Landor at the Olympics

This summer you’ll see our work around the world for sponsors Procter & Gamble, BP, and Citi as excitement builds through July and culminates in the Games themselves. Before London 2012, we went to Beijing, Salt Lake City, Nagano, and Atlanta—and here’s how we left our mark. 

Summer 2008

Beijing, China. Our challenge: an emotional and eye-catching design system to communicate Samsung’s dynamic qualities and stand out from other sponsors. And the entire Samsung Electronics organization had to support and consistently use our design system in its marketing activities. 

Working with Samsung and its partner, Cheil Communications, we developed a concept we called elliptical energy. Our design balances Samsung’s brand attributes of passion, style, and imagination with the Olympic positioning of optimism, inspiration, friendship, and community. The design’s kineticism suggests the movement of sports and embodies the dynamic ovals of Samsung’s identity. Reflecting the host country’s qualities, it combines modern design sensibility with Chinese heritage, including a palette that features red and gold, auspicious colors in Chinese culture. 

Winter 2002

Salt Lake City, United States. The Olympic theme in 2002 celebrated the diverse heritage of athletes from around the world and the union of culture, contrast, courage, and celebration. The snowflake emblem of our visual identity symbolizes the Winter Games and represents these four concepts. The identity also suggests ancient markings from Utah’s cultural heritage; the vivid colors are celebratory and convey athletic courage. 

We designed the U.S. Olympic team’s clothing the same year. The look had to be applied to the different types of uniforms required for different sports. Additionally, the design had to be compatible with team equipment, vehicles, and merchandise. A repeatable set of four symbols uniquely representing the 2002 Winter Games, the visual statement is a bold centerpiece that stands alone or is repeated to create a racing stripe. Most importantly it delivered a clear message: The U.S. Olympic Team stands together, diverse but united. 

Winter 1998

Nagano, Japan. For the Olympic Organizing Committee, designers across Landor’s network created an emblem and identity system to reflect the guiding themes of the Winter Games: the twenty-first century, respect for the beauty and bounty of nature, and furthering world peace and goodwill. The visual identity system defined the look of the Games and was incorporated into many environmental aspects of the event, including wayfinding. The selected emblem, hexagonal and snowflake-like, has six colorful elements radiating from its center that represent athletes in action. To emphasize the Nagano community’s commitment to the environment, the emblem also resembles a fragile alpine flower. 

Summer 1996

Atlanta, United States. The Atlanta committee for the Olympic Games asked us to create a symbol that both celebrated the 1996 Summer Games and commemorated the modern Olympics’ one-hundredth anniversary. From hundreds of sketches submitted by Landor designers around the world we developed the Atlanta Centennial Torch, illustrated as a classical Greek column that incorporates five Olympic rings supported by the numeral 100. The flame rising from the torch becomes a star symbolizing athletic aspiration and achievement.