michael johnson’s thoughts on london 2012’s brand

An interesting “insider” perspective on the forever evolving London 2012 brand.

Makes me think… when you are dealing with a brand/organisation as broad and as diverse as one like the Olympic games, does being stricter then ever with your guidelines help with keeping the brand consistent, thus stifling innovation and creativity? Same grids applied consistently with the same colours across all collaterals?

Or does being as wide open as you possibly can with the ‘rules of engagement’ result in a monster of a brand that is between nothing and zero? Where anyone can do anything they please, and 80% of the design produced will be subpar?

How DOES one strike a balance when there are so many parties involved?

Comparing the two Olympic brands top-of-mind, which is a better branding story to tell?