Madrid 2020 Olympic logo: how us, Graphic Designers, can be taken seriously?

Final logo

The Spanish capital – Madrid – released yesterday, 30th January, the logo that will represent the city as a candidate for the Olympic Games in 2020. Just few hours after the release, Twitter and other social networks were full of messages of criticism with a sense of humour. The logo, creation of a 22 year old Graphic Design student, is described by the author as “a log that represents the monument from Madrid La Puerta de Alcala (Alcala’s Entrance) with a dynamic line symbolising the passion of the people from Madrid and Spain towards Sports. The five “doors” from the original monument become the 5 rings”.

For many, however, the logo looks like 5 coloured flip-flops behind what looks like 20020 instead of M20. Aside this, the “i” in “madrid” looks like if it had an accent when it shouldn’t and the black colour from the original 5 ring olympic logo has been replaced for pink, to which some have been joking could be more like the “logo for Proud Day in 20020″.

6.000 euros has been the cost of this logo, far from the £400.000 that the London 2012 cost, but as wrong as bad as this one. No wonder us, Graphic Designer, still cannot get taken seriously as professionals, as many think that what we do is just random drawing and scribbling as inspiration comes to us.

And I have nothing with the student that created the logo, at the end of the day he is still studying. Also, the logo was altered from the original proposal by the student, where the M20 looked clearer (see below). But whoever chose it and paid for it…

original proposal by Graphic Design student Luis Peiret