An Ever-Changing A
September 1, 2020 3:09 PM Subscribe
The logo of the LA 2028 Olympics was unveiled today: a black “LA28” with 26 different versions of the “A” from people including gymnast Gabby Douglas, soccer player Alex Morgan, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, and actress Reese Witherspoon, with more expected in future.
Looking forward to hearing what designers have to say. Working in brand identity, I know there were probably a "design by committee upon a committee upon a committee" type things with this. After staring at it for awhile it does feel very LA somehow, and I can see where this would grow on you. The black font is too blocky for me, but looking at it on a screen isn't the only place it'll be viewed so I'm cognizant of that. Also some colors are way too bright for my taste, a little too contrasting.
That said, I'm thinking back to where screen technology was 8 years ago. When this finally comes to LA we could be looking at this on transparent OLED screens, riding hoverboards and all of us the descendents of the Vaccinated Ones living life in a dystopian future where a benevolent Gaius Barron Trump has just defeated his brother Octavius Ur-Donald Jr Trump in the Second Melania Wars. It would be year 8 PC (Post-Covid) and those who lived in the great Wayfair Wastelands have managed to come up to celebrate the LA 8PC Olympics between man and neuro-enhanced Elon Musk pigs.
posted by geoff. at 3:18 PM on September 1, 2020 [33 favorites]
That said, I'm thinking back to where screen technology was 8 years ago. When this finally comes to LA we could be looking at this on transparent OLED screens, riding hoverboards and all of us the descendents of the Vaccinated Ones living life in a dystopian future where a benevolent Gaius Barron Trump has just defeated his brother Octavius Ur-Donald Jr Trump in the Second Melania Wars. It would be year 8 PC (Post-Covid) and those who lived in the great Wayfair Wastelands have managed to come up to celebrate the LA 8PC Olympics between man and neuro-enhanced Elon Musk pigs.
posted by geoff. at 3:18 PM on September 1, 2020 [33 favorites]
The process has become the design.
posted by mazola at 3:25 PM on September 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by mazola at 3:25 PM on September 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
I'd give this design an "A"
posted by chavenet at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 3:30 PM on September 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
The IOC is extremely bad - but - hot take - this is cool!
posted by latkes at 3:36 PM on September 1, 2020
posted by latkes at 3:36 PM on September 1, 2020
I was ready to instantly dislike it, but this is actually a good and interesting design.
posted by tclark at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2020
posted by tclark at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2020
Fun to talk about the A but the shield it’s on is so very on point.
posted by sjswitzer at 3:50 PM on September 1, 2020
posted by sjswitzer at 3:50 PM on September 1, 2020
Did Reese make an 'A' with 'er spoon?
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:03 PM on September 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:03 PM on September 1, 2020 [4 favorites]
My logo is traffic on the 10 twisted into an A that is actually a despairing cry from the bottom of my soul.
posted by betweenthebars at 4:21 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by betweenthebars at 4:21 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
i find the idea of 2028 quite optimistic... so that seems fitting for my stereotyped notion of LA
posted by kokaku at 4:49 PM on September 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 4:49 PM on September 1, 2020 [7 favorites]
This looks really cool. Also 2028 seems impossibly far away and I very unexpectedly got a little choked up thinking about how there might be some future better than this terrible present-- some future where the world gathers in a wonderful American city and plays games and gives out medals.
posted by gwint at 4:53 PM on September 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by gwint at 4:53 PM on September 1, 2020 [8 favorites]
Hey this is fun!
26 versions is so many no one's gonna no if a rogue unauthorized 27th snuck into a design somewhere.
posted by Nelson at 5:08 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
26 versions is so many no one's gonna no if a rogue unauthorized 27th snuck into a design somewhere.
posted by Nelson at 5:08 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I like it. It reflects that the screen is no longer an imitation of print, but now the inverse.
posted by meinvt at 5:28 PM on September 1, 2020
posted by meinvt at 5:28 PM on September 1, 2020
I moved to LA in 1984, and benefitted from the Olympics that year that boosted local sports clubs (Fencing), and drastically improved signage throughout the city.
They should add some LA-centric events, like:
*dodging LAPD tear gas canisters
*plastic surgery
*running for a door frame in an earthquake
*Parking in a Trader Joe's parking lot.
posted by nickggully at 5:43 PM on September 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
They should add some LA-centric events, like:
*dodging LAPD tear gas canisters
*plastic surgery
*running for a door frame in an earthquake
*Parking in a Trader Joe's parking lot.
posted by nickggully at 5:43 PM on September 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
*Parking in a Trader Joe's parking lot.
No matter where you go, isn't that more "Art of War" than martial art/sport?
posted by notsnot at 5:59 PM on September 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
No matter where you go, isn't that more "Art of War" than martial art/sport?
posted by notsnot at 5:59 PM on September 1, 2020 [10 favorites]
Parking in a Trader Joe's parking lot.
Madness reigns.
posted by tclark at 6:09 PM on September 1, 2020
Madness reigns.
posted by tclark at 6:09 PM on September 1, 2020
...the shield it’s on is so very on point.
Flyover state checking in. What does the shield represent?
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:20 PM on September 1, 2020
Flyover state checking in. What does the shield represent?
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:20 PM on September 1, 2020
All in with this design. From the top of my head:
(1) Choice of "A" feels like a bit of a middle finger to the scarlet letter. Regrettable that 2028 clapping back at mid-1800s norms isn't some sort of parody, but 2020 is what it is -- go get 'em.
(2) To geoff.'s thoughts on 'design by committee' this is waaaay better than the last Olympic version of this: Whatizit. Give everyone some input, produce something that leads to a Wikipedia section named "Media Ridicule".
(3) More versions of the logo = more opportunities to bring in more contributors, a broader platform for marketing, more merchandise, more commercial opportunities...
Ok, I'm trending cynical on #3 so I'll quit. But plurality is good, and trying to reflect that in design is good. Thumbs up.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 7:28 PM on September 1, 2020
(1) Choice of "A" feels like a bit of a middle finger to the scarlet letter. Regrettable that 2028 clapping back at mid-1800s norms isn't some sort of parody, but 2020 is what it is -- go get 'em.
(2) To geoff.'s thoughts on 'design by committee' this is waaaay better than the last Olympic version of this: Whatizit. Give everyone some input, produce something that leads to a Wikipedia section named "Media Ridicule".
(3) More versions of the logo = more opportunities to bring in more contributors, a broader platform for marketing, more merchandise, more commercial opportunities...
Ok, I'm trending cynical on #3 so I'll quit. But plurality is good, and trying to reflect that in design is good. Thumbs up.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 7:28 PM on September 1, 2020
I like the 26 logos, and i alsonlike thinking about the rosy future instead of the dystopic one
If its anything like 1984,
Traffic will be great for 2028. Locals will stay home, and the rail transit is much better now.
posted by CostcoCultist at 7:59 PM on September 1, 2020
If its anything like 1984,
Traffic will be great for 2028. Locals will stay home, and the rail transit is much better now.
posted by CostcoCultist at 7:59 PM on September 1, 2020
My hot take: the Olympics are completely unimaginable to me. Ditto planning for something 8 years away.
8 years away doesn't exist. The Olympics don't exist. The letter A doesn't exist.
Hmm. Maybe I need a day off.
posted by medusa at 7:59 PM on September 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
8 years away doesn't exist. The Olympics don't exist. The letter A doesn't exist.
Hmm. Maybe I need a day off.
posted by medusa at 7:59 PM on September 1, 2020 [11 favorites]
medusa: I thought the exact same thing.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:04 PM on September 1, 2020
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:04 PM on September 1, 2020
Speaking of NOlympics...
If our housing crisis continues there will be even more violence against unhoused and other Angelenos to "clean" the city for the games.
"NOlympics LA seeks to untangle the web of undemocratic greed motivating the bid, city council, our mayor, and the IOC. We challenge their decision to place our already vulnerable communities at higher risk of death, displacement, deportation, and detention. Part of our ongoing efforts are to take the opposite approach to the 2028 bid by deliberately and thoughtfully engaging with Angelenos in good faith.
We will continue to fight tooth and nail for a better Los Angeles instead of allowing the elite to shape the future of our city, while using the Olympics to expose the urgent problems we face today."
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:10 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
If our housing crisis continues there will be even more violence against unhoused and other Angelenos to "clean" the city for the games.
"NOlympics LA seeks to untangle the web of undemocratic greed motivating the bid, city council, our mayor, and the IOC. We challenge their decision to place our already vulnerable communities at higher risk of death, displacement, deportation, and detention. Part of our ongoing efforts are to take the opposite approach to the 2028 bid by deliberately and thoughtfully engaging with Angelenos in good faith.
We will continue to fight tooth and nail for a better Los Angeles instead of allowing the elite to shape the future of our city, while using the Olympics to expose the urgent problems we face today."
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:10 PM on September 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I went to the 1984 LA Olympics. I saw both days of the Decathlon, and Men's Preliminary Springboard Diving (with Greg Louganis), and the final night of the Baseball Competition (it wasn't a medal sport that year, and it was a double-header... the first game went 14 innings I thought I was going to die)... and I think some swimming? Obviously didn't stick that well after 36 years.
It was a fun thing to do with my dad. I was going to go to 1992 but then didn't. I don't know if I'd go again knowing what I know now. I love the Olympics as an idea but their execution is problematic.
posted by hippybear at 10:29 PM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
It was a fun thing to do with my dad. I was going to go to 1992 but then didn't. I don't know if I'd go again knowing what I know now. I love the Olympics as an idea but their execution is problematic.
posted by hippybear at 10:29 PM on September 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Can't wait to see which A will be used in the physical version.
posted by Homer42 at 2:52 AM on September 2, 2020
posted by Homer42 at 2:52 AM on September 2, 2020
christ, that website is a horrorshow. that fucking little green dot, ugh - MADDENING.
posted by lapolla at 4:31 AM on September 2, 2020
posted by lapolla at 4:31 AM on September 2, 2020
Can't wait to see which A will be used in the physical version.
All of them and more. I can imagine this being different depending on where you are and what materials are used and what works best.
But I love this overall. It's a clever idea – almost too clever – of just making the design system a part of the identity and laying it bare. But that is also a strength: this means more options, more variety, and more diversity, which is very on-brand for LA. It's also something that feels like it could live independently of the Olympics, almost as if they wanted to take a run at an LA visual identity and Olympics identity all at once. No small feat.
There are definitely quibbles (like that green website dot... I can't tell if they're trying to be "everything will be a little futuristic in 2028" or what with that), but I want to acknowledge that it's a) exciting to me and b) hopeful to think of a world like this in 8 years.
posted by hijinx at 5:36 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
All of them and more. I can imagine this being different depending on where you are and what materials are used and what works best.
But I love this overall. It's a clever idea – almost too clever – of just making the design system a part of the identity and laying it bare. But that is also a strength: this means more options, more variety, and more diversity, which is very on-brand for LA. It's also something that feels like it could live independently of the Olympics, almost as if they wanted to take a run at an LA visual identity and Olympics identity all at once. No small feat.
There are definitely quibbles (like that green website dot... I can't tell if they're trying to be "everything will be a little futuristic in 2028" or what with that), but I want to acknowledge that it's a) exciting to me and b) hopeful to think of a world like this in 8 years.
posted by hijinx at 5:36 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
hijinx this strikes more as a ploy to sell 26+ versions of hats, shirts, etc similar to how most US sports teams now hove 5-20 different jersey sets instead of two a decade or two ago. Its just marketing to sell collectors 26 things instead of one.
posted by efalk at 6:16 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by efalk at 6:16 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Why do the L and 8 and 2 seem to be in different fonts from each other though?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:00 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 7:00 AM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
as an angeleno I regard this event with dread, anticipating the increase in policing and displacement, and so I don't know if that's coloring my absolute disdain for this logo.
but... the logo is not good? it's not even a logo. it's like a big, design-by-committee SHRUG. does not inspire any confidence about the competency of the team running this.
posted by Emily's Fist at 7:46 AM on September 2, 2020
but... the logo is not good? it's not even a logo. it's like a big, design-by-committee SHRUG. does not inspire any confidence about the competency of the team running this.
posted by Emily's Fist at 7:46 AM on September 2, 2020
Why do the L and 8 and 2 seem to be in different fonts from each other though?
Wait'll you see what they did with the A.
By which I meant, yes, that's all part of the design. The L has rounded corners, the 2 has 45 degree angles, the 8 has smooth curves. They're all the same chonky black weight and proportions though. It works for me.
posted by Nelson at 8:07 AM on September 2, 2020
Wait'll you see what they did with the A.
By which I meant, yes, that's all part of the design. The L has rounded corners, the 2 has 45 degree angles, the 8 has smooth curves. They're all the same chonky black weight and proportions though. It works for me.
posted by Nelson at 8:07 AM on September 2, 2020
Well, I mean, I didn't think it was an accident, I just find it an odd choice because it looks like it could be. The A, I think is interesting and has a lot of cool possibilities, but what is using three different fonts for the other letters bringing to the table?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:50 AM on September 2, 2020
posted by jacquilynne at 8:50 AM on September 2, 2020
I didn't think it was an accident, I just find it an odd choice because it looks like it could be.
Yeah, this was my impression too. I'm sure it's purposeful, but the different fonts aren't striking enough. So you get a "sloppy... on purpose!?" vibe. Probably because there's only so much variety you can convey with a single letter/number for each font. They would've been better off keeping them consistent and relying upon the A to do the work.
posted by Emily's Fist at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2020
Yeah, this was my impression too. I'm sure it's purposeful, but the different fonts aren't striking enough. So you get a "sloppy... on purpose!?" vibe. Probably because there's only so much variety you can convey with a single letter/number for each font. They would've been better off keeping them consistent and relying upon the A to do the work.
posted by Emily's Fist at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2020
I like everything except the shifting mismatched rounded/sharp corners.
Maybe it's a "cutting corners" in-joke, a la Battlestar Galactica?
posted by oulipian at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2020
Maybe it's a "cutting corners" in-joke, a la Battlestar Galactica?
posted by oulipian at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2020
Additional thought, I am totally happy with all the coropoate yuck considering they are the ones funding this, not taxpayers (for the most part).
I do think the IOC and the whole Olypmic bid process is terrible. I'd be a supporter of it just rotating between LA, Paris, and Tokyo perpetually.
posted by CostcoCultist at 11:55 AM on September 2, 2020
I do think the IOC and the whole Olypmic bid process is terrible. I'd be a supporter of it just rotating between LA, Paris, and Tokyo perpetually.
posted by CostcoCultist at 11:55 AM on September 2, 2020
I used to think these mega-events were cool and was really proud to have two of them in a row in my country (World Cup in 2014 + Olympics in 2016 in Brazil) but then I witnessed firsthand their impact on our cities and their legacy. I hope you USians can make it work in a less predatory way. Nice logos, by the way.
posted by Tom-B at 1:03 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Tom-B at 1:03 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
LA has made it work better than just about anyone. The 84 Olympics ran a surplus, part of which was used to start a foundation that continues to fund access to youth sports for underserved communities in Southern California.
And we’re in a good place infrastructure-wise. A brand-new pro soccer stadium went up last year and a new pro football stadium is opening soon (both privately funded). We have the highest-capacity baseball stadium in the US and two additional >75k capacity stadiums, both of which have seen two previous Olympics. Two arenas that can host pro basketball games, and a third coming soon. So just massive event capacity on the ground more than five years before the start of the games.
Maybe I’m a hopeless optimist, but maybe (and under a different mayor) the Olympics can be a catalyst for forcing the region to finally and seriously deal with the housing crisis.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:32 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
And we’re in a good place infrastructure-wise. A brand-new pro soccer stadium went up last year and a new pro football stadium is opening soon (both privately funded). We have the highest-capacity baseball stadium in the US and two additional >75k capacity stadiums, both of which have seen two previous Olympics. Two arenas that can host pro basketball games, and a third coming soon. So just massive event capacity on the ground more than five years before the start of the games.
Maybe I’m a hopeless optimist, but maybe (and under a different mayor) the Olympics can be a catalyst for forcing the region to finally and seriously deal with the housing crisis.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:32 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
I hope you USians can make it work in a less predatory way
'84 turned a profit.
posted by sideshow at 2:32 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
'84 turned a profit.
posted by sideshow at 2:32 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
And to add onto mr_roboto above: for certain sports, such as archery, it's literally free to get started since the LA84 foundation (started with those profits) still has enough money to just pay for everything for all people new to the sport.
posted by sideshow at 2:43 PM on September 2, 2020
posted by sideshow at 2:43 PM on September 2, 2020
'84 turned a profit and also saw mass sweeps of unhoused residents and accelerated the militarization of local police... (WaPo)
(The city's approach to housing/homelessness is still abysmal, for the record. They're conducting destructive sweeps in the middle of a pandemic and heat wave. I haven't seen evidence that reassures me the 2028 Olympics won't breed similar cruelties.)
posted by Emily's Fist at 5:29 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
(The city's approach to housing/homelessness is still abysmal, for the record. They're conducting destructive sweeps in the middle of a pandemic and heat wave. I haven't seen evidence that reassures me the 2028 Olympics won't breed similar cruelties.)
posted by Emily's Fist at 5:29 PM on September 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
Yeah good point, Emily's Fist; "turning a profit" is a question distinct from "what happens to the homeless".
posted by Tom-B at 7:00 PM on September 3, 2020
posted by Tom-B at 7:00 PM on September 3, 2020
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