The Olympic Games is one of the most celebrated sports events in the planet. It attracts participants from across the entire globe who come together to compete in a wide range of activity. Given the popularity of the event and the popularity that accompanies it, hosting it is usually a dream of every country. Tokyo got the privilege to host the 2020 Olympics Games and ever since they were awarded the bid, they have been preparing earnestly to have everything ready for the global sporting event. However, their hapless preparations for the Olympics games have been hampered by allegations that the Olympics logo might have been plagiarized.

Plagiarism in logo design is such a grave concern because it puts in doubt the designer’s ability to come up with fresh and unique design concepts. Additionally, for a global fiesta like the Olympics, it is utterly embarrassing to use a logo which appears to have been plagiarized. This is why Japan had to scrap off the logo in question and look for other alternatives.

When a design is copied on this level it can lead to some extreme controversy. This kind of problem can also detract from the games as a whole. While a major design contest does sometimes have this type of controversy associated with it, it is not often that a major designer is ripped off for the use of such a high profile logo. It will certainly be interesting to see if any future legal repercussions occur as a result of this case. If a logo was protected under copyright however then it may not be applicable due to differing copyright laws between international law. This is still a major international story however, worthy of design attention.

The accusations of plagiarism of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Game logo sparked off when a Belgium designer, Olivier Debie accused the 2020 Olympics logo designer of stealing his concept. Olivier claimed that Sano (the Olympics logo designer) didn’t just take his idea but also used other images in the logo design without acquiring permission to do so. This forced the Olympics Committee to ditch the design since they didn’t want to be associated with such claims.

The controversial Olympics logo has some semblance to a logo designed for the Theatre de Liege in Belgium, by Olivier Debie. Sano as well as the Olympics Committee have accepted the presence of the similarities between the two logos but have however refuted claims of plagiarism in the design.

Though Olivier is set to move to court to start the legal process of ensuring that the logo is not used during the Olympic Games, the organizing committee has asserted that the Belgium design was not a registered trademark. Hence, Sano cannot be guilty of plagiarism. They explain that Sano’s design features a “T.” This was inspired by the fact that the games will be held in Tokyo, so it was more appropriate for the logo have a letter T in it. The other inspiration on the logo is the red circle, and this was inspired by the Japanese flag characterized by the red circle representing the sun.

But after some time, the official organizing the Olympic Games decided to unveil Sano’s initial design, claiming that its emphasis on the shape of the letter “T” had no semblance of the Belgium’s theater design. The committee was, therefore, keen to promote the use of the Sano-designed logo and make it popular ahead of the games in 2020.

But the controversies surrounding the Olympics logo designs seem not to be far from over. It has emerged that Sano’s initial design also had semblance with the late German typographer, Jan Tschichold. Additionally, the local media has alleged that Sano had used images from a certain website without being given permission to do so.

On his defense, Sano stated that the inspiration for his design had come from the emblem used when Tokyo held the first Summer Olympic Games in 1964, claiming that he had never set his eyes on the Belgium design before. But some people found this defense difficult to buy since Sano had been in the past accused of plagiarizing other people’s work. As a result, this has put his credibility to test, and he will find it an uphill task to convince everyone that the Olympics logo design is his original creation.

Now that the authenticity of the logo as well as the credibility of the designer are in serious doubt, the officials organizing the games have decided to distance themselves from the logo and have thus commissioned a new design. They hope that they will ultimately find a designer and a design that will be clean from all allegations and which they can to restore the already dented image of organizing committee.

Check out the controversy surrounding the 49ers Logo here!

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Changing the logo of a company or organization is tantamount to changing the brand of the company. A lot of discretion needs to be exercised because the new logo might spark off negative reactions from ardent brand followers. A recent case was witnessed when The Metropolitan Museum of Art decided to change their old logo and adopt a new scarlet palette. The choice seemed not to be a popular one because the new logo was resisted by so many people.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a new modern art annex on Madison Avenue, and they thought that they could take advantage of the new development to have a new logo. However, the redesign did not work well for the branding needs of the company. To many, the redesign got the label as a “disaster”, and other also termed it as a “graphics misfire”.

In an attempt to try and defend the redesign, the museum accepted the fact that the new logo could probably not be accepted by everyone but according to them, they needed something bold, simple, and indisputable and that was what the new logo represented. So why exactly did the new logo spark of such geysers of negative reviews? We take a look at the old logo as well as the new one and see why some people might have been disappointed in the new look of the company.

The old logo of the museum was nothing but an M while the new one has replaced the M with “The MET” written in capital letters and made to appear as if the two words are flowing into one another. Forming the Metropolitan new logo. The new design was the work of Wolff Olins from their New York Office.

According to the designers, they are actually pleased that people are talking about the new logo and they are not bothered by the negativities being expressed from some quarters. To them, their objective is to come up with designs that people talk about. They defended the new design by saying that other than being visually appealing, it captures the essence of the museum, and it is aimed at expanding the reach and the relevance of The Metropolitan Museum of Arts. This was seen as an improvement on the old logo.

The new logo is scheduled to start being used from March and it was not just a normal logo change but a drive in enhancing the branding of the museum. The campaign will include other elements such as signage and many more to revamp the decade-long look of the museum.

The initial logo of the museum relied only on the use of a symbol, but the new one has discarded this approach as it uses words that have been commonly used to refer to the museum, “The Met”. As a result, therefore, the new logo has an immediacy which speaks to all audiences once they see it. They no longer try to figure out what the M is all about since they will see a name that they are already used to. In as much as they try to defend the logo, the new design is still continuing to get loads of criticism from even some of the most respected quarters.

Justin Davidson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture and art critic issued a blistering assessment of the logo comparing it to a red double-decker bus which has stopped and shoving passengers on each other’s back. To him, the logo is nothing but two short words printed scarlet letters before being squashed and tucked together. He also thought that the logo gave much prominence to the word “THE” and this has no relevance to the museum.

Another respected Arts critic found issues with the logo and thought that the museum ought not to have adopted such a design for a new logo. According to Judith H. Dobryznksi, the museum has traded a classic image they had held for years for a more minimalist design. To her, this shouldn’t have been the case since the museum now risks losing an identity and an image it had for long and which most of the fans had loved so much.

Another independent illustrator and designer, Steve Cup, thinks that the concept of minimalism in logo design has come as a late adoption by the museum. From his perspective, this is a concept that has been around for some time. He regrets that the museum has just woken up to realize that they needed to have such a logo.

But all the raging criticism on the new logo are expected, especially when you dealing with a big brand with a huge following. Not everyone is bound to accept it, but as long as it serves the branding needs of the organization.

Check out these top graphic design books!

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It is always embarrassing to the management and designers to come up with a design for a logo for it to be rejected by the fans or brand followers. Such a rejection will in most cases compel the concerned parties to go back to the drawing board and come up with a design that will be accepted by the majority or simply retain the original design. Even though it is not possible to please every fan or follower with every new logo, the new design should at least not upset the majority of them. This is especially true if the venture is a sports team that relies on the support of their fans for continued sustenance. A typical scenario of such a rejection was when the 49ers changed their logo and the fan revolted due to the new design.

The logo redesign by the sports team was considered as a generational blunder and probably the biggest logo related disaster ever witnessed in Bay Area Sports history. The design of the new logo was awful and it was mocked by every newspaper and new agency in the region. It never went down well with the fans and they literally revolted, prompting he owner to revert back to the old design. It happened 25 years ago and here is the story of one of the greatest logo controversies in the sport’s history.

The logo controversy was sparked off when the supposed to be new logo was unveiled in the Chronicle and every local television station. Once the fans saw the horrible design of the helmet, it became an immediate story. The Chronicle began receiving lots of letters while the team started to get lots of phone calls from fans complaining just how horrible the new design was. The majority of the fans had the opinion that the initial logo was classier than the new design which looked plain and simply annoying.

With all the funfair created, the major media outlets picked up the story and started writing articles about it. Two days after the logo was unveiled at the press conference, a writer for The Chronicles did a cover story where he interviewed the irate fans about their feelings on the new logo. Most of the fans expressed their anger and disappointment at the new design given that the 49ers were considered among the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.

The fans, therefore, expected something that would reflect this status other than a goofy looking design which could be easily mistaken for a signage advertising onions for sale at .49 cents. The logo lacked the character as well as the tradition that was associated with the old 49ers logo. It meant that using it will make the sports team lose their visual identity which was now permanently etched in the minds of the fans.

It was not just the graphical presentation used on the logo that made the fans mad. Even the choice of fonts was a total failure. One fan compared the font to the fonts used on a New Kids on the Block album or container of sugary cereal breakfast meal. More damage was inflicted on the new logo by the decision to unveil it side by side the old logo in a televised press conference. This allowed the fans to compare instantly the two, and it emerged immediately that the older one was the outright favorite.

So horrible was the logo that it was suggested that other than the NFL officials and 49ers executives, only two people approved the new design. This was a complete flop compared to the enormous support the football team had. The new design immediately became the Gary of Cherone of logos, and this prompted the owner of the team to admit that the new logo was a mistake on the part of their organization and he had no option but to revert to the initial logo.

This was considered a good move since it illustrated the fact that the fans are very important part of the team and the team has an obligation to please them in every way possible. If you can lose the support of the fans, then being in business would not be possible in such competitive sports.

Once the old logo was adopted, all the rhetoric toned down, and fans were pleased once again to have their beloved team’s logo. The failure of this attempted rebrand left the team’s executives with crucial lessons to learn. Perhaps the major one is that wide consultation is paramount when you need to embark on such a branding that will affect thousands of the team’s supporters. If only the 49ers executives had expended some resources for thorough research before the logo was designed, maybe the reception would have been a bit different, or they would have come up with another design that the fans would have loved just as they did for the old logo.

Check out our impressions of the LA 2024 logo here. 

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