The Olympic Games have spread a message of inclusivity, universality, and hope for 125 years. It was time to combine these enduring principles into a holistic Olympic brand identity that would be present from flame to flame as well as during the Games.
A new visual system has been developed to support the brand's key principles while boosting consistency and recognition through various applications, drawing inspiration from the rich history of Olympic graphic design. The updated Olympic brand identity gives a brand—whose effect goes beyond the organization and the Olympic Games to all parties involved in the Olympic Movement—purpose and emotion.
One of the most recognizable brands in the world is undoubtedly the Olympic Games. The Olympic brand has been developed and improved by hundreds of people since the modern Games began more than 125 years ago. The IOC recruited a Canadian agency to develop a complete design system that reflects the eternal ideals of the Olympic Games and advances the brand in order to promote uniformity, efficiency, and impact across everything they do.
In addition to offering examples of graphics and graphic elements, the Olympic design system focuses on branding and identity design. With plenty of good and not-so-good examples and guiding notes along the way, it demonstrates how to handle the difficulties of multilingualism and how to employ typography.