The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveils a refreshed brand identity for the Olympics, including custom typefaces, illustrations and graphics that aim to bring the legacy of the games into the modern world. With the full brand rollout expected to be completed in time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the updated brand identity will be used across all touchpoints of the brand including on banners, press releases and social media platforms.
Canadian creative agency Hulse & Durrell partnered with the IOC to develop several custom typefaces, new graphics and illustrations, and a set of brand guidelines. Explains IOC head of brand management May Guerraoui: “The evolved brand pushes further the Olympic brand identity through a vibrant extended palette based on the Olympic colors, inspirational illustrations and tailored-made typography – it’s about leveraging on a new design system to communicate the brand values with emotion.
For this first time global brand identity, the IOC began working on the project in 2018 and some aspects of it, such as typefaces Olympic Headline, Olympic Sans and Olympic Serif, have been released during the past few years. The typefaces were designed by graphic designers Fabian Harb and Seb McClauchlan from type design agency Dinamo and Julien Hébert of design studio Principal, while artists Francesco Ciccolella, Abbey Lossing and Karan Singh created the illustrations for the brand identity.
The Olympic logo with its five interlocked Olympic rings, designed by the founder of the modern games Pierre de Coubertin, remains unchanged. Although the primary colors of the symbol – blue, yellow, black, green, red and white – have not been altered, the Olympic palette has expanded for digital interfaces, infographics and illustrations.
In addition, according to Guerraoui, the new identity also aims to channel a sustainability commitment, as it is designed to have a reduced environmental impact in its print and digital mediums.
