Winter Olympic Logos

As the Winter Olympic games are upon us we look into the Sochi logo and the meaning behind the design.

Sochi is the first ever Olympic logo to feature a web address – as organisers now target a digital generation. The logo features Sochi on the top line with 2014 underneath. The placing and font style typographically mirror each other, which is meant to reflect that Sochi is the meeting point between the sea and the mountains. The Olympic rings sit in their original colours beside the web address which is actually Sochi2014.ru although Sochi.ru will also bring up the same site!

The logo has generated mixed reports throughout the media but is widely regarded as an improvement on London 2012. A common criticism is that the logo has too much going on. A strong logo should leave the viewer with one thing to focus on, not two, three or four. The use of the Olympic rings seems to be an unwritten rule with every logo featuring some use of them since the original in 1924, however once removed the logo appears stronger, and again with the domain removed.

How does is stack up against some of the other recent Winter Olympic logos from the digital era?