During the years, there has been more and more attention paid not only to Olympic logo design (not only to the famous Olympic rings), but the visual identity of each team, and making the whole venue exude Olympic spirit.
When it comes to graphic design, the Visa team did a great job. The idea is that of a human heart with different images that conveys a lot – the pulsing hearts of the Olympic competitors, the hearts of the audience and supporting fans from their homes or from the stands, etc. All of these facts were used to compare the Olympics with their own line of business – the transactions and money flows through their system.
Speaking of visual identity, designers, artists and creators had a really difficult task – to make those Olympic ‘marks’ colorful, playful but still formal, easily memorable, and innovative. And this year, some of them have managed to fulfill this mission.
One of these masterpieces was situated in the USA House, where USA representatives – the “Dream Team” – chose to separate themselves from the rest of their coleagues and to spend time and relax before the big day. Outstanding mosaic murals adorn the roof garden and inside walls. They were made by Charis Tsevis in collaboration with the Publicis One Team from New York City.
A great mixture of old, traditional, ceramic art and modern street art are perfectly combined and used in making this extraordinary ornament. The thousands of graphic pieces of patterned tiles make unique wall puzzles.
The outside wall mural shows eight champions from the Olympic and Paralympic USA Team (so they can admire themselves…Americans). The inside wall murals show those athlets in action.
On the other hand, we have street artist Eduardo Kobra, who painted a mural on a 190-meter-long wall in the city’s port area. This piece of art is called “Ethnicities” and the huge painting forms an important part of the ‘Olympic boulevard’.
This mural represents five aboriginal faces from five continents, like the Olympic rings represent five continents. The idea behind this project and those faces is to show to the world that we are all one, regardless of our skin color, the language you speak, your habits and traditions; that we have the same roots and we should always get along and respect each other, not just during the Olympic games.
In the run to set the world record for the largest mural created by a single person, Kobra and his team have worked for 12 hours a day and spent nearly 100 gallons of white paint, 1,500 liters of colored paint, and around 3,500 cans of spray paint.
The Olympic games is not all about sport – there are a lot more people hired to make it a complete event and to offer the audience a unique visual experiance.