That’s a wrap on Paris 2024, and if you’re like me, your life has suddenly lost all sense of meaning. We’ve had the best athletes in the world competing for glory at all hours of the day at our fingertips, with viral moments and heartwarming narratives coming at us from all angles, and then, suddenly, cruelly, it all cuts to black. But I’m not willing to accept defeat just yet! To help keep the splendor of Paris 2024 alive, I’ve tapped a handful of bonafide design experts to share their reflections on the Olympics brand system and offer their hottest takes.
Now, let’s meet the team!
Emily Oberman – Pentagram Partner and designer
Ash Phillips – Co-founder, Creative Director, and CEO of the Montreal-based strategic brand consultancy Six Cinquième
Todd Radom – Graphic designer and sports design expert
Alex Center – Designer and founder of the design and branding studio CENTER
Terrance Weinzierl – Creative Type Director at Monotype Studio
Overall, our design experts were fans of the Paris 2024 branding system. The logo continues to be the most contentious aspect of the package, with the typography also receiving varied reactions from the panel. Ash Phillips was actually at the Games and spoke about how the branding played out in the physical spaces throughout Paris.
The modern geometric shapes created an interesting contrast with the city’s architecture which is frozen in time. The past and future were colliding.
—Ash Phillips
“While I was visiting Paris in July, shortly before the Olympics began, I got to see some of the early setup and outdoor implementations of the branding. My initial response was that the modern geometric shapes created an interesting contrast with the city’s architecture which is frozen in time. The past and future were colliding,” Phillips shared. “As I looked deeper into the branding, that’s exactly what they intended. They pulled from the past, taking inspiration from art styles like Art Deco and the city’s iconic architecture, and attempted to bring French culture into the future. Interestingly, this dichotomy between past and future is prevalent today in French culture, as I overheard the concerns of the French regarding the potential rise of far-right politicians like Marine Le Pen as I was people-watching. It was a close call. But looking back at my time there and seeing the branding now, I can see this struggle between modern/progressive and traditionalist France reflected in the visuals.”
Monotype’s Terrance Weinzierl reflected on what makes Olympics branding an exercise unlike any other. “What’s unique about branding the Olympics is that it represents a specific time and place and doesn’t need to perform beyond that. It’s short-lived,” he said. “I’m reminded of the ’68 Mexico Olympics; it fits perfectly for that time and place and now represents a bookmark in time, like a tattoo. Most brands are intended to live and grow for many years, so they have the advantage of iterations, edits, and improvements over time. The Olympic branding is expected to be perfect right away, with the added pressure of being globally palatable. It’s a very difficult scenario for any designer involved.”
Alex Center also referenced the ’68 Mexico Olympics branding, heralding it as a beacon that all others have failed to reach. “Every Olympics branding will forever pale in comparison to the 1968 Mexico identity by Lance Wyman. Every other Olympics branding is just competing for silver,” he said.
About the overall Paris 2024 brand, Todd Radom made his thoughts clear: “I love it,” he told me. “Paris itself is, of course, the star, and few cities can compete in terms of the overall vibe and cultural experience, even from afar.”
Every Olympics branding will forever pale in comparison to the 1968 Mexico identity by Lance Wyman. Every other Olympics branding is just competing for silver.
—Alex Center
Logo
From the moment the Paris 2024 branding was unveiled, the logo was the talk of the town. It’s been a controversial design, to say the least, and one I’ve already taken down in some of my previous Paris 2024 design coverage. But a few of our panelists defended its honor, particularly Radom. “Can I give it a platinum medal?” he gushed. “It’s simple, stylish, versatile, easy on the eye, and oh-so French. 11/10.” Center is also a fan. “Sure, I can’t stop seeing Mary J. Blige ever since it was brought to my attention that it looks like her, but is that such a bad thing?” he said. “Who wants more drama in their life? Not me.”
The logo is somehow too cute and too small to represent the event, location, and feeling of the Olympics and Paralympics. I appreciate the idea of using a woman (Marianne) to represent the games, but perhaps not a woman reduced to lips and hair.
—Emily Oberman
Pentagram’s Oberman adamantly represented the other end of the logo spectrum. “The actual logo is a head-scratcher, almost literally. I would say it’s the weakest aspect of the entire branding suite,” she said. “With any design project, of course, there are committees and clients, and for this one, I know there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen, so I do not want to disparage the work of Sylvain Boyer or the design team. Also, I know previous Olympic logos have not been without their controversies, and this does not reach that level in any way, shape, or form. However, the logo is somehow too cute and too small to represent the event, location, and feeling of the Olympics and Paralympics. I appreciate the idea of using a woman (Marianne) to represent the games, but perhaps not a woman reduced to lips and hair. I keep wanting to say, ‘She’s hot.’ Overall, it just seems too trite. The woman it uses to represent the games is nothing more than a decorative style reference. (Not to mention the similarity to the Tinder logo!) Especially when the women of the Olympics really brought it this year, from Simone Biles to Imani Khalif to Sifan Hassan to Gabby Thomas, they have been powerful examples of female Olympic athletes.”
Phillips was on the same side of the logo debate as Oberman. “Overall, it feels dated, the icon is awkward, and it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the design system,” she explained. “The choice to use Marianne feels like they tried to force this old symbol into the branding rather than thinking about what France represents today or in the future. What message is that sending? To me, it shows a mindset that is stuck in the past rather than forward thinking. It feels like France is undecided on its values and what it wants to represent culturally moving forward.”
Pictograms
The Olympic pictograms are an iconic design element of each Games (pun intended), and the designs created for Paris 2024 pushed the boundaries of what the form can be. These symbols, described as “coats of arms” instead of pictograms, bucked tradition in ways our design experts (mostly) commended.
“For the most part, the pictograms were very pretty and interesting; however, many are confusing and indecipherable,” said Oberman. “I might have a hard time using them for wayfinding, but they look very cool on a court or field. I like the playing card/symmetrical aspect and the attempt to do something different from what has become the standard use of a representation of a human in all of them. Some are more successful than others (skateboarding looks a little like band-aids, but I love rhythmic gymnastics!), but I appreciated the effort and overall cohesive concept.”
“I think they’re pretty well done,” added Center. “I like how they stack together to form patterns. I haven’t seen that approach used a ton outside of Basketball, but it looks really great on the court.”
Typography
Much like the logo, the typography developed for Paris 2024 proved to be a polarizing topic for our panel. Center deemed it the weakest part of the entire system. “It’s far too fussy for my liking,” he said. “There are too many funky letters and, overall, it feels too whimsical for the Olympics. I also noticed it doesn’t fit on bibs when athletes have longer names. I love squished type, but not at the Olympics.”
Meanwhile, Weinzierl wholeheartedly approved of the typeface and dubbed it the strongest element in the system. “The custom typeface is expressive and plays on notes of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, both synonymous with Paris,” he explained. “The balance of utility and aesthetics is what type design is all about, and the best typefaces achieve both. Like a good shoe, it is useful and beautiful. The Paris 2024 typeface has a good balance, which helps it perform well for the massive number of applications.”
I enjoy the alternate glyphs designed for the typeface that give it visual variety and flexibility in tone. The rounded-top capital A is a satisfying connection to the arch motif they used in images and layouts.
—Terrance Weinzierl
Weinzierel elaborated on the success of the typeface, saying, “I enjoy the alternate glyphs designed for the typeface that give it visual variety and flexibility in tone. The rounded-top capital A is a satisfying connection to the arch motif they used in images and layouts.” However, he identified areas for improvement, specifically in terms of optical sizing. “Optical sizing adapts the drawings and spacing to be better suited for certain sizes or viewing distances,” he said. “I imagine a version of the typeface that would mellow out and be easier to read when very small. That’s always a challenge with expressive typefaces designed for display sizes— how do they perform when used small, and if they fall short, how can they adapt, or can you pair them with another typeface?”
Overall Favorite Design Moments
Outside of the brand system, Paris 2024 overflowed with feasts for the design senses. Center uplifted South Sudan’s all-black Opening Ceremony uniforms and the photo finish of Noah Lyles winning the 100m. “You see each runner at every stage of the race showing just how close it was. That’s an incredible visual,” he said.
Oberman also mentioned that fashion reached great heights during these Games. “I’ve been very focused on how modern and futuristic all the uniforms have gotten,” she said. “The sleek designs intended to help the athletes perform at their best are fascinating and beautiful. Also, Snoop’s hilarious Olympic rings glasses were kind of amazing.” Oberman went on to flag a few other favorites: “I like the medals, which I think have a reference to the Eiffel Tower without being cliche, and the torch is cool and modern, too. (Though it looks a little like a blunt, which seems appropriate for how prevalent Snoop was in all the coverage).”
Meanwhile, Radom couldn’t help but mention the setting of Paris playing such a magnificent role in the Games’ overall design, shouting out the Eiffel Tower Stadium, in particular. “It puts this iconic landmark in the middle of every visual impression, a virtuoso achievement that speaks to ‘total design,’ beyond the graphics and the environmental visuals.” He also loved the Grand Palais and the purple track and field surface. “Also, can we propel memes to ‘design moments?'” he added. “I’d include the Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç.”
It put this iconic landmark [the Eiffel Tower] in the middle of every visual impression, a virtuoso achievement that speaks to ‘total design,’ beyond the graphics and the environmental visuals.
—Todd Radom
Looking Ahead to LA 2028
To help get us through the void left by Paris 2024’s conclusion, let’s discuss LA 2028! We have just four short years to prepare for the next bout of Olympic mania, and we’re already getting some glimpses at designs for those Games.
Reports are that LA2028 is getting a dynamic, moving logo that features an A that continuously changes and morphs to reflect the diversity and creative spirit of the city. Each A has been designed by athletes and celebrities to show what LA means to them. The type within the broader LA2028 Olympics identity is in the hands of LA-based typographer Jeremy Mickel. This should please Center, who told me, “A designer local to the hosting city should do the branding for each Olympics. That only seems right.” He raises a solid point, and in a city like LA, that shouldn’t be a tall order.