Olympic History

OLYMPIC HISTORY

An Olympic medal from the 1896 Games in Athens, the first Games of the modern era. Things were done a bit different then, the winners received a silver medal and the second place finisher received a bronze medal. Things were even more different in 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals.

Comparing the more modern medals to this, the first real difference is the graphics, this medal is beautifully finishes and delicate. The newest medals can be seen as a tad tacky compared but this is down to personal opinion. 

Secondly this one on the left has no cut outs the Sochi medal given in Russia in 2014 had half cut out which did look good.

Who designed the London 2012 medals?

The London 2012 Olympic medals have been designed by artist David Watkins come through a six-way Locog tender with his design which casts the Wolff Olins Olympics logo with a set of other symbols.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/analysis/london-2012-design-icons-the-olympic-medals/3034981.article
The medals, are the prize and the glory, the tangible memento, and as such, the ultimate Olympic design icon.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/oct/09/golf-rugby-sevens-olympics-2016

Logos through time

http://worksdesigngroup.com/tag/olympics/

From the first modern Games in Athens in 1896, which sought to recapture the spirit of the Ancient Greek Olympics, to the 2008

Beijing Games, which announced China’s transition to a superpower, the Olympics have always been steeped in symbolism.


Nowadays, a host city’s logo is one of the first things to be revealed, long before the venues are finalized and the stray dogs murdered. That only became a trend in the 1920s and the Olympic rings have featured in most of the logos since then.


Those famous five interlaced rings, by the way, were not always part of the Olympic package. According to the IOC, the Olympic rings were first used in 1913 when Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, used them at the top of a letter. A year later, Coubertin presented the rings and the Olympic flag to the Olympic Congress in Paris, and the symbols made their official debyt at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium.
The five rings symbolize the five continents (Antarctica is excluded while North and South America were combined into one American continent) and the six colours of the flag combined the colours of all the flags of the world.

London, U.K. – Summer 1948

Helsinki, Finland – Summer 1952

St. Moritz, Switzerland – Winter 1928.

Los Angeles, California, USA – Winter 1932

London 2012

Sochi Games 2014

Youtube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9sQJc4w6r4




Views on the London 2012 Logo/ Analysis




The jagged emblem, based on the date 2012, comes in a series of shades of pink, blue, green and orange and will evolve in the run-up to the Games.

The word London and the Olympic rings are included in the first two digits of the new logo.

"This is the vision at the very heart of our brand," said London 2012 organising committee chairman Seb Coe.


what's not so good about the London logo?
To me its great but if i had to change a few things the shape is a tad harsh may be round the edges.

My first Solidworks Designs/ Initial ideas 

Medal Design is all about encompassing the countries historical roots and heritage. Brazil and Rio are famous for its long sandy beaches and tropical conditions, but historically hundreds of years ago Amazonian s founded the country. The country is fairly new compared to the UK lets say.

authors own- development of Olympic Medal done on solid works

These designs are ones I created in around 10 to 15 minutes, these are no  way the finished product but are the starting blocks to what colours and materials I aim to use in my medal.

Authors own- Olympic medal development done on solid works

Solid-works is the main software I'm using to create these, I could be modelling them out of paper but this wouldn't show the scale needed, plus the software comes with great rendering techniques.

Things to improve?
Make the medal different from past medals this one looks like Sochis medal because of the use of cut outs.

Authors own - More Development 

The second set of medals created are ones inspired by Rios ever growing population. The soil is fertile which is good for crops in parts of Brazil and in any city people come for work. This medal is fine art based as it gives a statement. To me its obvious but to many it will not be. The message depicts that the over populated society in which people live is a continuous spiral upwards.  The medal is a symbolic for the past and future, the left is their present and past and the right is the future with hope growing and getting more powerful.

I got advice on these designs and the main attractive quality was the Olympic rings, they were simple to do on Solid-works so it wouldn't  be a problem making them again.

Authors own - development / olympic medal

It was suggested to me just have the rings saying RIO
out of the rings but keep it black and white for the best overall effect.
I did colour them this time and it suits the colourful display.

RIOS FAVELAS 

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2013/nov/04/favelas-rio-de-janeiro-in-pictures
Rios Favelas

Rocinha (Little Farm), Rio’s largest favela, first sprouted in the 1940s, and is now a swarming anthill of narrow alleys, built on the side of a steep hill. Up to 250,000 people live in Rocinha, most of them in shacks.

In many ways, the favela is the heartbeat of Brazil’s cities, a hotbed of musical talent, and the home of many of its most creative residents. The cultural input of the favela is rarely acknowledged. In fact, theCarnival would not exist if it were not for these communities as many of the main samba schools come from or are named after Rio’s favelas.

http://unionjackcreative.com/blog/2010/06/24/favela-painting/
Rio art Favelas

Life in Rio's favelas

Around 70 percent of the people who live in Rocinha are from the impoverished northeast of Brazil. Often a family of six will live in one or two rooms with one bed for the adults and the children sleeping on the floor. Life expectancy is low – just 48 years, compared with to the national average of 68 years. Illnesses such as bronchitis are common, and although medical care is available at no cost.

Making week.

Viewing Orbit / olympic plattform\

Authors own- Favelas in Rio/ abstract view

favela tower - Authors own

Favelas are often made out of natural materials found and sourced locally, however they are not enough to protect those most vulnerable. I made the top shelter during the making week, it was an instinct make meaning I just stuck things together. Sometimes this is the best way forward as it allows freedom and creativity. The second picture is my second instillation, I made several favela like structures.


The colourful page was another instinct draw and make, what it visibly noticeable is the amount of art and design drawn on to the shelters, they are also very colourful and from a distance make the sight of thousands of these living sites spectacular.

abstract version of Rio's Favela's 

RED YELLOW AND GREEN

Brazil's colours very much are the peoples pride and joy, playing around with colours is the best way to experiment and I did this tile effect twice. Making things out of red, yellow and green paper let me explore the qualities of paper folding.

Rio's carnivals are places where these vibrant colours come in to play and some fans are seen on a manikin doll.

I hoped by doing this experimentation it would give me ideas about the colours and textures used in some of my final ideas.

Authors own

Carnival Theme colours/ clothing

Evaluation


What I could of done better on during making week?


Making week was a great time for me to experiment more and really just let go and make things totally out of the blue, I needed to take risks during that week and I feel I dint use that time. May be design something more related to my project. However the viewing platform is something London Olympics have as the Orbit is designed by Anish Kapoor.

Standing 114.5m tall, this extraordinary attraction is the result of a creative collaboration between world-renowned artist Sir Anish Kapoor, designer Cecil Balmond and ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company. With two observation floors, at 76m and 80m, the ArcelorMittal Orbit provides visitors with stunning views over the Park and across London’s famous skyline. It is both a work of art and a thrilling experience.


What I liked?

Having that freedom to just make and see what happens is rare in the industry, and it helped me having the week to freely explore materials concepts and textures.

What I didn't like?

Being told to just make or draw to some people is easy as its complete freedom but to me its not its more restricting. Apart from this the experience of just purely making was a really good challenge and an enjoyable one in that.

Once Geoff said draw something to do with your project, I freaked out because before I hadn't completed any initial ideas. He then stated whatever you draw make it from the materials in front of you. This is quite a scary thing to process because I had a rough image in my mind but not those materials.