Greater Flexibility Advised for Logos and Branding

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE—Last spring, the organizers of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London experienced an unwanted, if short-lived, furor over their choice of logo. The symbol was described in the British press as a “broken swastika,” among other things.

While the shape of the logo drew the most derision, some critics were also appalled that it could be adapted by Olympic sponsors, who will be permitted to put their own brand symbols or colors into the 2012 emblem, in effect creating logos within the Games’ logo.

In the buttoned-down world of corporate branding, that seemed like a no-no. Companies employ armies of executives to make sure the color, shape and placement of a logo never varies. Share it with another brand? No way.

But Wolff Olins, the firm that created the 2012 design, thinks that brands need to loosen up.

“In the past, corporate identity was about control and consistency,” said Karl Heiselman, chief executive of Wolff Olins, which is part of Omnicom Group. “With too much control, what happens is that people forget about the content.”

Wolff Olins, which has offices in London and New York, has designed logos for other clients, including New York City and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, that are intended to be used in a flexible way – as “containers” for content, according to Heiselman. Read article.