect and advance the Olympic movement.
Chicago’s officials heartily accepted the proposal of the IOC, as it was done in the best interest of the Olympic Games. Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for Chicago 2016, commented: “Our logo was fantastic for the domestic phase. It talked about our lake, our skyline, and our parks. We still could have that in our new logo. We just have to spend time thinking about what the best logo would be (going forward). We’re confident that we’ll have an equally fantastic logo for the international phase.”
For now, we have to wait and see what the designers will come up with this time. All eyes and hopes will be on the launch of the new Chicago 2016 logo due later this year. We, too, hope that the new logo incorporates the creativity and style of the previous one, while also fulfilling the IOC requirements.
Chicago is a candidate in the United States bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. The final selection will be made by the International Olympic Committee on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark from a bunch of international contenders.
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:17 am
It seems like a shame not to use it. I think it’s a very effective logo. No doubt an absolute bundle of money was spent on it.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:04 am
I really liked the design and creativity behind this logo. It sure cost some amount of money, but its worth it. Hope that the new logo will be equally creative.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Too bad they are so stringent over at the olympics – hopefully the Chicago one doesn’t turn out to be as hideous as the London one!
June 21st, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Agreed. It’s simple, modern and effective. Also really like their choice of font. Much better than the London Olympics logo…
June 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
it is a great logo, unfortunately the olympics want to keep the ‘flame’ all to themselves. the tokyo logo is great. maybe the redesign could highlight some other endearing aspect of chicago-lands heritage. how about invisible yet uncrossable fences?
January 11th, 2009 at 5:55 am
I gues,its okay,itz n0t d flame or t0rch wat dEy ar sh0wing,itz chicAgo’s cultUre.