2014 Commonwealth Games identity unveiled
The logo for Glasgow's Commonwealth Games 2014, designed by Marque, has been revealed.
The identity was unveiled this morning at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow at an event attended by officials from the Games, the Scottish Government and members of the press.
As this is the 20th Commonwealth Games, the outer ring encompasses the others using the official ‘True Red’ of the Commonwealth Games Federation Pallette while the ‘Yellow Triumph’ represents the number of sports – 17 and is exactly 17/20ths of the circle.
The competition will be held over an 11 day period and is represented by the ‘Heritage blue’ and makes up 11/20ths, while, at the heart of the identity is 1 host city, represented by the G for Glasgow, meaning ‘Dear Green Place’ in Gaelic.
A Gealic translation of the identity has also been created (see below for more detail.)
Marque was appointed by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee in October following a lengthy tender process which began in April of last year.
In the end, 66 agencies applied for the project, before 10 were asked to be involved in chemistry sessions. That number was reduced further to six agencies which were given the full brief. Marque was then chosen "unanimously" as a result.
The agency's work has been hidden until now with only a teaser campaign running in Glasgow hinting at the full identity.
Meanwhile the official website, relaunched this morning, was created by Dog Digital, which was also appointed last October. Brand guidelines can be read on the new site.
The official Identity Film was also created by Marque.
Commonwealth Games Brand Presentation
In competitive sport, measurement, timing and results are everything. Of course there are the personalities, the emotion, the thrill, the elation and the disappointment. But when it comes to those medals it’s a matter of who jumps the highest, throws the longest, runs the fastest, scores the most goals, wins the most points, lifts the heaviest weight, swims the fastest.
This was the starting point for our creative inspiration: numeral elements integral to competitive sport.
Then we looked at some of the top line figures. Glasgow 2014 will be the 20th Commonwealth Games. At our Games, 17 sports are represented. The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will take place over 11 days of competition, from 23rd July to 3rd August. And they take place in one city: Glasgow. 20, 17, 11, 1.
20
The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be the 20th Games. We used this number as the outer ring of our brand identity, breaking a circle into 20 equal parts to work out the proportional measurements of the other numbers. This ring, that encompasses the others, is a strong, vibrant red - 'True Red' from the CGF colour palette.
17
The next ring of the brand identity, in an orange-gold - 'Triumph Yellow' from the CGF palette - that echoes the ore of the medals, represents the number of sports. It’s just over three quarters of the full circle.
11
23 July – 3 August, 2014: 11 days of competition when Glasgow will be the centre of the sporting world with all the buzz and excitement of results, reports and rumours; new faces, amazing teamwork and rising stars. These 11 days are represented in the third ring of the logo, rendered in an optimistic summer blue - 'Heritage Blue', from the CGF palette clocking up just over a half of the circle.
1
1 host city – Glasgow. So, at the heart of our brand identity, like a target’s bull’s eye, is G for Glasgow, in a bright green, the place to be, the place to come to, the place it’s all going to happen
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Comments
Hmmmm
1 persons memory.
3 minutes on google...
http://www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/
or even http://www.bibliothequedesign.com/#
Pretty boring really, I prefered the countdown logo :)
I had huge, huge hopes for this. Feel a bit cheated now sadly. The chance to do something amazing, possibly. Instead, it looks quite similar to their own work http://www.marquecreative.com/#/the-common-guild/
oh dear. sorry, but this makes the London Olympics logo look like a work of genius
Glayva? Granada Television?
I'm very, very disappointed.
Glayva? Granada Television?
sorry anon 11.21. i’m struggling really hard at the moment to see any sense of history in this logo. So it’s not as memorable as the London Olympics logo. Job done then.
Anon 11:21, you mean 11:08 as in Brian McGregor?
Take care, he's not known as 'the grinder' for nowt.
Spectacular....
....in it's lack of originality, functionality and.... what was it again?
Well done to Marque. I think they have created a great brand identity that will work well across all communication media
Well done to Marque. I think they have created a great brand identity that will work well across all communication media
I think the rational is great but the Glasgow bid logo was more evocative. If anyone can enliven this brand with a strong print and photographic language then Marque can. With most things such as this, time will be the judge. Maybe it could be another Mexico or Munich but I think those subtleties are more likely to be discussed by designers and their peers - not the public. So who is this logo for in the end? Designers and creatives? Or the public?
If you cover the coloured (G) icon with flames it looks much better. Yes, try setting fire to it.
David MacGregor:
Mexico or Munich? This doesn't even come close to the genius of Otl Aicher!
Its growing on me. I quite like it. Kind-of.
Its certainly not as strong as 2012. I'd say 'safe' is the watch word here.
You know what they say, 'nobody got fired for buying IBM'—but there again IBM made lots of good computers.
Yep was expecting so much more. This wont be a logo to remember.
Personally, I quite like it.
I'm a sucker for nice geometry.
And I think it has a timeless quality.
So what that it has parallels to another logo they designed.
It shows that the designer has a placed a sense of his/her own personality through their work.
And in terms of getting a decent logo passed a committee, it's a miracle.
Well done Marque.
Anonymous 11.52. That is the ambition of John Donnelly for the brand. Not necessarily my opinion! Read the 2014 website blog.
It's ok. But it could be improved by simplifying it - it's very busy, almost like two logos in one. Never a fan of two conflicting sans typefaces in the same logo.
Whoever said people should read the rationale - no, they shouldn't. They shouldn't have to. Nobody in the wider world who sees the logo will have - it should stand or fall on its own merit. In any case, we all know most logo rationales are actually post-rationales.
Reality check - its a logo for a Commonwealth Games, not some kind of creative utopia. Anyone expecting this to be an innovative, groundbreaking statement of design genius is either being unrealistic or just wanting a chance to slag something off, which us Scots are just great at...pity that's not a sport at the games.
My first instinct was pretty positive, although I preferred the bid logo at first glance. On reading the rationale I liked the cleverness and relevance to its subject. Feels a wee bit retro which I quite like too.
I think the Games logo is an absolute triumph.
A great job perfectly executed by everyone involved.
I'd have had more respect if Marque and the "Establishment" had had the balls not to include the "G", as such it's just an aid for the terminally visually illiterate.
As for the rationale it makes sense but without it the logo doesn't; perhaps the inclusion a handy rationale reference guide with every application of the "marque" would help.
I think the bit at the bottom of the logo is the compulsory Commonwealth Games ident, which must of been a real horror to work with. I don't know if the colours were compulsory? They seem a bit boring and not that nice to look at. I'm not a fan of the London 2012 ident, but at least the colours are original and the logo itself memorable (even if not for the right reasons).
Must of been a very hard ident to create, and obviously has a lot of folk ready to shoot it down whether they like it or not.
On a positive, I think the teaser posters have been great, and looking forward to what other spin offs get created around the brand.
I like it - simple as that.
"Well done to Marque. I think they have created a great brand identity that will work well across all communication media"
But it isn't original... neither does it need a change of typeface for the second line or the bits at the bottom. I don't care about rationale, I care about different and memorable and I care about design. However you dress this up, the 2012 logo has infinite possibilities and applications, this, does not.
I am right.
Another resounding failure on the design front. What was the thinking behind this?
I think it looks good, especially in its application. Reckon this will also work really well in the new media space.
This is not an easy job to do, especially with all the heads involved in the process.
At the end of the day the games will be good for Glasgow's people, profile and economy, despite what you may think of the identity and its application.
I'd have had more respect if Marque and the "Establishment" had had the balls not to include the "G", as such it's just an aid for the terminally visually illiterate.
As for the rationale it makes sense but without it the logo doesn't; perhaps the inclusion a handy rationale reference guide with every application of the "marque" would help.
Lets be honest the rationale is guff. Are we seriously supposed to believe that the 'thinking' behind it wasn't done with the end product very much in mind. It's an inoffensive solution to a very difficult brief so most people will be pretty happy.
At the end of the day it's just a logo, it'll work fine, most people don't care.
Lets be honest the rationale is guff. Are we seriously supposed to believe that the 'thinking' behind it wasn't done with the end product very much in mind. It's an inoffensive solution to a very difficult brief so most people will be pretty happy.
At the end of the day it's just a logo, it'll work fine, most people don't care.
The creative concept behind the brand is derived from the basis of all sport - Time, Data, and Measurement. Who jumps the highest, swims the fastest, lifts the heaviest. The brand identity is made up of four distinct parts, based on Time, Data and Measurement:
1. The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be the 20th Games. This is a landmark number that adds to Glasgow’s pride in being its host. The outer ring, that encompasses the others, is a strong, vibrant red - the official “True Red” of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) palette.
2. There will be 17 sports on the programme at Glasgow 2014. The next ring of the brand identity, in “Triumph Yellow” from the CGF palette, represents the number of sports. It’s exactly 17/20ths of the full circle.
3. Glasgow 2014 will host 11 days of competition, which are represented in the third ring of the brand identity, rendered in the CGF’s “Heritage blue”, and making up 11/20ths of the circle.
4. At the heart of our brand identity is 1 Host City, represented by “G” for Glasgow, meaning “Dear Green Place” in Gaelic, and is in a suitably vibrant green.
I think it looks good, especially in its application. Reckon this will also work really well in the new media space.
This is not an easy job to do, especially with all the heads involved in the process.
At the end of the day the games will be good for Glasgow's people, profile and economy, despite what you may think of the identity and its application.
Tut, tut, tut to all who are trying the 'read the rationale' number on here. It's designers you're speaking to, not clients. No pulling-wool-over-eyes here I'm afraid. A good logo can stand on it's own. Simple. This 'view it in context' and 'read the rationale' mantra is becoming more and more widespread (something Paula Scher believes in) but it's starting to become a get out clause for a poor logo. Something that this, sadly, is.
The typeface selection, or the marrying of the two typefaces more accurately, is shocking and if the torch element is compulsory, then why not try something resembling a flame as the logo? Not original, obviously, but it would clearly sit better on top of a torch. As it stands just now, both elements look cobbled together.
A real shame.
I think it looks good, especially in its application. Reckon this will also work really well in the new media space.
This is not an easy job to do, especially with all the heads involved in the process.
At the end of the day the games will be good for Glasgow's people, profile and economy, despite what you may think of the identity and its application.
Video; erm reminds me of the titles/bumpers/stings of every news broadcaster for the last 40 years.
'however, when i read the brand story on the official site i really got into it.'
gerry - the logo has failed for you then if you needed to read the brand story to get it.
personally I don't mind it
Having just checked out the new 2014 website - the logo works well ... I have to say I wasn't sure on looking at it in isolation on this page ... and I think that's where the problem lies - used in context it is a good looking device.
The rationale is all very clever but probably too much so for the street punter - so speaks a street punter (and suit).
I'm loving how with every new negative comment the Drum feel the need to update the article with more content. A bit like dowsing a fire with petrol, dangerous and pointless
I'm sure there's another sporting event that uses rings, can't put my finger on it though.
I'm sure there's another sporting event that uses rings, can't put my finger on it though.
I'm sure there's another sporting event that uses rings, can't put my finger on it though.
To all those hating the London identity, at least it gets a reaction.
I'd rather my work got someone ranting about it than saying nothing. The fact that it's being referenced here proves that point. It's memorable.
The Glasgow logo will be the logo that no-one talks about beyond this forum.
Come on. We only need five more comments after this one to beat the haggis.
Anon 13:52 "to beat the haggis." is this a euphemism?
gerry - it wasn't a criticism of you, it was more to do with the fact that you shouldn't really have to read about a logo to like it. Nothing personal
Now . . . I'm not normally the one to criticize other agencies work, but the one think I cant stand is ripping other identities off! Check this out . . . www.thecommonguild.org.uk
If half as much time had been spent designing the logo, as was spent on what is unquestionably, a piece of post rationale worthy of the design industry's version of spinal tap, then it might have been worthy of the event.
Great ideas don't need a thesis to acompany them - crap ones do, in order to justify the bill!
However, I'll bet somewhere in the agency's plan chests are some really great ideas.
Unfortunately, this has got the paw prints of brand strategists and a cast of a thousand 'grey suits' all over it, so is it any wonder it looks like it does.
Can you imagine what the great Herb Lubalin's 'Mother & Child' would have looked like if he'd had to deal with this lot!
If you want a great logo, leave it to the people who know what they're doing - the designers!
Can you rip yourself off, anon 14:13?
I actually feel a bit sorry for Marque on this one –Â I strongly suspect that we're not getting the whole picture here, and that there's been a fair amount of what you could call 'processing-out'. Having to work with that very lame 'crab-eating-bunting' thingy at the bottom doesn't help either. They've made something as simple and versatile as they were able to under the circumstances.
However, the strategy that is presented online seems a bit wooly, weak and unnecessary. Nothing wrong with a bit of post-rationalisation, but the concentric circles route is so obvious and overdone – as others have spotted, 'commonguild games', covent garden, newmediascotland etc., – it's hardly a piece of original thinking.
Personally also find the use (and execution) of the G, and the reclassification of primary colours into things like 'Triumph Yellow' a bit pointless.
So, all in all, yes, disappointing, but fully expect there to be some interesting executions and adaptations that come from that starting point.
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