By Jack Schofield / Media 01:29pm

Biz-Community (Cape Town)

22 June 2007
Posted to the web 22 June 2007

Gerald Yapp

On the live poll running on the Notthe2010logo.co.za website, 75% of the voters do not like the official 2010 FIFA World Cup logo. The poll has been running since November 2006 and may give a good sample indication of what the majority of South Africans believe.

The website was created to give all South African designers an opportunity to design an unofficial logo for the 2010 World Cup. This is a response to the logo design process, which was a closed bid and only open to six design agencies.

No other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the FIFA World Cup. The next FIFA World Cup, which is in 2010, will be hosted in South Africa. It will become the 16th nation to host the tournament. The slogan for the 2010 tournament is 'Win with Africa in Africa'. The logo for the 2010 World Cup is an African map, with the stripes of the South African flag. Many designers watched in surprise when the official logo was unveiled right after the 2006 World Cup - way ahead of schedule as traditionally the logo has been unveiled only two years before the event.

Many designers feel that the logo is below standard - but instead of promoting criticism, the website invites designers to prove they could have done better through a democratic, one person one vote competition, in which the decision is left to the public to vote for their favourite logo.

Created a wave

www.notthe2010logo.co.za believes that if the design process had been far more democratic and transparent as it would have also encouraged more people to look to design, branding and advertising as a career. This would have created a wave of previously disadvantaged designers entering the industry.

The notthe2010logo.co.za competition was launched in November last year. The website was created simply as a portal for designers who felt that they were unjustly excluded from the opportunity to design an emblem or logo for the 2010 World Cup. Many designers feel that the current logo is not a good reflection of SA design and this website affords them the opportunity to submit their own creations. The website also aims to mobilise designers to begin designing the official poster and mascot so that it can be submitted to FIFA for possible consideration.

The site was inspired by the national effort behind the design of the new South African flag in which anyone could contribute a flag design. This was a brilliant PR exercise and the result was a flag that unified the country. This exercise should have been mirrored for the 2010 logo.

The website runs an official competition in which designers are encouraged to submit logo designs that the public will vote on to decide the overall winner. The competition ends on 1 September 2007, but the website will remain online long after that to give all the entrants exposure all the way until 2010.

Already won

The designers who have submitted designs so far have already won, as many people are approaching them for work. We hope that the design community will get more involved by submitting more entries and showcasing what could have been possible to the whole world.

While the aim of the website is to give African designers the opportunity to showcase their logos and will not become the official logo by any means, the winner will get some great prizes for their efforts and become recognised as creating the best unofficial logo - the winner will receive a prize booty which is to date is R11 900.00 and the designer with the most votes will take all.

Sponsors of prizes are encouraged to come forward to support the idea, and in turn get exposure on a website that has already achieved almost 300 000 visits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerald Yapp of In-Detail Advertising and Design is the creator of the notthe2010logo.co.za website, which aims to build enthusiasm, open discussion about the official logo and the selection process itself - as well as act as future portal that will possibly contribute to elements of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The non-profit website aims to contribute positively to the world cup in South Africa while furthering design in South Africa.

The design of the newly introduced London Olympic 2012 logo has sparked international controversy. In short, a lot of people don't like the design.

The logo has been described as hideous and a waste of money.

Many people are most upset about the cost of producing the logo -- an exorbitant $797,640. The controversy surrounding it relates to the issue of taste versus value. This is a common issue in the art and antiques market and now it is at the forefront of the news.

From an art historian's viewpoint, the logo has a decidedly jazz-age and pop-art look and sensibility. As a still image, the logo suggests movement and dynamism, almost as if it will move spontaneously at any moment. When this logo has to be transformed into video or movement, the form will lend itself easily to movement as each element of the logo begins to "dance" on TV commercials and Web video. Like art of the 1930's jazz age and brightly colored pop art serigraphs made famous by Andy Warhol and his colleagues, this logo's forms would dance with ease.

In both color palette and geometric form, the new Olympic logo for the games in London emphasizes the year of 2012 and downplays both the United Kingdom and the world famous interlaced rings of Olympic logo history. As pop art enjoys an artistic revival in today's contemporary art world, the geometric nature of the logo is highlighted. However, it is this geometric nature of the logo -- in the style of modern masters like Picasso and his followers -- that may be the most unflattering and disconcerting aspect of the artistic design. Basically, the majority of people tend to gravitate more toward organic or rounded forms rather than harsh, sharp, geometric ones.

While today the London 2012 Olympic logo looks quite modern, many art historians would probably agree that in the scope of the five years until the 2012 debut, this logo will certainly look dated.

Of course, the London 2012 Olympics organizing committee, including Chairman and world-record holder Sebastian Coe, has defended the new logo despite the widespread public criticism and an online petition boasting 17,000 signatures to abandon the design. While the Olympic organizers maintain that the logo is in its early design stages and requires flexibility to attract young people to the Games, the controversy remains heightened.

In an interview with the British Broadcating Corp., Coe noted that the logo "won't be to be everybody's taste immediately, but it's a brand that we genuinely believe can be hard working ... and reach out and engage young people, which is our challenge is over the next five years." The logo was designed by the Wolff Olins agency.

Here is something to consider: With all of this international controversy surrounding the upcoming games, the public now knows more about the 2012 London Olympic Games, has a vested interest in the promotion of the games and learned about the design agency that produced the controversial 2012 logo. In this case, whatever your opinion on the design, the 2012 Olympics Games are in the front of your mind. Maybe this new logo served the purpose of the 2012 Olympics better than past logos that were immediately embraced in spite of their less than popular design. Art is about dialogue and this work of art got everybody talking.

As seen on Comcast CN8 TV, Dr. Lori is an art historian, museum curator and certified appraiser with a doctorate in art history. For information, visit www.DrLoriV.com or call 888-431-1010.