Summer Olympic Logos 1924 – 2012

This is by far the nerdiest thing I’ve done in a while but for the season that’s in it I thought I’d put together a list of the Summer Olympic Logos since 1924 to see the variation of design over the years. With all the bad press the London 2012 logo has been getting I thought it would be interesting to see what has gone before and why it seems to be thought by so many the previous logos were better.

My favorite by a 100 metre freestyle is the 1968 Mexico Olympic logo by Lance Wyman, absolute perfection, apparently influenced by the olympic track lines. Also loving the 1976 and 1980 logos too.

I’m starting to warm to the London 2012 logo by Wolf Folins seeing as it has really broken from tradition and does stands out from the rest, I guess time will tell. Here’s what Lance Wyman said about it: ”The graphics are very different to anything that’s been done before – I say give it a chance. It can be a very adaptable image and if used that way it could become synonymous with good things that happen.”