Finally, the Olympics has branding as epic as the games themselves

New Olympics branding
(Image credit: International Olympic Committee)

The Olympic Games symbol is one of the most recognised icons in the world. But perhaps strangely, despite logos and poster designs for each individual Olympics, and despite the measures it takes to protect its trademarks, the International Olympics Committee has never had a full brand identity.

Until now, that is. Some 125 years after the first modern Olympic Games, the IOC has developed a full package of brand assets, with colours, graphics, illustrations and three exclusive typefaces. As we'll see below, there are more colours than you might think. But the branding is very much like the Olympics itself, vibrant, colourful, exciting and with lots of rules. In fact, the style guide – or guides – are among the longest we've ever seen (and longer than some of our picks of the best graphic design books).

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Joe Foley

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.

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